2018 Northwestern Wildcats football team

The 2018 Northwestern Wildcats football team represented Northwestern University during the 2018 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 13th-year head coach Pat Fitzgerald.

2018 Northwestern Wildcats football
Big Ten West Division champion
Holiday Bowl champion
Holiday Bowl, W 31–20 vs. Utah
ConferenceBig Ten Conference
DivisionWest Division
Ranking
CoachesNo. 19
APNo. 21
Record9–5 (8–1 Big Ten)
Head coach
Offensive coordinatorMick McCall (11th season)
Offensive schemeSpread
Defensive coordinatorMike Hankwitz (11th season)
Base defenseMultiple 4–3
Home stadiumRyan Field
Seasons
← 2017
2019 →
2018 Big Ten Conference football standings
Conf Overall
Team   W   L     W   L  
East Division
No. 3 Ohio State xy$   8 1     13 1  
No. 14 Michigan x   8 1     10 3  
No. 17 Penn State   6 3     9 4  
Michigan State   5 4     7 6  
Maryland   3 6     5 7  
Indiana   2 7     5 7  
Rutgers   0 9     1 11  
West Division
No. 21 Northwestern xy   8 1     9 5  
Wisconsin   5 4     8 5  
No. 25 Iowa   5 4     9 4  
Purdue   5 4     6 7  
Minnesota   3 6     7 6  
Nebraska   3 6     4 8  
Illinois   2 7     4 8  
Championship: Ohio State 45, Northwestern 24
  • $ – Conference champion
  • x – Division champion/co-champions
  • y – Championship game participant
Rankings from AP Poll

Northwestern began the year with a 1–3 record after winning its conference road opener against Purdue but falling to non-conference foes Duke and Akron, as well as Michigan in their conference home opener. The team won their next four games, including wins over ranked opponents Michigan State and Wisconsin, before falling to Notre Dame, which secured a winless non-conference slate. Regardless, the Wildcats clinched their first Big Ten West Division title by defeating No. 21 Iowa the following week.[1] They won their remaining two conference games to finish the regular season with a conference record of 8–1. In the 2018 Big Ten Football Championship Game, they lost to East Division champion Ohio State 45–24. The team was invited to the Holiday Bowl to play Pac-12 Conference runner-up Utah. The Wildcats won by a score of 31–20, their third consecutive bowl victory, which was a program first.[2] In the final AP Poll of the season, the Wildcats were ranked 21st.

Quarterback Clayton Thorson led the team's offense, finishing with 3,183 passing yards, third most in the Big Ten Conference, to go along with 17 passing touchdowns and nine rushing touchdowns. Thorson, a fourth-year starter, finished his career as the school's all-time leading passer.[2] Freshman running back Isaiah Bowser led the team in rushing with 866 yards, and wide receiver Flynn Nagel led the team in receiving with 780 yards. On defense, linebacker Blake Gallagher led the Big Ten in total tackles with 127.[3] Fellow linebacker Paddy Fisher was named first team all-conference by the coaches, while defensive back Montre Hartage was named to the first team by the media. Head coach Pat Fitzgerald received the conference's coach of the year award.[4]

Preseason

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Award watch lists

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Award Player Position Year
Lott Trophy[5] Nate Hall LB SR
Chuck Bednarik Award[6] Joe Gaziano DE JR
Paddy Fisher LB SO
Maxwell Award[7] Clayton Thorson QB SR
Doak Walker Award[8] Jeremy Larkin RB JR
Butkus Award[9] Paddy Fisher LB FR
Bronko Nagurski Trophy[10] Paddy Fisher LB SO
Joe Gaziano DE JR
Outland Trophy[11] Tommy Doles OL SR
Wuerffel Trophy[12] Tommy Doles OL SR
Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Award[13] Clayton Thorson QB SR

