2020 Northwestern Wildcats football team

Last updated

2020 Northwestern Wildcats football
Northwestern Wildcats logo.svg
Big Ten West Division champion
Citrus Bowl champion
Citrus Bowl, W 35–19 vs. Auburn
Conference Big Ten Conference
DivisionWest Division
Ranking
CoachesNo. 10
APNo. 10
Record7–2 (6–1 Big Ten)
Head coach
Offensive coordinator Mike Bajakian (1st season)
Offensive scheme Spread
Defensive coordinator Mike Hankwitz (13th season)
Base defense Multiple 4–3
Home stadium Ryan Field
Uniform
Northwestern wildcats football unif.png
Seasons
←  2019
2021  →
2020 Big Ten Conference football standings
ConfOverall
Team W L  W L 
East Division
No. 2 Ohio State xy$^  5 –0   7 –1  
No. 12 Indiana  6 –1   6 –2  
Penn State  4 –5   4 –5  
Maryland  2 –3   2 –3  
Rutgers  3 –6   3 –6  
Michigan  2 –4   2 –4  
Michigan State  2 –5   2 –5  
West Division
No. 10 Northwestern xy 6 –1   7 –2  
No. 16 Iowa  6 –2   6 –2  
Wisconsin  3 –3   4 –3  
Minnesota  3 –4   3 –4  
Nebraska  3 –5   3 –5  
Purdue  2 –4   2 –4  
Illinois  2 –6   2 –6  
Championship: Ohio State 22, Northwestern 10
  • ^ – College Football Playoff participant
  • $ – Conference champion
  • x – Division champion/co-champions
  • y – Championship game participant
  • Note: Due to COVID-19, the Big Ten suspended the season on August 11, but later decided to begin play on October 24. In addition to the title game that was played on December 19, the conference seeded all remaining teams for "championship week" games. [1]
Rankings from AP Poll.

The 2020 Northwestern Wildcats football team represented Northwestern University during the 2020 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 15th-year head coach Pat Fitzgerald.

Contents

On August 11, 2020, the Big Ten Conference canceled all fall sports competitions due to the COVID-19 pandemic. [2] However, on September 16, the Big Ten reinstated the season, announcing an eight-game season beginning on October 24. [3]

Schedule

Northwestern had games scheduled against Tulane, Central Michigan, and Morgan State, but canceled these games on July 9 due to the Big Ten Conference's decision to play a conference-only schedule due to the COVID-19 pandemic. [4]

DateTimeOpponentRankSiteTVResultAttendance
October 24, 20206:30 p.m. Maryland
BTN W 43–30
October 312:30 p.m.at Iowa
ESPN W 21–201,432
November 711:00 a.m. Nebraska
  • Ryan Field
  • Evanston, IL
BTNW 21–130
November 146:30 p.m.at Purdue No. 23
BTNW 27–20886
November 212:30 p.m.No. 10 Wisconsin No. 19
  • Ryan Field
  • Evanston, IL
 ABC W 17–70
November 282:30 p.m.at Michigan State No. 8
ESPNL 20–290
December 1211:00 a.m. Illinois No. 14
  • Ryan Field
  • Evanston, IL
ESPN2W 28–100
December 1911:00 a.m.vs. No. 4 Ohio State No. 14
 FOX L 10–223,178
January 1, 202112:00 p.m.vs. Auburn *No. 14
ABCW 35–1913,039

[5]

Rankings

Ranking movements
Legend:██ Increase in ranking. ██ Decrease in ranking.
— = Not ranked. RV = Received votes.
Week
PollPre12345678910111213141516Final
AP RVnone——————RVRV23191116151510
Coaches —none——————RVRV23201317141410
CFP Not released8141414Not released

Game summaries

Maryland

Maryland Terrapins vs. Northwestern Wildcats – Game summary
Period1234Total
Terrapins30003
Wildcats14167643

at Ryan Field • Evanston, Illinois

  • Date: October 24, 2020
  • Game time: 6:30 p.m. CDT
  • Game attendance: 0
  • TV: BTN
Game information

At Iowa

Northwestern Wildcats vs. Iowa Hawkeyes – Game summary
Period1234Total
Wildcats0147021
Hawkeyes1730020

at Kinnick Stadium • Iowa City, Iowa

  • Date: October 31, 2020
  • Game time: 2:30 p.m. CDT
  • Game attendance: 1,432
  • TV: ESPN
Game information

Nebraska

Nebraska Cornhuskers vs. Northwestern Wildcats – Game summary
Period1234Total
Cornhuskers0130013
Wildcats707721

at Ryan Field • Evanston, Illinois

  • Date: November 7, 2020
  • Game time: 11:00 a.m. CST
  • Game attendance: 0
  • TV: BTN
Game information

