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1995 Northwestern

10–⁠2 (8–⁠0 Big Ten), coached by Gary Barnett, finished No. 8 in the AP poll.

Schedule and results

Northwestern in 1995, game by game: won at No. 9 Notre Dame 17–15; lost vs. Miami (OH) 28–30; won vs. Air Force 30–6; won vs. Indiana 31–7; won at No. 7 Michigan 19–13; won at Minnesota 27–17; won vs. No. 24 Wisconsin 35–0; won at Illinois 17–14; won vs. No. 12 Penn State 21–10; won vs. Iowa 31–20; won at Purdue 23–8; lost vs. No. 17 USC 32–41+35−9Won 17–15 at No. 9 Notre Dame+2No. 9 Notre DameLost 28–30 vs. Miami (OH)-2Miami (OH)Won 30–6 vs. Air Force+24Air ForceWon 31–7 vs. Indiana+24IndianaWon 19–13 at No. 7 Michigan+6No. 7 MichiganWon 27–17 at Minnesota+10MinnesotaWon 35–0 vs. No. 24 Wisconsin+35No. 24 WisconsinWon 17–14 at Illinois+3IllinoisWon 21–10 vs. No. 12 Penn State+11No. 12 Penn StateWon 31–20 vs. Iowa+11IowaWon 23–8 at Purdue+15PurdueLost 32–41 vs. No. 17 USC-9No. 17 USC
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below; orange marks an upset win.
DateOpponentResultElo
Sep 2at9Notre DameW 17–⁠1521%
Sep 16vsMiami (OH)L 28–⁠3050%
Sep 23vsAir ForceW 30–⁠638%
Sep 30vsIndianaW 31–⁠752%
Oct 7at7MichiganW 19–⁠1318%
Oct 14atMinnesotaW 27–⁠1751%
Oct 21vs24WisconsinW 35–⁠052%
Oct 28atIllinoisW 17–⁠1448%
Nov 4vs12Penn StateW 21–⁠1041%
Nov 11vsIowaW 31–⁠2073%
Nov 18atPurdueW 23–⁠864%
Jan 1Bowls & playoffvs17USCRose BowlL 32–⁠4151%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Lost to USC 41–⁠32 in the Rose Bowl; No. 8 in the final AP poll; Big Ten champions.

In program history: The 6th-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 133 on file).

AP poll, week by week

  1. Wk 4: 25
  2. Wk 7: 25
  3. Wk 8: 14
  4. Wk 9: 11
  5. Wk 10: 8
  6. Wk 11: 6
  7. Wk 12: 5
  8. Wk 13: 5
  9. Wk 14: 4
  10. Wk 15: 3
  11. Wk 16: 3
  12. Final: 8

Players on this team

Before 2004 our records hold honors and the draft; these are the players whose college years here, from their Wikipedia articles or their honors, include 1995.

Big Ten champions8–⁠0 in the conference

Heisman voteDarnell Autry, fourth

Bronko Nagurski TrophyPat Fitzgerald, LB; also the Bednarik

Consensus All-AmericanPat Fitzgerald, LB

Eddie Robinson Coach of the YearGary Barnett, coach; also the Walter Camp Coach, Bear Bryant Award and Bobby Dodd Award

Record
10–⁠2
Conference
8–⁠0 first in Big Ten
AP final
No. 8 peak No. 3
Points
311–⁠181
Coach
Gary Barnett
Elo
1641 +227 this season
SP+ rating
24.7 No. 8 of 107; offense No. 24, defense No. 1
SRS
20.7 No. 7 of 108 in Division I-A
Recruiting class
—
Offensive coordinator
Greg Meyer
Defensive coordinator
Ron Vanderlinden
Captains
William Bennett, Rob Johnson and Sam Valenzisi

All-Big Ten

6 first team, 6 second team

First team

  • Darnell AutryRBCoaches-1; Media-1
  • Rob JohnsonCCoaches-2; Media-1
  • Ryan PadgettOGCoaches-1; Media-1
  • Pat FitzgeraldLBCoaches-1; Media-1
  • Chris MartinDBCoaches-1; Media-1
  • Sam ValenzisiKCoaches-1; Media-1

Second team

From Wikipedia’s 1995 all-conference team article, with the selectors that named each player (AP-1: the Associated Press’s first team).

1995 Big Ten standings

Conference page
TeamConf.OverallAP final
Northwestern8–⁠010–⁠28
Ohio State7–⁠111–⁠26
Penn State5–⁠39–⁠313
Michigan5–⁠39–⁠417
Michigan State4–⁠3–⁠16–⁠5–⁠1
Iowa4–⁠48–⁠425
Illinois3–⁠4–⁠15–⁠5–⁠1
Wisconsin3–⁠4–⁠14–⁠5–⁠2
Purdue2–⁠5–⁠14–⁠6–⁠1
Minnesota1–⁠73–⁠8
Indiana0–⁠82–⁠9

Ordered by conference winning percentage, then conference wins. Division splits and tiebreakers aren’t applied.