Schedule

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DateTimeOpponentRankSiteTVResultAttendance
August 307:00 p.m.at PurdueESPNW 31–2747,410
September 811:00 a.m.Duke*ESPNUL 7–2140,654
September 156:30 p.m.Akron*
  • Ryan Field
  • Evanston, IL
BTNL 34–3940,014
September 293:30 p.m.No. 14 Michigan
FOXL 17–2047,330
October 611:00 a.m.at No. 20 Michigan StateFS1W 29–1972,850
October 1311:00 a.m.Nebraska 
  • Ryan Field
  • Evanston, IL
ABCW 34–31 OT47,330
October 2011:00 a.m.at RutgersBTNW 18–1532,514
October 2711:00 a.m.No. 20 Wisconsin
  • Ryan Field
  • Evanston, IL
FOXW 31–1747,330
November 36:15 p.m.No. 4 Notre Dame*
ESPNL 21–3147,330
November 102:30 p.m.at No. 21 IowaFOXW 14–1066,493
November 1711:00 a.m.at MinnesotaNo. 22BTNW 24–1432,134
November 242:30 p.m.IllinoisNo. 19
BTNW 24–1637,124
December 17:00 p.m.vs. No. 6 Ohio StateNo. 21FOXL 24–4566,375
December 316:00 p.m.vs. No. 17 Utah*No. 22FS1W 31–2047,007

Game summaries

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At Purdue

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1 2 3 4 Total
Wildcats 14 17 0 0 31
Boilermakers 14 3 7 3 27

Duke

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1 2 3 4 Total
Blue Devils 0 21 0 0 21
Wildcats 7 0 0 0 7

[14]

Akron

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1 2 3 4 Total
Zips 0 3 23 13 39
Wildcats 7 14 7 6 34

Michigan

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1 2 3 4 Total
No. 14 Wolverines 0 7 6 7 20
Wildcats 10 7 0 0 17

At Michigan State

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1 2 3 4 Total
Wildcats 7 7 0 15 29
No. 20 Spartans 3 3 13 0 19

Nebraska

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1 2 3 4OT Total
Cornhuskers 7 6 7 110 31
Wildcats 0 14 0 173 34

At Rutgers

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1 2 3 4 Total
Wildcats 7 0 3 8 18
Scarlet Knights 0 12 3 0 15

Wisconsin

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1 2 3 4 Total
No. 20 Badgers 7 3 0 7 17
Wildcats 7 7 10 7 31

Notre Dame

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1 2 3 4 Total
No. 3 Fighting Irish 7 0 14 10 31
Wildcats 0 7 0 14 21

At Iowa

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1 2 3 4 Total
Wildcats 0 0 7 7 14
No. 21 Hawkeyes 0 3 7 0 10

At Minnesota

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1 2 3 4 Total
No. 24 Wildcats 7 6 0 11 24
Golden Gophers 0 7 0 7 14

Illinois

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1 2 3 4 Total
Fighting Illini 3 3 0 10 16
No. 20 Wildcats 7 14 3 0 24

Vs. Ohio State (Big Ten Championship game)

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1 2 3 4 Total
No. 21 Wildcats 7 0 14 3 24
No. 6 Buckeyes 14 10 7 14 45

Vs. Utah (Holiday Bowl)

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1 2 3 4 Total
No. 20 Utes 14 6 0 0 20
Wildcats 0 3 28 0 31

Rankings

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Ranking movements
Legend: ██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking
— = Not ranked RV = Received votes
Week
PollPre1234567891011121314Final
APRVRVRVRV242021RV21
CoachesRVRVRVRVRV21212219
CFPNot released22192122Not released

