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
Big Ten Championship Game, L 24–45 vs. Ohio State
Holiday Bowl, W 31–20 vs. Utah
Conference	Big Ten Conference
Division	West Division
Ranking
Coaches	No. 19
AP	No. 21
2018 record	9–5 (8–1 Big Ten)
Head coach	Pat Fitzgerald (13th season)
Offensive coordinator	Mick McCall (11th season)
Offensive scheme	Spread
Defensive coordinator	Mike Hankwitz (11th season)
Base defense	Multiple 4–3
Home stadium	Ryan Field (Capacity: 47,130)

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]

Previous season

The Wildcats finished the 2017 season 10–3, 7–2 in Big Ten play to finish in second place in the West Division. They received an invitation to the Music City Bowl where they defeated Kentucky 24–23.

Preseason

Award watch lists

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

Date	Time	Opponent	Rank	Site	TV	Result	Attendance
August 30	7:00 p.m.	at Purdue		Ross-Ade Stadium West Lafayette, IN	ESPN	W 31–27	47,410
September 8	11:00 a.m.	Duke*		Ryan Field Evanston, IL	ESPNU	L 7–21	40,654
September 15	6:30 p.m.	Akron*		Ryan Field Evanston, IL	BTN	L 34–39	40,014
September 29	3:30 p.m.	No. 14 Michigan		Ryan Field Evanston, IL	FOX	L 17–20	47,330
October 6	11:00 a.m.	at No. 20 Michigan State		Spartan Stadium East Lansing, MI	FS1	W 29–19	72,850
October 13	11:00 a.m.	Nebraska		Ryan Field Evanston, IL	ABC	W 34–31 ^OT	47,330
October 20	11:00 a.m.	at Rutgers		High Point Solutions Stadium Piscataway, NJ	BTN	W 18–15	32,514
October 27	11:00 a.m.	No. 20 Wisconsin		Ryan Field Evanston, IL	FOX	W 31–17	47,330
November 3	6:15 p.m.	No. 3 Notre Dame*		Ryan Field Evanston, IL (rivalry)	ESPN	L 21–31	47,330
November 10	2:30 p.m.	at No. 21 Iowa		Kinnick Stadium Iowa City, IA	FOX	W 14–10	66,493
November 17	11:00 a.m.	at Minnesota	No. 24	TCF Bank Stadium Minneapolis, MN	BTN	W 24–14	32,134
November 24	2:30 p.m.	Illinois	No. 20	Ryan Field Evanston, IL (rivalry)	BTN	W 24–16	37,124
December 1	7:00 p.m.	vs. No. 6 Ohio State	No. 21	Lucas Oil Stadium Indianapolis, IN (Big Ten Championship)	FOX	L 24–45	66,375
December 31	6:00 p.m.	vs. No. 20 Utah*		SDCCU Stadium San Diego, CA (Holiday Bowl)	FS1	W 31–20	47,007
*Non-conference game Homecoming Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game All times are in Central time

Game summaries

at Purdue

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

See also: 2018 Purdue Boilermakers football team

Overall record	Last meeting	Result
31–50–1	2017	NU, 23–13

Scoring summary

Quarter Time Drive Team Scoring information Score Plays Yards TOP NU PUR 1 7:58 11 64 4:42 NU Jeremy Larkin 1-yard touchdown run, Charlie Kuhbander kick good 7 0 1 5:34 5 65 1:09 NU John Moten IV 2-yard touchdown run, Charlie Kuhbander kick good 14 0 1 4:20 4 60 1:14 PUR Rondale Moore 32-yard touchdown reception from Elijah Sindelar, Spencer Evans kick good 14 7 1 1:02 3 85 1:20 PUR Rondale Moore 76-yard touchdown run, Spencer Evans kick good 14 14 2 13:37 8 59 2:25 NU 34-yard field goal by Charlie Kuhbander 17 14 2 7:06 3 55 0:58 NU T.J. Green 1-yard touchdown run, Charlie Kuhbander kick good 24 14 2 3:44 10 44 3:22 PUR 38-yard field goal by Spencer Evans 24 17 2 0:37 5 30 2:04 NU Jeremy Larkin 4-yard touchdown run, Charlie Kuhbander kick good 31 17 3 11:37 6 71 1:52 PUR D.J. Knox 2-yard touchdown run, Spencer Evans kick good 31 24 4 14:56 13 76 6:36 PUR 27-yard field goal by Spencer Evans 31 27 "TOP" = time of possession. For other American football terms, see Glossary of American football.

