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2020 Northwestern

7–⁠2 (6–⁠1 Big Ten), coached by Pat Fitzgerald, finished No. 10 in the AP poll.

Schedule and results

Northwestern in 2020, game by game: won vs. Maryland 43–3; won at Iowa 21–20; won vs. Nebraska 21–13; won at Purdue 27–20; won vs. No. 10 Wisconsin 17–7; lost at Michigan State 20–29; won vs. Illinois 28–10; lost vs. No. 3 Ohio State 10–22; won vs. Auburn 35–19+40−12Won 43–3 vs. Maryland+40MarylandWon 21–20 at Iowa+1IowaWon 21–13 vs. Nebraska+8NebraskaWon 27–20 at Purdue+7PurdueWon 17–7 vs. No. 10 Wisconsin+10No. 10 WisconsinLost 20–29 at Michigan State-9Michigan StateWon 28–10 vs. Illinois+18IllinoisLost 10–22 vs. No. 3 Ohio State-12No. 3 Ohio StateWon 35–19 vs. Auburn+16Auburn
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below; orange marks an upset win.
DateOpponentResultElo
Oct 24vsMarylandW 43–⁠367%
Oct 31atIowaW 21–⁠2029%
Nov 7vsNebraskaW 21–⁠1364%
Nov 14atPurdueW 27–⁠2046%
Nov 21vs10WisconsinW 17–⁠739%
Nov 28atMichigan StateL 20–⁠2959%
Dec 12vsIllinoisW 28–⁠1074%
Dec 19vs3Ohio StateBig Ten Championship GameL 10–⁠2221%
Jan 1Bowls & playoffvsAuburnCitrus BowlW 35–⁠1940%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Beat Auburn 35–⁠19 in the Citrus Bowl; No. 10 in the final AP poll; tied for 2nd in the Big Ten.

In program history: The 12th-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 133 on file).

AP poll, week by week

  1. Wk 11: 23
  2. Wk 12: 19
  3. Wk 13: 11
  4. Wk 14: 16
  5. Wk 15: 15
  6. Wk 16: 15
  7. Final: 10

Big Ten West champions6–⁠1 in the conference

Consensus All-AmericanBrandon Joseph, DB

Bobby Dodd Coach of the YearPat Fitzgerald, coach

Record
7–⁠2
Conference
6–⁠1 tied for 2nd in Big Ten
AP final
No. 10 peak No. 10
Points
222–⁠143
Coach
Pat Fitzgerald
Elo
1605 +114 this season
SP+ rating
9.0 No. 32 of 130; offense No. 99, defense No. 5
SRS
12.2 No. 13 of 77 in FBS
Returning
84% of last season’s EPA, No. 16 of 130
Recruiting class
No. 47 roster talent No. 46 in FBS
Offensive coordinator
Mike Bajakian
Defensive coordinator
Mike Hankwitz
Offense
Spread
Defense
Multiple 4–⁠3

How good, play by play

  • Offense95th of 127
  • Defense3rd of 127
  • Offense, opponent-adjusted99th of 127
  • Defense, opponent-adjusted2nd of 127
EPA per playSuccessExplosivenessFBS rank
Offense0.0440%1.1995th of 127
Defense-0.0638%1.243rd of 127
Opponent-adjusted0.06 off
-0.02 def		40% off
39% def		—99th off
2nd 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
Offense3.9own 3016% allowed
Defense2.1own 2920% caused

CORE rating 8.3, 33rd of 127 (offense -7.5, defense -15.8).

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 yardsPeyton Ramsey QB1,742 yds
Passing touchdownsPeyton Ramsey QB12 TD
Rushing yardsCam Porter RB332 yds
Rushing touchdownsCam Porter RB5 TD
Receiving yardsRamaud Chiaokhiao-Bowman WR520 yds
Receiving touchdownsRamaud Chiaokhiao-Bowman WR5 TD
TacklesPaddy Fisher LB86 tkl
SacksAndrew Leota LB4 sacks
InterceptionsBrandon Joseph S6 INT

Top recruits in the 2020 class

Peter Skoronski OC★★★★No. 113
Josh Priebe OG★★★No. 430
Cullen Coleman OLB★★★No. 529
Cameron Porter RB★★★No. 554
Garnett Hollis Jr. CB★★★No. 624

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

The 2020 class by position

SignedStarsRating
Quarterbacks13.00.852
Running backs13.00.878
Receivers23.00.850
Offensive line43.30.889
Defensive line33.00.860
Linebackers23.00.873
Defensive backs52.80.839
Athletes and specialists13.00.800
Whole class193.00.859

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 2021

The 2021 draft
Rd 1Rashawn Slater OTLos Angeles Chargers
Rd 1Greg Newsome II CBCleveland Browns
Rd 5Earnest Brown IV DELos Angeles Rams

Roster 115

The 2020 roster

115 players, with numbers, heights, hometowns and each player’s 2020 line; 60 have a stat line. See the roster

All-Big Ten

3 first team, 2 second team

First team

Second team

From Wikipedia’s 2020 all-conference team article, with the selectors that named each player (AP-1: the Associated Press’s first team).

2020 Big Ten standings

Conference page
TeamConf.OverallAP final
Ohio State5–⁠07–⁠12
Northwestern6–⁠17–⁠210
Indiana6–⁠16–⁠212
Iowa6–⁠26–⁠216
Wisconsin3–⁠34–⁠3
Penn State4–⁠54–⁠5
Minnesota3–⁠43–⁠4
Maryland2–⁠32–⁠3
Nebraska3–⁠53–⁠5
Rutgers3–⁠63–⁠6
Michigan2–⁠42–⁠4
Purdue2–⁠42–⁠4
Michigan State2–⁠52–⁠5
Illinois2–⁠62–⁠6

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