2016 Northwestern
7–6 (5–4 Big Ten), coached by Pat Fitzgerald. Share
Schedule and results
- Biggest upsetBeat No. 22 Pittsburgh 31–24Dec 28
Pittsburgh was ranked No. 22 and favored to win.
| Date | Opponent | Result | Elo |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sep 3 | vs Western Michigan | L 21–22 | 59% |
| Sep 10 | vs Illinois State | L 7–9 | 70% |
| Sep 17 | vs Duke | W 24–13 | 61% |
| Sep 24 | vs 20Nebraska | L 13–24 | 50% |
| Oct 1 | at Iowa | W 38–31 | 28% |
| Oct 15 | at Michigan State | W 54–40 | 36% |
| Oct 22 | vs Indiana | W 24–14 | 70% |
| Oct 29 | at 6Ohio State | L 20–24 | 19% |
| Nov 5 | vs 8Wisconsin | L 7–21 | 43% |
| Nov 12 | at Purdue | W 45–17 | 73% |
| Nov 19 | at Minnesota | L 12–29 | 45% |
| Nov 26 | vs Illinois | W 42–21 | 79% |
| Dec 28Bowls & playoff | vs 22PittsburghPinstripe Bowl | W 31–24 | 47% |
Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.
How it ended: Beat Pittsburgh 31–24 in the Pinstripe Bowl; unranked in the final AP poll; tied for 7th in the Big Ten.
In program history: The 14th-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 133 on file).
- Record
- 7–6
- Conference
- 5–4 tied for 7th in Big Ten
- AP final
- Unranked
- Points
- 338–289
- Coach
- Pat Fitzgerald
- Elo
- 1602 +48 this season
- SP+ rating
- 2.9 No. 61 of 128; offense No. 75, defense No. 37, special teams No. 109
- SRS
- 6.5 No. 38 of 128 in FBS
- Returning
- 70% of last season’s EPA, No. 56 of 128
- Recruiting class
- No. 52 roster talent No. 45 in FBS
- Offensive coordinator
- Mick McCall
- Defensive coordinator
- Mike Hankwitz
- Captains
- Austin Carr, Matthew Harris, Connor Mahoney and Anthony Walker
- Offense
- Spread
- Defense
- Multiple 4–3
How good, play by play
| EPA per play | Success | Explosiveness | FBS rank | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Offense | 0.09 | 41% | 1.25 | 71st of 128 |
| Defense | 0.03 | 42% | 1.16 | 26th of 128 |
| Opponent-adjusted | 0.10 off 0.04 def | 43% off 41% def | — | 65th off 29th 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 40 | Average start | Havoc | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Offense | 3.3 | own 29 | 18% allowed |
| Defense | 2.8 | own 30 | 16% caused |
CORE rating 3.2, 41st of 128 (offense -1.2, defense -4.3).
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. CORE is CollegeFootballData.com’s context- and opponent-adjusted rating (points better than an average team; lower is better on defense). From CollegeFootballData.com.
Leaders
| Passing yards | Clayton Thorson QB | 3,182 yds |
| Passing touchdowns | Clayton Thorson QB | 22 TD |
| Rushing yards | Justin Jackson RB | 1,524 yds |
| Rushing touchdowns | Justin Jackson RB | 15 TD |
| Receiving yards | Austin Carr WR | 1,247 yds |
| Receiving touchdowns | Austin Carr WR | 12 TD |
| Tackles | Godwin Igwebuike S | 108 tkl |
| Sacks | Ifeadi Odenigbo DL | 10 sacks |
| Interceptions | Montre Hartage CB | 5 INT |
Top recruits in the 2016 class
| Jeremy Larkin RB | ★★★ | No. 452 |
| Roderick Campbell Jr. CB | ★★★ | No. 519 |
| Tommy Carnifax SDE | ★★★ | No. 623 |
| Aidan Smith PRO | ★★★ | No. 684 |
| Jango Glackin OLB | ★★★ | No. 719 |
247Sports composite rankings via CollegeFootballData.com; national rank in the class.
The 2016 class by position
| Signed | Stars | Rating | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Quarterbacks | 1 | 3.0 | 0.859 |
| Running backs | 2 | 3.0 | 0.857 |
| Receivers | 3 | 3.0 | 0.850 |
| Offensive line | 4 | 3.0 | 0.851 |
| Defensive line | 3 | 3.0 | 0.845 |
| Linebackers | 3 | 3.0 | 0.846 |
| Defensive backs | 3 | 3.0 | 0.836 |
| Athletes and specialists | 1 | 3.0 | 0.853 |
| Whole class | 20 | 3.0 | 0.848 |
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 2017
The 2017 draft| Rd 5 | Anthony Walker Jr. ILB | Indianapolis Colts |
| Rd 7 | Ifeadi Odenigbo DE | Minnesota Vikings |
Roster 93
The 2016 roster93 players, with numbers, heights, hometowns and each player’s 2016 line; 56 have a stat line. See the roster
All-Big Ten
3 first team, 2 second teamFirst team
Justin JacksonRBCoaches-2; Media-1
Austin CarrWRCoaches-1; Media-1- Ifeadi OdenigboDLCoaches-2; Media-1
Second team
Anthony Walker Jr.LBCoaches-2; Media-3- Godwin IgwebuikeDBCoaches-2; Media-3
From Wikipedia’s 2016 all-conference team article, with the selectors that named each player (AP-1: the Associated Press’s first team).
2016 Big Ten standings
Conference page| Team | Conf. | Overall | AP final |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ohio State | 8–1 | 11–2 | 6 |
 Penn State | 8–1 | 11–3 | 7 |
| Wisconsin | 7–2 | 11–3 | 9 |
 Michigan | 7–2 | 10–3 | 10 |
| Nebraska | 6–3 | 9–4 | |
| Iowa | 6–3 | 8–5 | |
| Minnesota | 5–4 | 9–4 | |
| Northwestern | 5–4 | 7–6 | |
| Indiana | 4–5 | 6–7 | |
 Maryland | 3–6 | 6–7 | |
| Illinois | 2–7 | 3–9 | |
| Michigan State | 1–8 | 3–9 | |
| Purdue | 1–8 | 3–9 | |
 Rutgers | 0–9 | 2–10 |
Ordered by conference winning percentage, then conference wins. Division splits and tiebreakers aren’t applied.