2022 Northwestern

1–⁠11 (1–⁠8 Big Ten), coached by Pat Fitzgerald. Share

Schedule and results

Biggest winBeat Nebraska 31–⁠28Aug 27
By 3 points, its widest win.
Most excitingLost to Southern Illinois 24–⁠31Sep 17
The win probability swung the most, by CollegeFootballData.com’s excitement index.

Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below.

Date	Opponent	Result
Aug 27	vsNebraska	W 31–⁠28	44%
Sep 10	vsDuke	L 23–⁠31	63%
Sep 17	vsSouthern Illinois	L 24–⁠31	71%
Sep 24	vsMiami (OH)	L 14–⁠17	41%
Oct 1	at11Penn State	L 7–⁠17	13%
Oct 8	vsWisconsin	L 7–⁠42	33%
Oct 22	atMaryland	L 24–⁠31	16%
Oct 29	atIowa	L 13–⁠33	16%
Nov 5	vs2Ohio State	L 7–⁠21	8%
Nov 12	atMinnesota	L 3–⁠31	13%
Nov 19	atPurdue	L 9–⁠17	15%
Nov 26	vsIllinois	L 3–⁠41	24%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Lost to Illinois 41–⁠3; unranked in the final AP poll; tied for 13th in the Big Ten.

In program history: The 121st-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 133 on file).

Consensus All-AmericanPeter Skoronski, OL

Record: 1–⁠11
Conference: 1–⁠8 tied for 13th in Big Ten
AP final: Unranked
Points: 165–⁠340
Coach: Pat Fitzgerald
Elo: 1301 −132 this season
SP+ rating: -13.4 No. 110 of 131; offense No. 110, defense No. 72, special teams No. 127
SRS: −7.2 No. 96 of 131 in FBS
Returning: 57% of last season’s EPA, No. 68 of 130
Recruiting class: No. 48 roster talent No. 46 in FBS

Offensive coordinator: Mike Bajakian
Defensive coordinator: Jim O’Neil
Offense: Spread
Defense: 4–⁠3/3–⁠4 hybrid

How good, play by play

Offense128th of 131
Defense76th of 131
Offense, opponent-adjusted131st of 131
Defense, opponent-adjusted58th of 131

	Success	Explosiveness	FBS rank
Offense	-0.12	37%	1.12	128th of 131
Defense	0.12	46%	1.03	76th of 131
Opponent-adjusted	-0.03 off 0.09 def	40% off 44% def	—	131st off 58th 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		2.7	own 27	18% allowed
Defense		4.0	own 31	13% caused

CORE rating -10.0, 105th of 131 (offense -14.6, defense -4.5).

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	Ryan Hilinski QB	1,619 yds
Passing touchdowns	Ryan Hilinski QB	6 TD
Rushing yards	Evan Hull RB	913 yds
Rushing touchdowns	Evan Hull RB	5 TD
Receiving yards	Malik Washington WR	694 yds
Receiving touchdowns	Donny Navarro WR	2 TD
Tackles	Bryce Gallagher LB	100 tkl
Sacks	Xander Mueller LB	8 sacks
Interceptions	Xander Mueller LB	2 INT

Top recruits in the 2022 class

Reggie Fleurima WR	★★★★	No. 245
Anto Saka DE	★★★★	No. 257
Austin Firestone DL	★★★	No. 502
Deuce McGuire OT	★★★	No. 522
Braydon Brus ATH	★★★	No. 633

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

The 2022 class by position

	Signed	Stars	Rating
Quarterbacks	1	3.0	0.830
Running backs	1	3.0	0.875
Receivers	2	3.5	0.890
Offensive line	2	3.0	0.879
Defensive line	3	3.3	0.879
Linebackers	2	3.0	0.862
Defensive backs	3	3.0	0.859
Athletes and specialists	2	3.0	0.868
Whole class	16	3.1	0.870

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 2023

The 2023 draft

Rd 1	Peter Skoronski OT	Tennessee Titans
Rd 4	Adetomiwa Adebawore DE	Indianapolis Colts
Rd 5	Cameron Mitchell CB	Cleveland Browns
Rd 5	Evan Hull RB	Indianapolis Colts

Roster 108

The 2022 roster

108 players, with numbers, heights, hometowns and each player’s 2022 line; 61 have a stat line. See the roster

Transfers in 5

The 2022 portal

Luke Akers P	★★★	from UCLA
Ryan Johnson DL	★★★	from Stanford
Taishan Holmes DL	★★★	from Massachusetts
Wendell Davis LB	★★★	from Pittsburgh
Donny Navarro WR		from Illinois

Transfers out 8

Brandon Joseph S	★★★★	to Notre Dame
Jordan Mosley WR	★★★	to Mississippi State
Te-Rah Edwards DL	★★★	to Illinois
Hunter Johnson QB	★★★	to Clemson
Jaylen Rivers ATH	★★★	no new school on file
Payne He’Bert OT	★★★	to UTSA
Wyatt Blake OT	★★★	no new school on file
Jason Whittaker TE	★★	no new school on file

All-Big Ten

1 first team

First team

Peter SkoronskiOTCoaches-1; Media-1

From Wikipedia’s 2022 all-conference team article, with the selectors that named each player (AP-1: the Associated Press’s first team).

2022 Big Ten standings

Conference page

Team	Conf.	Overall	AP final
Michigan	9–⁠0	13–⁠1	3
Ohio State	8–⁠1	11–⁠2	4
Penn State	7–⁠2	11–⁠2	7
Purdue	6–⁠3	8–⁠6
Minnesota	5–⁠4	9–⁠4
Iowa	5–⁠4	8–⁠5
Illinois	5–⁠4	8–⁠5
Maryland	4–⁠5	8–⁠5
Wisconsin	4–⁠5	7–⁠6
Michigan State	3–⁠6	5–⁠7
Nebraska	3–⁠6	4–⁠8
Indiana	2–⁠7	4–⁠8
Rutgers	1–⁠8	4–⁠8
Northwestern	1–⁠8	1–⁠11

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