2022 Northwestern Wildcats football team

The 2022 Northwestern Wildcats football team represented Northwestern University during the 2022 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The Wildcats played their home games at Ryan Field in Evanston, Illinois, and competed as members of the Big Ten Conference. They were led by 17th-year head coach Pat Fitzgerald.

2022 Northwestern Wildcats football
Conference	Big Ten Conference
Record	1–11 (1–8 Big Ten)
Head coach	Pat Fitzgerald (17th season)
Offensive coordinator	Mike Bajakian (3rd season)
Offensive scheme	Spread
Defensive coordinator	Jim O'Neil (2nd season)
Base defense	4–3/3–4 hybrid
Home stadium	Ryan Field

2022 Big Ten Conference football standings

	Conf							Overall
Team		W		L					W		L
East Division
No. 3 Michigan xy$^		9	–	0					13	–	1
No. 4 Ohio State ^		8	–	1					11	–	2
No. 7 Penn State		7	–	2					11	–	2
Maryland		4	–	5					8	–	5
Michigan State		3	–	6					5	–	7
Indiana		2	–	7					4	–	8
Rutgers		1	–	8					4	–	8
West Division
Purdue xy		6	–	3					8	–	6
Illinois		5	–	4					8	–	5
Iowa		5	–	4					8	–	5
Minnesota		5	–	4					9	–	4
Wisconsin		4	–	5					7	–	6
Nebraska		3	–	6					4	–	8
Northwestern		1	–	8					1	–	11
Championship: Michigan 43, Purdue 22
^ – College Football Playoff participant $ – Conference champion x – Division champion/co-champions y – Championship game participant Rankings from AP Poll

Schedule

Northwestern announced its 2022 football schedule on January 12, 2022. The 2022 schedule consisted of six home games and five away games, as well as a neutral-site game in the regular season. The Wildcats hosted Big Ten foes Wisconsin, Ohio State, and Illinois and traveled to Penn State, Maryland, Iowa, Minnesota, and Purdue. They played Nebraska at Aviva Stadium in Dublin, Ireland. The Wildcats hosted all three non-conference opponents, Duke from the ACC, Southern Illinois from Division I FCS, and Miami (OH) from the MAC.

Date	Time	Opponent	Site	TV	Result	Attendance
August 27	11:30 a.m.	vs. Nebraska	Aviva Stadium Dublin, Ireland (Aer Lingus College Football Classic)	FOX	W 31–28	42,699
September 10	11:00 a.m.	Duke*	Ryan Field Evanston, IL	FS1	L 23–31	24,622
September 17	11:00 a.m.	Southern Illinois*	Ryan Field Evanston, IL	BTN	L 24–31	23,146
September 24	6:30 p.m.	Miami (OH)*	Ryan Field Evanston, IL	BTN	L 14–17	23,773
October 1	2:30 p.m.	at No. 11 Penn State	Beaver Stadium University Park, PA	ESPN	L 7–17	105,524
October 8	2:30 p.m.	Wisconsin	Ryan Field Evanston, IL	BTN	L 7–42	32,121
October 22	2:30 p.m.	at Maryland	Maryland Stadium College Park, MD	BTN	L 24–31	31,418
October 29	2:30 p.m.	at Iowa	Kinnick Stadium Iowa City, IA	ESPN2	L 13–33	69,250
November 5	11:00 a.m.	No. 2 Ohio State	Ryan Field Evanston, IL	ABC	L 7–21	42,774
November 12	2:30 p.m.	at Minnesota	Huntington Bank Stadium Minneapolis, MN	BTN	L 3–31	41,686
November 19	11:00 a.m.	at Purdue	Ross-Ade Stadium West Lafayette, IN	FS1	L 9–17	54,016
November 26	2:30 p.m.	Illinois	Ryan Field Evanston, IL (rivalry)	BTN	L 3–41	25,744
*Non-conference game Homecoming Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game All times are in Central time

