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American college football season
The 2018 Northwestern Wildcats football team represented Northwestern University during the 2018 NCAA Division I FBS football season . The Wildcats played their home games at Ryan Field in Evanston, Illinois and competed in the West Division of the Big Ten Conference . They were led by 13th-year head coach Pat Fitzgerald .
Northwestern began the year with a 1–3 record after winning its conference road opener against Purdue but falling to non-conference foes Duke and Akron , as well as Michigan in their conference home opener. The team won their next four games, including wins over ranked opponents Michigan State and Wisconsin , before falling to Notre Dame , which secured a winless non-conference slate. Regardless, the Wildcats clinched their first Big Ten West Division title by defeating No. 21 Iowa the following week.[ 1] 2018 Big Ten Football Championship Game , they lost to East Division champion Ohio State 45–24. The team was invited to the Holiday Bowl to play Pac-12 Conference runner-up Utah . The Wildcats won by a score of 31–20, their third consecutive bowl victory, which was a program first.[ 2] AP Poll of the season, the Wildcats were ranked 21st.
Quarterback Clayton Thorson led the team's offense, finishing with 3,183 passing yards, third most in the Big Ten Conference, to go along with 17 passing touchdowns and nine rushing touchdowns. Thorson, a fourth-year starter, finished his career as the school's all-time leading passer.[ 2] [ 3] Paddy Fisher was named first team all-conference by the coaches, while defensive back Montre Hartage was named to the first team by the media. Head coach Pat Fitzgerald received the conference's coach of the year award .[ 4]
Date Time Opponent Rank Site TV Result Attendance 7:00 p.m. at Purdue ESPN W 31–2747,410 September 8 11:00 a.m. Duke * ESPNU L 7–2140,654 September 15 6:30 p.m. Akron * BTN L 34–3940,014 September 29 3:30 p.m. No. 14 Michigan FOX L 17–2047,330 October 6 11:00 a.m. at No. 20 Michigan State FS1 W 29–1972,850 October 13 11:00 a.m. Nebraska ABC W 34–31 OT 47,330 October 20 11:00 a.m. at Rutgers BTN W 18–1532,514 October 27 11:00 a.m. No. 20 Wisconsin FOX W 31–1747,330 November 3 6:15 p.m. No. 4 Notre Dame * ESPN L 21–3147,330 November 10 2:30 p.m. at No. 21 Iowa FOX W 14–1066,493 November 17 11:00 a.m. at Minnesota No. 22 BTN W 24–1432,134 November 24 2:30 p.m. Illinois No. 19 BTN W 24–1637,124 December 1 7:00 p.m. vs. No. 6 Ohio State No. 21 FOX L 24–4566,375 6:00 p.m. vs. No. 17 Utah * No. 22 FS1 W 31–2047,007
1
2
3
4
Total
Wildcats
14
17
0
0
31
Boilermakers
14
3
7
3
27
Scoring summary
Quarter
Time
Drive
Team
Scoring information
Score
Plays
Yards
TOP
NU
PUR
1
7:58
11
64
4:42
NU
Jeremy Larkin 1-yard touchdown run, Charlie Kuhbander kick good
7
0
1
5:34
5
65
1:09
NU
John Moten IV 2-yard touchdown run, Charlie Kuhbander kick good
14
0
1
4:20
4
60
1:14
PUR
Rondale Moore 32-yard touchdown reception from Elijah Sindelar, Spencer Evans kick good
14
7
1
1:02
3
85
1:20
PUR
Rondale Moore 76-yard touchdown run, Spencer Evans kick good
14
14
2
13:37
8
59
2:25
NU
34-yard field goal by Charlie Kuhbander
17
14
2
7:06
3
55
0:58
NU
T.J. Green 1-yard touchdown run, Charlie Kuhbander kick good
24
14
2
3:44
10
44
3:22
PUR
38-yard field goal by Spencer Evans
24
17
2
0:37
5
30
2:04
NU
Jeremy Larkin 4-yard touchdown run, Charlie Kuhbander kick good
31
17
3
11:37
6
71
1:52
PUR
D.J. Knox 2-yard touchdown run, Spencer Evans kick good
31
24
4
14:56
13
76
6:36
PUR
27-yard field goal by Spencer Evans
31
27
"TOP" = time of possession . For other American football terms, see Glossary of American football .