Duke

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

See also: 2018 Duke Blue Devils football team

Overall record	Last meeting	Result
10–9	2017	DUKE, 41–17

[14]

Akron

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

See also: 2018 Akron Zips football team

Overall record	Last meeting	Result
First meeting

Michigan

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

See also: 2018 Michigan Wolverines football team

Overall record	Last meeting	Result
15–57–2	2015	MICH, 38–0

at Michigan State

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

See also: 2018 Michigan State Spartans football team

Overall record	Last meeting	Result
18–38	2017	NU, 39–31

Nebraska

	1	2	3	4	OT	Total
Cornhuskers	7	6	7	11	0	31
Wildcats	0	14	0	17	3	34

See also: 2018 Nebraska Cornhuskers football team

Overall record	Last meeting	Result
4–7	2017	NU, 31–24

at Rutgers

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

See also: 2018 Rutgers Scarlet Knights football team

Overall record	Last meeting	Result
0–3	1991	RUTG, 22–18

Wisconsin

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

See also: 2018 Wisconsin Badgers football team

Overall record	Last meeting	Result
35–59–5	2017	WISC, 33–24

Notre Dame

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

See also: 2018 Notre Dame Fighting Irish football team and Northwestern–Notre Dame football rivalry

Overall record	Last meeting	Result
9–37–2	2014	NU, 43–40

at Iowa

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

See also: 2018 Iowa Hawkeyes football team

Overall record	Last meeting	Result
26–50–3	2017	NU, 17–10

at Minnesota

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

See also: 2018 Minnesota Golden Gophers football team

Overall record	Last meeting	Result
35–53–5	2017	NU, 39–0

Illinois

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

See also: 2018 Illinois Fighting Illini football team and Illinois–Northwestern football rivalry

Overall record	Last meeting	Result
51–55–5	2017	NU, 42–7

vs. Ohio State (Big Ten Championship Game)

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

See also: 2018 Ohio State Buckeyes football team and 2018 Big Ten Football Championship Game

Overall record	Last meeting	Result
14–61–1	2016	OSU, 24–20

vs. Utah (Holiday Bowl)

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

See also: 2018 Utah Utes football team and 2018 Holiday Bowl

Overall record	Last meeting	Result
1–1	1981	UTAH, 42–0

Rankings

Further information: 2018 NCAA Division I FBS football rankings

Ranking movements
Legend: ██ Increase in ranking. ██ Decrease in ranking.
NR = Not ranked. RV = Received votes. т = Tied with team above or below. ( ) = First place votes.

	Week
Poll	Pre	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	Final
AP	RV	RV	NR	NR	NR	NR	NR	NR	NR	RV	RV	24	20	21	RV	21
Coaches	RV	RV	NR	NR	NR	NR	NR	NR	NR	RV	RV	RV	21	21	22	19
CFP	Not released									NR	NR	22	19	21	22	Not released

Roster

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 McGowen 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 Bennett 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 Andrew 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 Pat Fitzgerald 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) Legend (C) Team captain (S) Suspended (I) Ineligible Injured Redshirt Roster Last update: August 16, 2018

Awards and honors

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

See also: 2019 NFL Draft

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

References

1. "Northwestern clinches first Big Ten division title with win at Iowa". ESPN.com. Associated Press. November 10, 2018.
2. 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. "2018 All-Big Ten Football Teams and Individual Award Recipients" (PDF). BigTen.org. Big Ten Conference. November 28, 2018. Retrieved November 28, 2018.
5. "2018 Watch List | Lott IMPACT Trophy | Honoring College Football's Defensive Best". lottimpacttrophy.org. Retrieved 2018-07-17.
6. "2018 Bednarik Award Watch List - Maxwell Football Club". Maxwell Football Club. 2018-07-16. Retrieved 2018-07-17.
7. "2018 Maxwell Award Watch List". 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. 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. 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 8 September 2018.