Roster

2022 Northwestern Wildcats football team roster
Players			Coaches
Offense Pos. # Name Class QB 0 Cole Freeman So WR 1 Raymond Niro II Sr QB 3 Ryan Hilinski Jr RB 4 Cam Porter Jr WR 5 Jacob Gill So WR 6 Malik Washington Sr RB 7 Anthony Tyus III So WR 8 Wayne Dennis Jr. Jr QB 9 Carl Richardson Jr QB 10 Brendan Sullivan So RB 11 Andrew Clair GS QB 12 Jack Lausch Fr WR 13 Preston Bacon Jr WR 14 Donnie Gray So WR 15 Calvin Johnson II So WR 17 Bryce Kirtz Jr WR 18 Genson Hooper Price Jr WR 19 Reggie Fleurima Fr RB 20 Joseph Himon II Fr RB 22 Connor Newhouse Jr RB 26 Evan Hull Jr RB 29 Marcus Cisco Jr RB 31 Jake Arthurs Jr RB 39 Albert Kunickis III Fr OL 55 Conrad Rowley Sr OL 56 Josh Thompson So OL 62 Max Skidmore Jr OL 63 Dom D'Antonio Jr OL 65 Jackson Carsello So OL 66 Braeden Edwards So OL 68 Josh Priebe Jr OL 69 Charlie Schmidt Sr OL 71 Ben Wrather Jr OL 72 Caleb Tiernan So OL 73 Deuce McGuire Fr OL 74 Nick Herzog Fr OL 75 Vincent Picozzi GS OL 76 Ethan Wiederkehr GS OL 77 Peter Skoronski Jr OL 78 Luke Trifunovic Jr OL 79 Zachary Franks Jr WR 80 Donny Navarro III Sr TE 81 Chris Petrucci Fr WR 82 Jasper Stratton So TE 83 Blake Van Buren Fr TE 84 Hunter Welcing Jr WR 85 Jack Kennedy Jr TE 86 Lawson Albright So TE 87 Thomas Gordon Jr TE 88 Marshall Lang Jr TE 89 Charlie Mangieri GS	Defense Pos. # Name Class DB 0 Coco Azema Jr DB 2 Cameron Mitchell Jr DB 3 Jaheem Joseph Jr LB 4 Wendell Davis Jr.  Jr CB 7 Ore Adeyi So DL 8 Ryan Johnson GS DB 9 Jeremiah Lewis  Sr CB 10 Theran Johnson So CB 11 A. J. Hampton Sr DB 12 Nigel Williams Jr DB 13 Garnett Hollis Jr. Jr S 18 Garner Wallace So DB 20 Trent Carrington GS DB 21 Tyler Haskins Jr DB 22 Evan Smith Fr DB 23 Devin Turner Fr DB 24 Rod Heard II Jr DB 27 Jack Oyola Fr DB 28 Braden Turner Fr DB 31 Robert Fitzgerald Fr LB 32 Bryce Gallagher Jr LB 33 Braden Brus Fr LB 34 Xander Mueller Jr LB 35 Kenny Soares Jr. Fr LB 36 Declan Carr GS LB 37 Mac Uihlein So DB 38 Joe DeHaan Jr LB 40 Jason Reynolds II Fr DL 41 Jaylen Pate GS DL 42 Anto Saka Fr LB 44 Khalid Jones Sr LB 45 Cullen Coleman Jr DL 46 Devin O'Rourke Sr LB 48 Owen Bergin Jr DL 50 P. J. Spencer Jr LB 51 Miles Crutchley Fr DL 52 Jordan Butler Jr DE 53 Jaiden Cameron Jr DL 54 Henrik Barndt  Sr LB 57 Greyson Metz Jr DL 58 Peyton Warford Fr DL 60 Carmine Bastone So DL 90 Taishan Holmes Sr DL 91 Aidan Hubbard So DL 93 Brendan Flakes Fr DT 94 Jason Gold Jr. Sr DL 95 Najee Story So DL 96 Austin Firestone Fr DL 97 Sean McLaughlin Jr DL 98 Duke Olges Jr DL 99 Adetomiwa Adebawore Sr	Special teams Pos. # Name Class LS 43 Will Halkyard Jr P 47 Luke Akers Jr K/P 49 Jacob Tabibian So K 90 Adam Stage Sr K 92 Jack Olsen Jr P 99 Hunter Renner Jr	Head coach Pat Fitzgerald Coordinators/assistant coaches Mike Bajakian – Offensive coordinator/Quarterbacks Jim O'Neil – Defensive coordinator Kurt Anderson – Offensive Line Lou Ayeni – Running backs/Recruiting coordinator Jeff Genyk – Special teams coordinator/Tight ends Marty Long – Defensive line Matt MacPherson – Associate head coach/Defensive backs Tim McGarigle – Linebackers Ryan Smith – Cornerbacks Dennis Springer – Wide receivers Legend (C) Team captain (S) Suspended (I) Ineligible Injured Redshirt Roster

