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2019 Northwestern

3–⁠9 (1–⁠8 Big Ten), coached by Pat Fitzgerald.

Schedule and results

Northwestern in 2019, game by game: lost at No. 25 Stanford 7–17; won vs. UNLV 30–14; lost vs. Michigan State 10–31; lost at No. 8 Wisconsin 15–24; lost at Nebraska 10–13; lost vs. No. 4 Ohio State 3–52; lost vs. No. 20 Iowa 0–20; lost at Indiana 3–34; lost vs. Purdue 22–24; won vs. Massachusetts 45–6; lost vs. No. 11 Minnesota 22–38; won at Illinois 29–10+39−49Lost 7–17 at No. 25 Stanford-10No. 25 StanfordWon 30–14 vs. UNLV+16UNLVLost 10–31 vs. Michigan State-21Michigan StateLost 15–24 at No. 8 Wisconsin-9No. 8 WisconsinLost 10–13 at Nebraska-3NebraskaLost 3–52 vs. No. 4 Ohio State-49No. 4 Ohio StateLost 0–20 vs. No. 20 Iowa-20No. 20 IowaLost 3–34 at Indiana-31IndianaLost 22–24 vs. Purdue-2PurdueWon 45–6 vs. Massachusetts+39MassachusettsLost 22–38 vs. No. 11 Minnesota-16No. 11 MinnesotaWon 29–10 at Illinois+19Illinois
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below.
DateOpponentResultElo
Aug 31at25StanfordL 7–⁠1742%
Sep 14vsUNLVW 30–⁠1481%
Sep 21vsMichigan StateL 10–⁠3161%
Sep 28at8WisconsinL 15–⁠2428%
Oct 5atNebraskaL 10–⁠1347%
Oct 18vs4Ohio StateL 3–⁠5223%
Oct 26vs20IowaL 0–⁠2041%
Nov 2atIndianaL 3–⁠3435%
Nov 9vsPurdueL 22–⁠2458%
Nov 16vsMassachusettsW 45–⁠686%
Nov 23vs11MinnesotaL 22–⁠3830%
Nov 30atIllinoisW 29–⁠1037%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Beat Illinois 29–⁠10; unranked in the final AP poll; tied for 12th in the Big Ten.

In program history: The 58th-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 133 on file).

Record
3–⁠9
Conference
1–⁠8 tied for 12th in Big Ten
AP final
Unranked
Points
196–⁠283
Coach
Pat Fitzgerald
Elo
1487 −118 this season
SP+ rating
-5.5 No. 91 of 130; offense No. 123, defense No. 27, special teams No. 120
SRS
−3.9 No. 83 of 130 in FBS
Returning
36% of last season’s EPA, No. 111 of 130
Recruiting class
No. 52 roster talent No. 49 in FBS
Offensive coordinator
Mick McCall
Defensive coordinator
Mike Hankwitz
Offense
Spread
Defense
Multiple 4–⁠3

How good, play by play

  • Offense120th of 130
  • Defense32nd of 130
  • Offense, opponent-adjusted127th of 130
  • Defense, opponent-adjusted30th of 130
EPA per playSuccessExplosivenessFBS rank
Offense-0.0737%1.05120th of 130
Defense0.0339%1.1532nd of 130
Opponent-adjusted-0.02 off
0.04 def		38% off
39% def		—127th off
30th 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
Offense2.9own 2825% allowed
Defense3.3own 3321% caused

CORE rating -3.5, 81st of 130 (offense -12.7, defense -9.2).

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 yardsAidan Smith QB770 yds
Passing touchdownsAidan Smith QB3 TD
Rushing yardsDrake Anderson RB633 yds
Rushing touchdownsAndrew Marty QB4 TD
Receiving yardsRiley Lees WR423 yds
Receiving touchdownsJ.J. Jefferson WR2 TD
TacklesBlake Gallagher LB88 tkl
SacksJoe Gaziano DL9 sacks
InterceptionsBlake Gallagher LB3 INT

Top recruits in the 2019 class

Genson Hooper-Price WR★★★No. 435
Bryce Kirtz WR★★★No. 498
Michael Jansey OLB★★★No. 547
Thomas Gordon TE★★★No. 662
Connor Foster OT★★★No. 724

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

The 2019 class by position

SignedStarsRating
Running backs13.00.849
Receivers43.00.874
Offensive line43.00.858
Defensive line33.00.863
Linebackers23.00.870
Defensive backs43.00.860
Athletes and specialists13.00.865
Whole class193.00.864

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.

Roster 108

The 2019 roster

108 players, with numbers, heights, hometowns and each player’s 2019 line; 65 have a stat line. See the roster

All-Big Ten

1 first team, 1 second team

First team

Second team

From Wikipedia’s 2019 all-conference team article, with the selectors that named each player (AP-1: the Associated Press’s first team).

2019 Big Ten standings

Conference page
TeamConf.OverallAP final
Ohio State9–⁠013–⁠13
Penn State7–⁠211–⁠29
Minnesota7–⁠211–⁠210
Wisconsin7–⁠210–⁠411
Iowa6–⁠310–⁠315
Michigan6–⁠39–⁠418
Indiana5–⁠48–⁠5
Michigan State4–⁠57–⁠6
Illinois4–⁠56–⁠7
Nebraska3–⁠65–⁠7
Purdue3–⁠64–⁠8
Maryland1–⁠83–⁠9
Northwestern1–⁠83–⁠9
Rutgers0–⁠92–⁠10

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