2007 Northwestern
6–6 (3–5 Big Ten), coached by Pat Fitzgerald. Share
Schedule and results
- Biggest winBeat Northeastern 27–0Sep 1
By 27 points, its widest win.
| Date | Opponent | Result | Elo |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sep 1 | vsNortheastern | W 27–0 | 79% |
| Sep 8 | vs Nevada | W 36–31 | 54% |
| Sep 15 | vs Duke | L 14–20 | 84% |
| Sep 22 | at 8Ohio State | L 7–58 | 14% |
| Sep 29 | vs Michigan | L 16–28 | 34% |
| Oct 6 | at Michigan State | W 48–41 | 30% |
| Oct 13 | vs Minnesota | W 49–48 | 61% |
| Oct 19 | at Eastern Michigan | W 26–14 | 65% |
| Oct 27 | at Purdue | L 17–35 | 29% |
| Nov 3 | vs Iowa | L 17–28 | 56% |
| Nov 10 | vs Indiana | W 31–28 | 52% |
| Nov 17 | at 20Illinois | L 22–41 | 28% |
Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.
How it ended: Lost to Illinois 41–22; unranked in the final AP poll; tied for 7th in the Big Ten.
In program history: The 71st-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 133 on file).
- Record
- 6–6
- Conference
- 3–5 tied for 7th in Big Ten
- AP final
- Unranked
- Points
- 310–372
- Coach
- Pat Fitzgerald
- Elo
- 1454 −28 this season
- SP+ rating
- -2.4 No. 70 of 120; offense No. 53, defense No. 75, special teams No. 83
- SRS
- −5.1 No. 80 of 119 in FBS
- Recruiting class
- No. 47
- Offensive coordinator
- Garrick McGee
- Defensive coordinator
- Greg Colby
- Captains
- Tonjua Jones, Adam Kadela, Reggie McPherson and Trevor Rees
- Offense
- Multiple
- Defense
- 4–3
How good, play by play
| EPA per play | Success | Explosiveness | FBS rank | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Offense | 0.07 | 41% | 0.98 | 35th of 119 |
| Defense | 0.06 | 41% | 1.02 | 75th of 119 |
How these are measured
Play-weighted averages over games against FBS opponents; raw numbers, not adjusted for the strength of the opponent. EPA (expected points added) measures how much each play changed the expected score; success rate counts plays that kept the offense on schedule; explosiveness is the average EPA on successful plays. Lower is better on defense. Ranked by EPA per play among teams that were FBS that season.
Drives and havoc
| Points per trip inside the 40 | Average start | Havoc | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Offense | 0.0 | own 27 | 3% allowed |
| Defense | -0.2 | own 32 | 2% 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 2007 class
| Michael Bolden CB | ★★★ | No. 467 |
| Josh Rooks TE | ★★★ | No. 467 |
| Jordan Mabin CB | ★★★ | No. 602 |
| Cameron Joplin TE | ★★★ | No. 768 |
| Kevin Watt WDE | ★★★ | No. 850 |
247Sports composite rankings via CollegeFootballData.com; national rank in the class.
The 2007 class by position
| Signed | Stars | Rating | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Running backs | 1 | 3.0 | 0.818 |
| Receivers | 3 | 3.0 | 0.849 |
| Offensive line | 4 | 3.0 | 0.820 |
| Defensive line | 1 | 3.0 | 0.837 |
| Linebackers | 1 | 2.0 | 0.767 |
| Defensive backs | 3 | 2.7 | 0.830 |
| Whole class | 13 | 2.8 | 0.826 |
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.
2007 Big Ten standings
Conference page| Team | Conf. | Overall | AP final |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ohio State | 7–1 | 11–2 | 5 |
| Michigan | 6–2 | 9–4 | 18 |
| Illinois | 6–2 | 9–4 | 20 |
 Wisconsin | 5–3 | 9–4 | 24 |
 Penn State | 4–4 | 9–4 | |
| Iowa | 4–4 | 6–6 | |
| Purdue | 3–5 | 8–5 | |
| Michigan State | 3–5 | 7–6 | |
| Indiana | 3–5 | 7–6 | |
 Northwestern | 3–5 | 6–6 | |
| Minnesota | 0–8 | 1–11 |
Ordered by conference winning percentage, then conference wins. Division splits and tiebreakers aren’t applied.