Game summaries

Nebraska

See also: 2022 Nebraska Cornhuskers football team

Northwestern Wildcats (0–0) vs Nebraska Cornhuskers (0–0) – Game summary

Quarter	1	2	3	4	Total
Wildcats	3	14	7	7	31
Cornhuskers	7	7	14	0	28

at Aviva Stadium • Dublin, Ireland

• Date: August 27, 2022
• Game time: 4:30 p.m. GMT
• Game weather: Sunny, 65 °F (18 °C)
• Game attendance: 42,699
• Referee: Mark Cannon
• TV announcers (FOX): Jason Benetti (play-by-play), Brock Huard (analyst)

Game information

First quarter (12:41) NEB – Isaiah Garcia-Castaneda 32-yard pass from Casey Thompson, Timmy Bleekrode kick (Drive: 8 plays, 75 yards, 2:19; Nebraska 7–0) (2:13) NW – Adam Stage 35-yard field goal (Drive: 9 plays, 35 yards, 4:28; Nebraska 7–3) Second quarter (11:59) NEB – Casey Thompson 1-yard run, Timmy Bleekrode kick (Drive: 14 plays, 80 yards, 5:14; Nebraska 14–3) (10:58) NW – Raymond Niro III 41-yard pass from Ryan Hilinski, Adam Stage kick (Drive: 4 plays, 75 yards, 1:01; Nebraska 14–10) (0:25) NW – Donny Navarro III 6-yard pass from Ryan Hilinski, Adam Stage kick (Drive: 13 plays, 82 yards, 3:15; Northwestern 17–14) Third quarter (9:37) NEB – Anthony Grant 3-yard run, Timmy Bleekrode kick (Drive: 8 plays, 88 yards, 3:24; Nebraska 21–17) (9:09) NEB – Anthony Grant 46-yard run, Timmy Bleekrode kick (Drive: 2 plays, 46 yards, 0:17; Nebraska 28–17) (7:53) NW – Cam Porter 3-yard run, Adam Stage kick (Drive: 5 plays, 44 yards, 1:16; Nebraska 28–24) Fourth quarter (11:34) NW – Evan Hull 4-yard run, Adam Stage kick (Drive: 6 plays, 42 yards, 0:50; Northwestern 31–28)

Statistics	NW	NEB
First downs	25	23
Total yards	528	465
Rushes/yards	47–214	31–110
Passing yards	314	355
Passing: Comp–Att–Int	27–38–0	25–42–2
Time of possession	34:14	25:46

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
Northwestern	Passing	Ryan Hilinski	27/38, 314 yards, 2 TD
	Rushing	Evan Hull	22 carries, 119 yards, TD
	Receiving	Malik Washington	8 receptions, 97 yards
Nebraska	Passing	Casey Thompson	25/42, 355 yards, TD, INT
	Rushing	Anthony Grant	19 carries, 101 yards, 2 TD
	Receiving	Isaiah Garcia-Castaneda	4 receptions, 120 yards, TD

