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2009 Northwestern

8–⁠5 (5–⁠3 Big Ten), coached by Pat Fitzgerald.

Schedule and results

Northwestern in 2009, game by game: won vs. Towson 47–14; won vs. Eastern Michigan 27–24; lost at Syracuse 34–37; lost vs. Minnesota 24–35; won at Purdue 27–21; won vs. Miami (OH) 16–6; lost at Michigan State 14–24; won vs. Indiana 29–28; lost vs. No. 12 Penn State 13–34; won at No. 8 Iowa 17–10; won at Illinois 21–16; won vs. No. 17 Wisconsin 33–31; lost vs. Auburn 35–38+33−21Won 47–14 vs. Towson+33TowsonWon 27–24 vs. Eastern Michigan+3Eastern MichiganLost 34–37 at Syracuse-3SyracuseLost 24–35 vs. Minnesota-11MinnesotaWon 27–21 at Purdue+6PurdueWon 16–6 vs. Miami (OH)+10Miami (OH)Lost 14–24 at Michigan State-10Michigan StateWon 29–28 vs. Indiana+1IndianaLost 13–34 vs. No. 12 Penn State-21No. 12 Penn StateWon 17–10 at No. 8 Iowa+7No. 8 IowaWon 21–16 at Illinois+5IllinoisWon 33–31 vs. No. 17 Wisconsin+2No. 17 WisconsinLost 35–38 vs. Auburn-3Auburn
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below; orange marks an upset win.
DateOpponentResultElo
Sep 5vsTowsonW 47–⁠1490%
Sep 12vsEastern MichiganW 27–⁠2483%
Sep 19atSyracuseL 34–⁠3769%
Sep 26vsMinnesotaL 24–⁠3566%
Oct 3atPurdueW 27–⁠2149%
Oct 10vsMiami (OH)W 16–⁠685%
Oct 17atMichigan StateL 14–⁠2436%
Oct 24vsIndianaW 29–⁠2868%
Oct 31vs12Penn StateL 13–⁠3430%
Nov 7at8IowaW 17–⁠1017%
Nov 14atIllinoisW 21–⁠1653%
Nov 21vs17WisconsinW 33–⁠3149%
Jan 1Bowls & playoffvsAuburnOutback BowlL 35–⁠3851%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Lost to Auburn 38–⁠35 in the Outback Bowl; unranked in the final AP poll; tied for 4th in the Big Ten.

In program history: The 28th-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 133 on file).

Record
8–⁠5
Conference
5–⁠3 tied for 4th in Big Ten
AP final
Unranked
Points
337–⁠318
Coach
Pat Fitzgerald
Elo
1551 +5 this season
SP+ rating
-4.0 No. 76 of 120; offense No. 75, defense No. 68, special teams No. 94
SRS
−3.0 No. 73 of 120 in FBS
Recruiting class
No. 61
Offensive coordinator
Mick McCall
Defensive coordinator
Mike Hankwitz
Captains
Mike Kafka, Sherrick McManis, Brendan Smith and Corey Wootton
Offense
Spread
Defense
Multiple 4–⁠3

How good, play by play

  • Offense51st of 120
  • Defense33rd of 120
  • Offense, opponent-adjusted51st of 120
  • Defense, opponent-adjusted31st of 120
EPA per playSuccessExplosivenessFBS rank
Offense0.0542%0.9151st of 120
Defense0.0142%0.8733rd of 120
Opponent-adjusted0.05 off
0.01 def		42% off
41% def		—51st off
31st def
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. The opponent-adjusted row (offense / defense) is CollegeFootballData.com’s WEPA, which accounts for who each team played.

Drives and havoc

Points per trip inside the 40Average startHavoc
Offense-0.2own 312% allowed
Defense-0.1own 323% 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.

Leaders

Passing yardsMike Kafka QB3,430 yds
Passing touchdownsMike Kafka QB16 TD
Rushing yardsArby Fields RB302 yds
Rushing touchdownsMike Kafka QB8 TD
Receiving yardsAndrew Brewer WR925 yds
Receiving touchdownsAndrew Brewer WR9 TD
InterceptionsSherrick McManis CB5 INT

Top recruits in the 2009 class

Davon Custis SDE★★★No. 396
Damien Proby OLB★★★No. 712
Taylor Paxton OG★★★No. 1073
Anthony Battle WDE★★★No. 1073
Jeff Budzien K★★★No. 1111

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

The 2009 class by position

SignedStarsRating
Receivers13.00.832
Offensive line33.00.823
Defensive line33.00.852
Linebackers32.70.808
Defensive backs12.00.789
Athletes and specialists13.00.846
Whole class122.80.826

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.

Drafted in 2010

The 2010 draft
Rd 4Corey Wootton DEChicago Bears
Rd 4Michael Kafka QBPhiladelphia Eagles
Rd 5Sherrick McManis CBHouston Texans

Roster 100

The 2009 roster

100 players, with numbers, heights, hometowns and each player’s 2009 line; 33 have a stat line. See the roster

All-Big Ten

2 first team, 3 second team

First team

Second team

From Wikipedia’s 2009 all-conference team article, with the selectors that named each player (AP-1: the Associated Press’s first team).

2009 Big Ten standings

Conference page
TeamConf.OverallAP final
Ohio State7–⁠111–⁠25
Iowa6–⁠211–⁠27
Penn State6–⁠211–⁠29
Wisconsin5–⁠310–⁠316
Northwestern5–⁠38–⁠5
Michigan State4–⁠46–⁠7
Purdue4–⁠45–⁠7
Minnesota3–⁠56–⁠7
Illinois2–⁠63–⁠9
Michigan1–⁠75–⁠7
Indiana1–⁠74–⁠8

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