Roster

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2018 Northwestern Wildcats football team roster
Players Coaches
Offense
Pos. # Name Class
RB 1 Chad Hanaoka   Sr
WR 2 Flynn Nagel Sr
WR 4 Solomon Vault   Sr
WR 5 Charles Fessler   Jr
WR 6 Jelani Roberts Sr
QB 7 Jason Whittaker Fr
WR 8 Kyric McGowan So
QB 10 T. J. Green   Jr
QB 11 Aidan Smith   So
WR 12 J. J. Jefferson Fr
QB 13 Andrew Marty   Fr
WR 15 Jace James So
QB 15 Hunter Johnson (I) So
WR 16 Berkeley Holman   Fr
WR 17 Jalen Brown   Sr
QB 18 Clayton Thorson   Sr
WR 19 Riley Lees   So
RB 20 John Moten IV   Jr
RB 21 Drake Anderson Fr
WR 23 Steven Reese   Jr
RB 24 Alex Bousky Sr
RB 25 Isaiah Bowser Fr
RB 28 Jeremy Larkin   So
RB 36 Jesse Brown   So
SB 44 James Prather   Sr
SB 48 Brian Kaiser Fr
OL 52 Sam Gerak   Fr
OL 57 Cam Kolwich   So
OL 59 J. B. Butler   Sr
OL 61 Jason Goosen   So
OL 65 Jared Thomas   Jr
OL 66 Nik Urban   So
OL 67 Willy Boatman Fr
OL 68 Wyatt Blake Fr
OL 69 Charlie Schmidt Fr
OL 70 Rashawn Slater So
OL 71 Tommy Doles   Sr
OL 72 Blake Hance   Sr
OL 73 Gunnar Vogel   So
OL 74 Payne He'Bert Fr
OL 76 Ethan Wiederkehr   Fr
OL 77 Jesse Meyler   So
OL 78 Sam Stovall Fr
OL 79 Trey Klock   Sr
SB 80 Trey Pugh So
WR 81 Ramaud Chiaokhiao-Bowman   So
SB 82 Alex Oelsner   Fr
WR 83 Will Lansbury   Fr
WR 84 Cameron Green   Jr
WR 85 Jack Tirmonia   So
SB 86 Cody Link   So
WR 86 Raymond Niro III Fr
SB 87 Eric Eshoo   So
WR 88 Ben Skowronek Jr
SB 89 Charlie Mangieri Fr
Defense
Pos. # Name Class
DB 3 Trae Williams   Jr
DB 7 Travis Whillock   So
DB 9 Roderick Campbell So
DB 10 Alonzo Mayo   Jr
DB 11 A. J. Hampton Fr
DB 13 J. R. Pace So
DB 18 Cameron Ruiz   Fr
DB 22 Bryce Jackson   Fr
CB 24 Montre Hartage Sr
DB 25 Austin Hiller   Fr
DB 26 Brian Bullock   So
DB 27 Jeremiah McDonald Fr
LB 28 Chris Bergin So
DB 29 Greg Newsome II Fr
LB 31 Jaylen Rivers Fr
LB 32 Nate Hall   Sr
LB 33 Grayson Mann Fr
LB 34 Chee Anyanwu   Fr
LB 35 Erik Mueller   Fr
DB 37 Donovan Sermons   Fr
LB 40 Peter McIntyre   Fr
S 41 Jared McGee   Sr
LB 42 Paddy Fisher   So
LB 44 Khalid Jones Fr
LB 45 Nathan Fox   Jr
LB 46 Troy Hudetz So
DL 46 Devin O'Rourke Fr
DB 47 Joe Bergin   Jr
LB 50 Jango Glackin   So
LB 51 Blake Gallagher So
DL 53 Eku Leota Fr
DL 54 Trent Goens   Jr
DE 55 Mark Gooden   So
DL 75 Ben Oxley   Sr
DT 90 Jake Saunders   So
DL 91 Samdup Miller So
DL 92 Fred Wyatt   Sr
DL 93 Joe Spivak So
DE 94 Tommy Carnifax   So
DL 95 Alex Miller Jr
DE 96 Trevor Kent   Fr
DL 97 Joe Gaziano   Jr
DE 98 Earnest Brown IV So
DL 99 Jordan Thompson Sr
Special teams
Pos. # Name Class
K 14 Charlie Kuhbander So
P 17 Daniel Kubiuk   Sr
P 37 Cody Gronewold   Fr
K, P 38 Drew Luckenbaugh   So
LS 43 Tyler Gillikin   So
LS 48 Peter Snodgrass   Fr
P 49 Jake Collins   Sr
Head coach
Coordinators/assistant coaches
  • Lou Ayeni (running backs / recruiting coordinator)
  • Adam Cushing (offensive line)
  • Jeff Genyk (special teams coordinator)
  • Mike Hankwitz (defensive coordinator)
  • Bob Heffner (Superbacks)
  • Marty Long (defensive line)
  • Matt McPherson (Associate head coach / defensive backs)
  • Mick McCall (offensive coordinator / quarterbacks)
  • Tim McGarigle (linebackers)
  • Dennis Springer (wide receivers)
  • Chris Bowers (director of player personnel)
  • Cody Cejda (director of football operations)
  • Darby Dunnagan (director of Video Operations)
  • Jay Hooten (director of Sports Performance for Football)
  • Jacob Schmidt (director of player development)
  • Bryan Payton (director of Recruiting Communications)
  • Jonny Kovach (director of Recruiting Operations)
  • Todd McShane (director of Scouting)
  • John Holloway (assistant director of football operations)
  • Deonte Gibson (defensive graduate assistant)
  • Kevin Koch (defensive graduate assistant)
  • Traveon Henry (offensive graduate assistant)
  • Sean Pearson (offensive graduate assistant)

Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • (S) Suspended
  • (I) Ineligible
  •   Injured
  •   Redshirt

Roster
Last update: August 16, 2018

Awards and honors

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Individual Awards
Player Award Ref.
Pat Fitzgerald Hayes–Schembechler Coach of the Year
Dave McClain Coach of the Year
[4]
All-Big Ten
Player Position Coaches Media
Paddy Fisher LB 1 2
Montre Hartage DB 3 1
Joe Gaziano DL 2 3
Rashawn Slater OT 3 HM
Blake Gallagher LB HM 3
Cameron Green WR HM HM
Clayton Thorson QB HM HM
Flynn Nagel WR HM HM
J.R. Pace DB HM HM
Nate Hall DB HM HM
HM = Honorable mention. Reference:[4]

Players drafted into the NFL

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Round Pick Player Position NFL Club
5 167 Clayton Thorson QB Philadelphia Eagles

References

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  1. ^ "Northwestern clinches first Big Ten division title with win at Iowa". ESPN.com. Associated Press. November 10, 2018.
  2. ^ a b Friedman, Caleb (January 5, 2019). "Clayton Thorson left Northwestern better than he found it". InsideNU.com. Vox Media.
  3. ^ "2018 Big Ten Conference Year Summary". Sports-Reference.com. Retrieved May 22, 2019.
  4. ^ a b c "2018 All-Big Ten Football Teams and Individual Award Recipients" (PDF). BigTen.org. Big Ten Conference. November 28, 2018. Archived from the original (PDF) on November 29, 2018. Retrieved November 28, 2018.
  5. ^ "2018 Watch List | Lott IMPACT Trophy | Honoring College Football's Defensive Best". lottimpacttrophy.org. Retrieved July 17, 2018.
  6. ^ "2018 Bednarik Award Watch List - Maxwell Football Club". Maxwell Football Club. July 16, 2018. Archived from the original on July 16, 2018. Retrieved July 17, 2018.
  7. ^ "2018 Maxwell Award Watch List". July 16, 2018. Archived from the original on July 16, 2018. Retrieved July 17, 2018.
  8. ^ "2018 Doak Walker Award Candidates". July 18, 2018. Retrieved July 18, 2018.
  9. ^ "Butkus Award - 2018 Collegiate Watchlist". The Butkus Award. July 23, 2018. Archived from the original on August 20, 2010. Retrieved July 23, 2018.
  10. ^ "2018 Bronko Nagurski Trophy Preseason Watch List". July 24, 2018. Retrieved July 24, 2018.
  11. ^ "22018 OUTLAND TROPHY WATCH LIST UNVEILED". July 24, 2018. Retrieved July 24, 2018.
  12. ^ "Wuerffel Trophy Unveils 2018 Watch List". July 26, 2018. Archived from the original on July 26, 2018. Retrieved July 26, 2018.
  13. ^ "Watch List for 2018 Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Award ® Presented by A. O. Smith Announced". August 14, 2018. Retrieved August 17, 2018.
  14. ^ "Duke vs. Northwestern - Game Summary - September 8, 2018". ESPN. Retrieved September 8, 2018.