Duke

	1	2	3	4	Total
Blue Devils	14	7	0	10	31
Wildcats	0	10	6	7	23

See also: 2022 Duke Blue Devils football team

Southern Illinois

	1	2	3	4	Total
Salukis	0	14	3	14	31
Wildcats	7	7	0	10	24

See also: 2022 Southern Illinois Salukis football team

Miami (OH)

	1	2	3	4	Total
RedHawks	0	7	0	10	17
Wildcats	7	0	0	7	14

See also: 2022 Miami RedHawks football team

At No. 11 Penn State

See also: 2022 Penn State Nittany Lions football team

Northwestern at No. 11 Penn State – Game summary

Quarter	1	2	3	4	Total
Wildcats	0	0	7	0	7
No. 11 Nittany Lions	7	7	0	3	17

at Beaver Stadium, University Park, Pennsylvania

• Date: October 1
• Game time: 3:30 p.m. EDT
• Game weather: 52 °F (11 °C), rain
• Game attendance: 105,524
• Referee: Greg Blum
• TV announcers (ESPN): Bob Wischusen, Dan Orlovsky, and Kris Budden
• ESPN box score

Game information
First quarter PSU – Brenton Strange, 20-yard TD pass from Sean Clifford, Jake Pinegar kick, 0:15 (7–0, PSU) Second quarter PSU – Nicholas Singleton, 2-yard TD run, Pinegar kick, 5:02 (14–0, PSU) Third quarter NU – Jacob Gill, 47-yard TD pass from Ryan Hilinski, Adam Stage kick, 2:10 (14–7, PSU) Fourth quarter PSU – Pinegar, 38-yard field goal, 14:29 (17–7, PSU)

Statistics	NU	PSU
First downs	12	21
Plays–yards	65–241	78–360
Rushes–yards	28–31	58–220
Passing yards	210	140
Passing: comp–att–int	15–37–1	10–20–1
Time of possession	22:32	37:28

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
Northwestern	Passing	Ryan Hilinski	15/37, 210 yards, TD, INT
	Rushing	Evan Hull	11 carries, 45 yards
	Receiving	Donny Navarro III	4 receptions, 55 yards
Penn State	Passing	Sean Clifford	10/20, 140 yards, TD, INT
	Rushing	Nicholas Singleton	21 carries, 87 yards, TD
	Receiving	Parker Washington	4 receptions, 73 yards

Wisconsin

See also: 2022 Wisconsin Badgers football team

Wisconsin vs. Northwestern – Game summary

Quarter	1	2	3	4	Total
Badgers	7	21	0	14	42
Wildcats	0	0	0	7	7

at Ryan Field, Evanston, Illinois

• Date: October 8, 2022
• Game time: 2:30 p.m.
• Game weather: 58 °F (14 °C) • Wind: W at 15 miles per hour (24 km/h) • Weather: Sunny
• Game attendance: 32,121
• Referee: Larry Smith
• TV announcers (BTN): Mark Followill (play-by-play), Brock Vereen (analyst), Rick Pizzo (sideline)

