2019 Northwestern Wildcats football team
The 2019 Northwestern Wildcats football team represented Northwestern University during the 2019 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The Wildcats played their home games at Ryan Field in Evanston, Illinois and competed in the West Division of the Big Ten Conference. They were led by 14th-year head coach Pat Fitzgerald. They finished the season 3–9, 1–8 in Big Ten play to finish in last place in the West Division.
2019 Northwestern Wildcats football | |
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Conference | Big Ten Conference |
West Division | |
2019 record | 3–9 (1–8 Big Ten) |
Head coach |
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Offensive coordinator | Mick McCall (12th season) |
Defensive coordinator | Mike Hankwitz (12th season) |
Home stadium | Ryan Field (Capacity: 47,130) |
Uniform | |
2019 Big Ten Conference football standings | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Conf | Overall | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Team | W | L | W | L | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
East Division | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
No. 3 Ohio State xy$^ | 9 | – | 0 | 13 | – | 1 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
No. 9 Penn State | 7 | – | 2 | 11 | – | 2 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
No. 18 Michigan | 6 | – | 3 | 9 | – | 4 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Indiana | 5 | – | 4 | 8 | – | 5 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Michigan State | 4 | – | 5 | 7 | – | 6 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Maryland | 1 | – | 8 | 3 | – | 9 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Rutgers | 0 | – | 9 | 2 | – | 10 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
West Division | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
No. 11 Wisconsin xy | 7 | – | 2 | 10 | – | 4 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
No. 10 Minnesota x | 7 | – | 2 | 11 | – | 2 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
No. 15 Iowa | 6 | – | 3 | 10 | – | 3 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Illinois | 4 | – | 5 | 6 | – | 7 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Purdue | 3 | – | 6 | 4 | – | 8 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Nebraska | 3 | – | 6 | 5 | – | 7 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Northwestern | 1 | – | 8 | 3 | – | 9 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Championship: Ohio State 34, Wisconsin 21 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Previous season
The 2018 Wildcats team made the school's first ever appearance in the Big Ten Championship Game by winning the West Division with a conference record of 8–1. They fell to Ohio State in that game, and went on to defeat Utah in the Holiday Bowl to finish the season at 9–5 and ranked 21st in the final AP Poll.
Preseason
Preseason Big Ten poll
Although the Big Ten Conference has not held an official preseason poll since 2010, Cleveland.com has polled sports journalists representing all member schools as a de facto preseason media poll since 2011. For the 2019 poll, Northwestern was projected to finish in fourth in the West Division.[1]
Media poll (West Division) | ||
Predicted finish | Team | Votes (1st place) |
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1 | Nebraska | 198 (14) |
2 | Iowa | 194.5 (14) |
3 | Wisconsin | 172.5 (4) |
4 | Northwestern | 142.5 (1) |
5 | Purdue | 110.5 |
6 | Minnesota | 100 (1) |
7 | Illinois | 34 |
Schedule
Northwestern will open its 2019 schedule with two non-conference games, first on the road against Stanford of the Pac-12 Conference, and then the season home opener against UNLV of the Mountain West Conference. Northwestern's third non-conference game, against independent UMass, will be played in November.
In Big Ten Conference play, Northwestern will play all fellow members of the West Division, and draws Michigan State, Ohio State, and Indiana from the East Division. Northwestern's game against Ohio State, a rematch of the 2018 Big Ten Championship Game, will be played on a Friday night, a decision by the Big Ten Conference which drew ire from Northwestern officials and head coach Pat Fitzgerald.[2]
Date | Time | Opponent | Site | TV | Result | Attendance |
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August 31 | 3:00 p.m. | at No. 25 Stanford* | FOX | L 7–17 | 37,179 | |
September 14 | 2:30 p.m. | UNLV* | BTN | W 30–14 | 37,714 | |
September 21 | 11:00 a.m. | Michigan State |
| ABC | L 10–31 | 40,114 |
September 28 | 11:00 a.m. | at No. 8 Wisconsin | ABC | L 15–24 | 76,825 | |
October 5 | 3:00 p.m. | at Nebraska | FOX | L 10–13 | 89,348 | |
October 18 | 7:30 p.m. | No. 4 Ohio State |
| BTN | L 3–52 | 47,130 |
October 26 | 11:00 a.m. | No. 20 Iowa |
| ESPN2 | L 0–20 | 42,104 |
November 2 | 6:00 p.m. | at Indiana | FS1 | L 3–34 | 40,924 | |
November 9 | 11:00 a.m. | Purdue |
| BTN | L 22–24 | 37,194 |
November 16 | 11:00 a.m. | UMass* |
| BTN | W 45–6 | 29,447 |
November 23 | 11:00 a.m. | No. 10 Minnesota |
| ABC | L 22–38 | 30,246 |
November 30 | 11:00 a.m. | at Illinois | FS1 | W 29–10 | 35,895 | |
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Source:[3]
Rankings
Week | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Poll | Pre | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | Final | ||||||||||||||||||||
AP | RV | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | |||||||||||||||||||||
Coaches | 25 | RV | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | |||||||||||||||||||||
CFP | Not released | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | Not released |
Game summaries
at Stanford
1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total | |
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Wildcats | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 7 |
No. 25 Cardinal | 0 | 10 | 0 | 7 | 17 |
UNLV
1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total | |
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Rebels | 7 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 14 |
Wildcats | 10 | 6 | 7 | 7 | 30 |
Michigan State
1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total | |
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Spartans | 7 | 7 | 10 | 7 | 31 |
Wildcats | 0 | 3 | 0 | 7 | 10 |
at Wisconsin
1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total | |
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Wildcats | 3 | 0 | 0 | 12 | 15 |
No. 8 Badgers | 7 | 0 | 7 | 10 | 24 |
at Nebraska
1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total | |
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Wildcats | 0 | 3 | 7 | 0 | 10 |
Cornhuskers | 7 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 13 |
Ohio State
1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total | |
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No. 4 Buckeyes | 7 | 24 | 7 | 14 | 52 |
Wildcats | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
Iowa
1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total | |
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No. 20 Hawkeyes | 7 | 3 | 7 | 3 | 20 |
Wildcats | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
at Indiana
1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total | |
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Wildcats | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
Hoosiers | 10 | 14 | 7 | 3 | 34 |
Purdue
1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total | |
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Boilermakers | 0 | 7 | 14 | 3 | 24 |
Wildcats | 14 | 2 | 0 | 6 | 22 |
UMass
1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total | |
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Minutemen | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 6 |
Wildcats | 0 | 21 | 3 | 21 | 45 |
Minnesota
1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total | |
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No. 10 Golden Gophers | 14 | 7 | 7 | 10 | 38 |
Wildcats | 0 | 9 | 7 | 6 | 22 |
at Illinois
1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total | |
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Wildcats | 3 | 7 | 7 | 12 | 29 |
Fighting Illini | 0 | 7 | 3 | 0 | 10 |
Roster
2019 Northwestern Wildcats football team roster | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Players | Coaches | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Offense
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Defense
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Special teams
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Roster |
References
- Lesmerises, Doug (July 18, 2019). "Michigan named Big Ten football favorite in cleveland.com 2019 preseason poll". Cleveland.com.
- Greenstein, Teddy (December 18, 2018). "Pat Fitzgerald 'not happy' after Big Ten schedules Ohio State-Northwestern for a Friday night". Chicago Tribune.
- "2019 Northwestern Football Schedule". FBSchedules.com. Retrieved February 14, 2019.