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2001 Northwestern

4–⁠7 (2–⁠6 Big Ten), coached by Randy Walker.

Schedule and results

Northwestern in 2001, game by game: won at UNLV 37–28; won at Duke 44–7; won vs. No. 23 Michigan State 27–26; lost at Ohio State 20–38; won vs. Minnesota 23–17; lost vs. Penn State 35–38; lost at No. 24 Purdue 27–32; lost at Indiana 21–56; lost vs. Iowa 16–59; lost vs. Bowling Green 42–43; lost at No. 10 Illinois 28–34+37−43Won 37–28 at UNLV+9UNLVWon 44–7 at Duke+37DukeWon 27–26 vs. No. 23 Michigan State+1No. 23 Michigan StateLost 20–38 at Ohio State-18Ohio StateWon 23–17 vs. Minnesota+6MinnesotaLost 35–38 vs. Penn State-3Penn StateLost 27–32 at No. 24 Purdue-5No. 24 PurdueLost 21–56 at Indiana-35IndianaLost 16–59 vs. Iowa-43IowaLost 42–43 vs. Bowling Green-1Bowling GreenLost 28–34 at No. 10 Illinois-6No. 10 Illinois
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below.
DateOpponentResultElo
Sep 7atUNLVW 37–⁠2847%
Sep 22atDukeW 44–⁠773%
Sep 29vs23Michigan StateW 27–⁠2657%
Oct 6atOhio StateL 20–⁠3841%
Oct 13vsMinnesotaW 23–⁠1768%
Oct 20vsPenn StateL 35–⁠3871%
Oct 27at24PurdueL 27–⁠3231%
Nov 3atIndianaL 21–⁠5658%
Nov 10vsIowaL 16–⁠5961%
Nov 17vsBowling GreenL 42–⁠4352%
Nov 22at10IllinoisL 28–⁠3414%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Lost to Illinois 34–⁠28; unranked in the final AP poll; tied for 10th in the Big Ten.

In program history: The 80th-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 133 on file).

AP poll, week by week

  1. Wk 1: 16
  2. Wk 2: 16
  3. Wk 3: 16
  4. Wk 6: 16
  5. Wk 7: 14

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 2001.

Record
4–⁠7
Conference
2–⁠6 tied for 10th in Big Ten
AP final
Unranked peak No. 14
Points
320–⁠378
Coach
Randy Walker
Elo
1429 −98 this season
SP+ rating
-1.7 No. 73 of 117; offense No. 30, defense No. 90
SRS
−0.8 No. 67 of 117 in Division I-A
Recruiting class
No. 26
Offensive coordinator
Kevin Wilson
Captains
Napoleon Harris and Zak Kustok
Offense
Spread
Defense
4–⁠3

Drives and havoc

Points per trip inside the 40Average startHavoc
Offense0.0own 30— allowed
Defense0.0own 35— caused

A trip inside the 40 is a drive that reaches the opponent’s 40-yard line; points per trip is how many it scored on average (allowed, on defense). Average start is where drives began (the defense’s line is where its opponents started). Havoc is the share of plays ending in a tackle for loss, a forced fumble, an interception or a pass broken up. From CollegeFootballData.com.

Top recruits in the 2001 class

Brett Basanez PRO★★★★No. 108
Thomas Derricks DT★★★★No. 119

247Sports composite rankings via CollegeFootballData.com; national rank in the class.

The 2001 class by position

SignedStarsRating
Quarterbacks14.00.967
Defensive line14.00.964
Whole class24.00.965

High-school signees by position group, with their average stars and 247Sports composite rating (out of 1), via CollegeFootballData.com. Athletes are signees with no set position.

Drafted in 2002

The 2002 draft
Rd 1Napoleon Harris LBOakland Raiders
Rd 4Kevin Bentley LBCleveland Browns
Rd 5Sam Simmons WRMiami Dolphins

All-Big Ten

2 second team

Second team

From Wikipedia’s 2001 all-conference team article, with the selectors that named each player (AP-1: the Associated Press’s first team).

2001 Big Ten standings

Conference page
TeamConf.OverallAP final
Illinois7–⁠110–⁠212
Michigan6–⁠28–⁠420
Ohio State5–⁠37–⁠5
Iowa4–⁠47–⁠5
Purdue4–⁠46–⁠6
Penn State4–⁠45–⁠6
Indiana4–⁠45–⁠6
Michigan State3–⁠57–⁠5
Wisconsin3–⁠55–⁠7
Northwestern2–⁠64–⁠7
Minnesota2–⁠64–⁠7

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