Game information

First quarter WIS – Skyler Bell 15-yard pass from Graham Mertz (Nate Van Zelst Kick), 2:25 Wisconsin 7–0, Drive: 9 plays, 98 yards, 5:00 Second quarter WIS – Chimere Dike 52-yard pass from Graham Mertz (Nate Van Zelst Kick), 14:50 Wisconsin 14–0, Drive: 3 plays, 57 yards, 0:41 WIS – Chimere Dike 21-yard pass from Graham Mertz (Nate Van Zelst Kick), 6:58 Wisconsin 21–0, Drive: 6 plays, 66 yards, 2:45 WIS – Chez Mellusi 23-yard pass from Braelon Allen (Nate Van Zelst Kick), 2:11 Wisconsin 28–0, Drive: 7 plays, 61 yards, 3:11 Third quarter No scoring Fourth quarter WIS – Chimere Dike 6-yard pass from Graham Mertz (Nate Van Zelst Kick), 14:53 Wisconsin 35–0, Drive: 4 plays, 37 yards, 1:51 NU – Anthony Tyus III 1-yard pass from Brendan Sullivan (Jack Olsen Kick), 11:08 Wisconsin 35–7, Drive: 8 plays, 78 yards, 3:43 WIS – Markus Allen 19-yard pass from Graham Mertz (Nate Van Zelst Kick), 2:28 Wisconsin 42–7, Drive: 14 plays, 84 yards, 1:51 Top passers NU – Brendan Sullivan – 11/17, 114 yards, TD WIS – Graham Mertz – 20/29, 299 yards 5 TD Top rushers NU – Brendan Sullivan – 10 carries, 33 yards WIS – Braelon Allen – 23 carries, 135 yards Top receivers NU – Bryce Kirtz – 2 receptions, 66 yards WIS – Chimere Dike – 10 receptions, 185 yards, 3 TD Top defenders NU – Garnett Hollis Jr. – 9 tackles, pass breakup WIS – Nick Herbig – 7 tackles, TFL, sack, forced fumble

At Maryland

See also: 2022 Maryland Terrapins football team

Pregame line	Over/under
MD –14.0	51

Northwestern Wildcats (1–5) at Maryland Terrapins (5–2) - Game summary

Quarter	1	2	3	4	Total
Northwestern	7	10	0	7	24
Maryland	0	10	14	7	31

at SECU Stadium • College Park, MD

• Date: October 22
• Game time: 3:30 p.m. EST/12:30 p.m. PST
• Game weather: Sunny • Temperature: 68 °F (20 °C) • Wind: 3 mph SW
• Game attendance: 31,418
• Referee: Michael Cannon
• TV announcers (BTN): Brandon Gaudin (play-by-play), Jake Butt (analyst), and Rick Pizzo (sideline)

Game information

First quarter 2:54 NW - Brendan Sullivan 1-yard run (Adam Stage kick) - 7-0 Northwestern, Drive: 3 plays, 50 yards, 0:48 Second quarter 13:43 MD - Roman Hemby 14-yard run (Chad Ryland kick) - 7-7, Drive: 12 plays, 87 yards, 4:06 10:25 NW - Adam Stage 24-yard field goal - 10-7 Northwestern, Drive: 8 plays, 68 yards, 3:18 4:50 NW - Evan Hull 10-yard pass from Brendan Sullivan (Adam Stage kick) - 17-7 Northwestern, Drive: 12 plays, 83 yards, 4:12 0:08 MD - Chad Ryland 20-yard field goal - 17-10 Northwestern, Drive: 16 plays, 86 yards, 4:40 Third quarter 10:21 MD - Roman Hemby 18-yard run (Chad Ryland kick) - 17-17, Drive: 8 plays, 54 yards, 2:54 1:07 MD - Rakim Jarrett 30-yard pass from Billy Edwards Jr. (Chad Ryland kick) - 24-17 Maryland, Drive: 9 plays, 65 yards, 4:33 Fourth quarter 3:34 NW - Andrew Clair 9-yard run (Adam Stage kick) - 24-24, Drive: 9 plays, 72 yards, 2:50 3:22 MD - Roman Hemby 75-yard run (Chad Ryland kick) - 31-24 Maryland, Drive: 1 play, 75 yards, 0:12

Statistics	Northwestern	Maryland
First downs	24	25
Plays–yards	70–358	78–423
Rushes–yards	46–215	50–257
Passing yards	143	166
Passing: comp–att–int	18–24–2	18–28–0
Time of possession	27:10	32:50

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
Northwestern	Passing	Brendan Sullivan	18/24, 143 yards, 1 TD, 2 INT
	Rushing	Evan Hull	20 carries, 119 yards
	Receiving	Malik Washington	6 receptions, 72 yards
Maryland	Passing	Billy Edwards Jr.	18/28, 166 yards, 1 TD
	Rushing	Roman Hemby	24 carries, 179 yards, 2 TD
	Receiving	Rakim Jarrett	8 receptions, 82 yards, 1 TD