At Purdue

Northwestern Wildcats vs. Purdue Boilermakers – Game summary
Period1234Total
No. 23 Wildcats7107327
Boilermakers373720

at Ross-Ade Stadium • West Lafayette, Indiana

  • Date: November 14, 2020
  • Game time: 6:30 p.m. CST
  • Game attendance: 886
  • TV: BTN
Game information

Wisconsin

Wisconsin Badgers vs. Northwestern Wildcats – Game summary
Period1234Total
No. 10 Badgers70007
No. 19 Wildcats770317

at Ryan Field • Evanston, Illinois

  • Date: November 21, 2020
  • Game time: 2:30 p.m. CST
  • Game attendance: No in-person attendance
  • TV: ABC
Game information

I've been watching Northwestern play and honestly, they got a bunch of Rece Davises out there running around.

Joey Galloway, ESPN analyst

At Michigan State

Northwestern Wildcats vs. Michigan State Spartans – Game summary
Period1234Total
No. 8 Wildcats067720
Spartans10701229

at Spartan Stadium • East Lansing, Michigan

  • Date: November 28, 2020
  • Game time: 2:30 p.m. CST
  • Game attendance: 0
  • TV: ESPN
Game information

At Minnesota (Cancelled)

Northwestern Wildcats vs. Minnesota Golden Gophers – Game summary
Period1234Total
No. 14 Wildcats00000
Golden Gophers00000

at TCF Bank Stadium • Minneapolis, Minnesota

  • Date: December 5, 2020
  • Game time: 11:00 a.m. CST
  • TV: BTN/FS1

Illinois

Illinois Fighting Illini vs. Northwestern Wildcats – Game summary
Period1234Total
Fighting Illini300710
No. 14 Wildcats01414028

at Ryan Field • Evanston, Illinois

  • Date: December 12, 2020
  • Game time: 11:00 a.m. CST
  • TV: ESPN2
Game information

Vs. Ohio State

Northwestern Wildcats vs. Ohio State Buckeyes (Big Ten Championship game) – Game summary
Period1234Total
No. 14 Wildcats730010
No. 4 Buckeyes337922

at Lucas Oil Stadium • Indianapolis, IN

  • Date: December 19, 2020
  • Game time: 11:18 a.m. CST
  • Game weather: Overcast (game played indoors)
  • Game attendance: 3,178
  • Referee: Mark Kluczynski
  • TV announcers (FOX): Gus Johnson (play-by-play), Joel Klatt (analyst), and Jenny Taft (sideline)
Game information

Vs. Auburn

Northwestern Wildcats vs. Auburn Tigers (Citrus Bowl) – Game summary
Period1234Total
Auburn067619
No. 14 Wildcats14071435

at Camping World Stadium • Orlando, FL

  • Date: January 1st, 2021
  • Game time: 12:00 p.m. CST
  • Game weather: Mostly Sunny
  • Game attendance: 13,039
  • Referee: Jerry Magallanes
  • TV announcers (ABC): Dave Flemming (play-by-play), Rod Gilmore (analyst), Paul Carcaterra (sideline reporter)
Game information

Players drafted into the NFL

RoundPickPlayerPositionNFL Club
113 Rashawn Slater OT Los Angeles Chargers
126 Greg Newsome II CB Cleveland Browns
5174 Earnest Brown IV DE Los Angeles Rams

Undrafted players

PlayerPositionNFL Club
Blake GallagherLB Baltimore Ravens
Riley LeesWR Cincinnati Bengals
Gunnar VogelOT Chicago Bears
J.R. PaceCB Atlanta Falcons
John RaineTEAtlanta Falcons
Paddy Fisher LB Carolina Panthers

Source: [6]

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References

  1. ↑ Stevens, Matthew. "Big Ten To Play A "Championship Weekend" 9th Game Of 2020 Season". Sports Illustrated. Retrieved September 17, 2020.
  2. ↑ "Big Ten Statement on 2020-21 Fall Season". bigten.org. August 11, 2020. Retrieved August 11, 2020.
  3. ↑ "The Big Ten Conference Adopts Stringent Medical Protocols; Football Season to Resume October 23-24, 2020". bigten.org. September 16, 2020. Retrieved September 16, 2020.
  4. ↑ Myerberg, Paul. "Big Ten football reduces season schedule to only conference games, maybe setting stage for others to follow". USA TODAY. Retrieved July 10, 2020.
  5. ↑ "2020 Northwestern Football Schedule". FBSchedules.com. Retrieved February 29, 2020.
  6. ↑ Bible, The NFL Draft. "2021 NFL Draft undrafted free agent tracker: Rookie UDFA signings from all 32 teams". The NFL Draft Bible on Sports Illustrated: The Leading Authority on the NFL Draft. Retrieved May 27, 2021.
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