1
2
3
4
Total
Blue Devils
0
21
0
0
21
Wildcats
7
0
0
0
7
[ 14]
1
2
3
4
Total
Zips
0
3
23
13
39
Wildcats
7
14
7
6
34
1
2
3
4
Total
No. 14 Wolverines
0
7
6
7
20
Wildcats
10
7
0
0
17
1
2
3
4
Total
Wildcats
7
7
0
15
29
No. 20 Spartans
3
3
13
0
19
1
2
3
4 OT
Total
Cornhuskers
7
6
7
11 0
31
Wildcats
0
14
0
17 3
34
1
2
3
4
Total
Wildcats
7
0
3
8
18
Scarlet Knights
0
12
3
0
15
1
2
3
4
Total
No. 20 Badgers
7
3
0
7
17
Wildcats
7
7
10
7
31
1
2
3
4
Total
No. 3 Fighting Irish
7
0
14
10
31
Wildcats
0
7
0
14
21
1
2
3
4
Total
Wildcats
0
0
7
7
14
No. 21 Hawkeyes
0
3
7
0
10
1
2
3
4
Total
No. 24 Wildcats
7
6
0
11
24
Golden Gophers
0
7
0
7
14
1
2
3
4
Total
Fighting Illini
3
3
0
10
16
No. 20 Wildcats
7
14
3
0
24
[ edit ]
1
2
3
4
Total
No. 21 Wildcats
7
0
14
3
24
No. 6 Buckeyes
14
10
7
14
45
[ edit ]
1
2
3
4
Total
No. 20 Utes
14
6
0
0
20
Wildcats
0
3
28
0
31
Ranking movementsLegend: ██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking Week Poll Pre 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 Final AP RV RV — — — — — — — RV RV 24 20 21 RV 21 Coaches RV RV — — — — — — — RV RV RV 21 21 22 19 CFP Not released — — 22 19 21 22 Not released
Individual Awards
Player
Award
Ref.
Pat Fitzgerald
Hayes–Schembechler Coach of the Year
[ 4]
All-Big Ten
Player
Position
Coaches
Media
Paddy Fisher
LB
1
2
Montre Hartage
DB
3
1
Joe Gaziano
DL
2
3
Rashawn Slater
OT
3
HM
Blake Gallagher
LB
HM
3
Cameron Green
WR
HM
HM
Clayton Thorson
QB
HM
HM
Flynn Nagel
WR
HM
HM
J.R. Pace
DB
HM
HM
Nate Hall
DB
HM
HM
HM = Honorable mention. Reference: [ 4]
Players drafted into the NFL [ edit ]
^ "Northwestern clinches first Big Ten division title with win at Iowa" . ESPN.com . Associated Press. November 10, 2018.^ a b Friedman, Caleb (January 5, 2019). "Clayton Thorson left Northwestern better than he found it" . InsideNU.com . Vox Media. ^ "2018 Big Ten Conference Year Summary" . Sports-Reference.com . Retrieved May 22, 2019 .^ a b c "2018 All-Big Ten Football Teams and Individual Award Recipients" (PDF) . BigTen.org . Big Ten Conference. November 28, 2018. Archived from the original (PDF) on November 29, 2018. Retrieved November 28, 2018 .^ "2018 Watch List | Lott IMPACT Trophy | Honoring College Football's Defensive Best" . lottimpacttrophy.org . Retrieved July 17, 2018 .^ "2018 Bednarik Award Watch List - Maxwell Football Club" . Maxwell Football Club . July 16, 2018. Archived from the original on July 16, 2018. Retrieved July 17, 2018 .^ "2018 Maxwell Award Watch List" . July 16, 2018. Archived from the original on July 16, 2018. Retrieved July 17, 2018 .^ "2018 Doak Walker Award Candidates" . July 18, 2018. Retrieved July 18, 2018 .^ "Butkus Award - 2018 Collegiate Watchlist" . The Butkus Award. July 23, 2018. Archived from the original on August 20, 2010. Retrieved July 23, 2018 .^ "2018 Bronko Nagurski Trophy Preseason Watch List" . July 24, 2018. Retrieved July 24, 2018 .^ "22018 OUTLAND TROPHY WATCH LIST UNVEILED" . July 24, 2018. Retrieved July 24, 2018 .^ "Wuerffel Trophy Unveils 2018 Watch List" . July 26, 2018. Archived from the original on July 26, 2018. Retrieved July 26, 2018 .^ "Watch List for 2018 Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Award ® Presented by A. O. Smith Announced" . August 14, 2018. Retrieved August 17, 2018 .^ "Duke vs. Northwestern - Game Summary - September 8, 2018" . ESPN . Retrieved September 8, 2018 .
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