At Iowa

	1	2	3	4	Total
Wildcats	0	0	7	6	13
Hawkeyes	10	10	3	10	33

See also: 2022 Iowa Hawkeyes football team

Statistics	NU	IOWA
First downs	16	24
Total yards	177	393
Rushing yards	18	173
Passing yards	159	220
Turnovers	1	0
Time of possession	28:16	31:44

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
Northwestern	Passing	Brendan Sullivan	23–30, 159 yards, 2 TD, INT
	Rushing	Evan Hull	11 carries, 32 yards
	Receiving	Bryce Kirtz	5 receptions, 35 yards
Iowa	Passing	Spencer Petras	21–30, 220 yards, TD
	Rushing	Kaleb Johnson	13 carries, 93 yards
	Receiving	Nico Ragaini	4 receptions, 66 yards

No. 2 Ohio State

See also: 2022 Ohio State Buckeyes football team

No. 2 Ohio State Buckeyes (8-0) at Northwestern Wildcats (1-7) – Game summary

Quarter	1	2	3	4	Total
No. 2 Buckeyes	0	7	7	7	21
Wildcats	7	0	0	0	7

at Ryan Field, Evanston, Illinois

• Date: November 5
• Game time: 12:00 p.m. EDT
• Game weather: Rain, windy, 62 °F (17 °C)
• Game attendance: 42,774
• Referee: Ron Snodgrass
• TV announcers (ABC): Sean McDonough (play-by-play), Todd Blackledge (analyst), Molly McGrath (sideline reporter)
• Spread: Ohio State –38 • Odds to win: Ohio State 98.4% • [1]

Game information

First quarter 6:45 NU – Evan Hull runs for 16 yards (Adam Stage kick) – Northwestern 7–0, Drive: 9 plays, 80 yards, 3:18 Second quarter 2:26 OSU – Emeka Egbuka runs for 15 yards (Noah Ruggles kick) – Tied 7–7, Drive: 6 plays, 46 yards, 2:29 Third quarter 8:44 OSU – Miyan Williams runs for 27 yards (Noah Ruggles kick) Ohio State 14–7, Drive: 6 plays, 45 yards, 2:01 Fourth quarter 4:21 OSU – Miyan Williams runs for 2 yards (Noah Ruggles kick) Ohio State 21–7, Drive: 5 plays, 62 yards, 2:06

Statistics	No. 2 Ohio State	Northwestern
First downs	13	17
Plays–yards	61–283	76–285
Rushes–yards	35–207	59–206
Passing yards	76	79
Passing: comp–att–int	10–26–0	10–17–0
Time of possession	23:34	36:26

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
No. 2 Ohio State	Passing	C. J. Stroud	10–26, 76 yards, 0 TD
	Rushing	Miyan Williams	26 carries, 111 yards, 2 TD
	Receiving	Marvin Harrison, Jr.	5 receptions, 51 yards, 0 TD
Northwestern	Passing	Brendan Sullivan	10–17, 79 yards, 0 TD
	Rushing	Evan Hull	30 carries, 122 yards, 1 TD
	Receiving	Malik Washington	6 receptions, 49 yards, 0 TD

At Minnesota

	1	2	3	4	Total
Wildcats	0	3	0	0	3
Golden Gophers	7	7	3	14	31

See also: 2022 Minnesota Golden Gophers football team

At Purdue

	1	2	3	4	Total
Wildcats	0	3	0	6	9
Boilermakers	7	7	0	3	17

See also: 2022 Purdue Boilermakers football team

Illinois

	1	2	3	4	Total
Fighting Illini	7	10	17	7	41
Wildcats	0	0	0	3	3

See also: 2022 Illinois Fighting Illini football team and Illinois-Northwestern football rivalry