2012 Northwestern Wildcats football team

American college football season

2012 Northwestern Wildcats football
Gator Bowl champion
Gator Bowl, W 34–20 vs. Mississippi State
ConferenceBig Ten Conference
DivisionLegends Division
Ranking
CoachesNo. 16
APNo. 17
Record10–3 (5–3 Big Ten)
Head coach
  • Pat Fitzgerald (7th season)
Offensive coordinatorMick McCall (5th season)
Offensive schemeSpread
Defensive coordinatorMike Hankwitz (5th season)
Base defenseMultiple 4–3
Captains
  • Brian Arnfelt
  • Kain Colter
  • Brian Mulroe
  • David Nwabuisi
Home stadiumRyan Field
Seasons
← 2011
2013 →
2012 Big Ten Conference football standings
  • v
  • t
  • e
 Conf Overall
Team   W   L     W   L  
Legends Division
No. 25 Nebraska xy   7 – 1     10 – 4  
No. 24 Michigan   6 – 2     8 – 5  
No. 17 Northwestern   5 – 3     10 – 3  
Michigan State   3 – 5     7 – 6  
Iowa   2 – 6     4 – 8  
Minnesota   2 – 6     6 – 7  
Leaders Division
No. 3 Ohio State* x   8 – 0     12 – 0  
Penn State*   6 – 2     8 – 4  
Wisconsin y$   4 – 4     8 – 6  
Purdue   3 – 5     6 – 7  
Indiana   2 – 6     4 – 8  
Illinois   0 – 8     2 – 10  
Championship: Wisconsin 70, Nebraska 31
  • $ – BCS representative as conference champion
  • x – Division champion/co-champions
  • * Ohio State and Penn State ineligible for conference championship game and post-season bowl games due to NCAA sanctions.
Rankings from AP Poll

The 2012 Northwestern Wildcats football team represented Northwestern University during the 2012 NCAA Division I FBS football season. Pat Fitzgerald, in his seventh season at Northwestern, was the team's head coach. The Wildcats home games were played at Ryan Field in Evanston, Illinois. They were members of the Legends Division of the Big Ten Conference. The Wildcats won their first bowl game since the 1949 Rose Bowl against California by defeating Mississippi State in the Gator Bowl 34–20.[1] They finished the season 10–3 (5–3 Big Ten).

Preseason

Recruiting

Northwestern signed 21 recruits to letters-of-intent on National Signing Day on February 1, 2012.[2]

Transfers

Wide receiver Kyle Prater transferred to Northwestern from USC on January 28, 2012, after being injured during most of the 2011 season and redshirting in 2010.[3] The Wildcats requested a waiver to allow Prater to play immediately in 2012, as he transferred to a school close to home in order to care for a family member.[4] Sophomore running back Adonis Smith, who was thought to be a candidate for the starting running back job in 2012 after rushing for 266 yards in 2011, announced his intent to transfer from Northwestern on February 22.[5] He decided to transfer to UNLV.[6] Defensive back Quinn Evans transferred to Northwestern after graduating from Stanford in June 2012. After missing the entire 2011 season because of injury, he chose to attend Northwestern as a graduate student with a year of college football eligibility remaining.[7]

Schedule

The schedule is as follows:[8]

DateTimeOpponentRankSiteTVResultAttendance
September 111:00 amat Syracuse*ESPN2W 42–4137,830[9]
September 87:00 pmVanderbilt*
BTNW 23–1331,644[10]
September 152:30 pmBoston College*
  • Ryan Field
  • Evanston, IL
BTNW 22–1332,597[11]
September 222:30 pmSouth Dakota*
  • Ryan Field
  • Evanston, IL
BTNW 38–728,641[12]
September 2911:00 amIndiana
  • Ryan Field
  • Evanston, IL
BTNW 44–2933,129[13]
October 611:00 amat Penn StateNo. 24ESPNL 28–3995,796[14]
October 1311:00 amat MinnesotaESPN2W 21–1349,651[15]
October 202:30 pmNebraska
  • Ryan Field
  • Evanston, IL
ABC/ESPN2L 28–2947,330[16]
October 2711:00 amIowadagger
  • Ryan Field
  • Evanston, IL
ESPN2W 28–1744,121[17]
November 1011:00 amat MichiganNo. 24ESPNL 31–38 OT112,510[18]
November 1711:00 amat Michigan State
ESPN2W 23–2075,101[19]
November 2411:00 amIllinois
BTNW 50–1432,415[20]
January 111:00 amvs. Mississippi StateNo. 21ESPN2W 34–2048,612[21]
  • *Non-conference game
  • daggerHomecoming
  • Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game
  • All times are in Central time

Rankings

Ranking movements
Legend: ██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking
— = Not ranked RV = Received votes
Week
PollPre1234567891011121314Final
AP—RVRVRVRV24RVRV—RVRVRVRV222117
Coaches—RVRVRVRV22RVRVRVRV21RVRV201716
HarrisNot releasedRVRVRVRV24RVRV2120Not released
BCSNot released———24——2220Not released

Game summaries

Syracuse

1 234Total
• Northwestern 7 14147 42
Syracuse 6 71414 41
  • Date: September 1
  • Location: Carrier Dome, Syracuse, NY
  • Game start: 11:00 a.m. CDT
  • Elapsed time: 4:00
  • Game attendance: 37,830
  • Game weather: 80 °F (27 °C) at kickoff, reaching 95 °F (35 °C) inside the dome by the 2nd half
  • Referee: John O'Neill
  • TV announcers (ESPN2): Beth Mowins (Play-by-play), Joey Galloway (Color) & Jenn Brown (Sideline)
Scoring summary
110:47SYRRoss Krautman 22 yd field goalSYR 0–3
13:57SYRRoss Krautman 33 yd field goalSYR 0–6
10:23NUVenric Mark 82 yd punt return (Jeff Budzien kick)NU 7–6
210:58SYRPrince-Tyson Gulley 14 yd run (Ross Krautman kick)SYR 7–13
26:53NUVenric Mark 21 yd pass from Kain Colter (Jeff Budzien kick)NU 14–13
23:49NUChristian Jones 14 yd pass from Kain Colter (Jeff Budzien kick)NU 21–13
313:32NUChi Chi Ariguzo 33 yd fumble return (Jeff Budzien kick)NU 28–13
37:34NUKain Colter 1 yd run (Jeff Budzien kick)NU 35–13
32:21SYRMarcus Sales 7 yd pass from Ryan Nassib (Ross Krautman kick)NU 35–20
30:00SYRJeremiah Kobena 50 yd pass from Ryan Nassib (Ross Krautman kick)NU 35–27
46:42SYRJeremiah Kobena 7 yd pass from Ryan Nassib (two-point conversion failed)NU 35–33
42:40SYRChristopher Clark 20 yd pass from Ryan Nassib (Prince-Tyson Gulley run for two-point conversion)SYR 35–41
40:44NUDemetrius Fields 9 yd pass from Trevor Siemian (Jeff Budzien kick)Nu 42–41

The game got off to a slow start with some notable miscues on Northwestern's special teams play. All of which was quickly forgotten when Venric Mark scored an 82-yard touchdown on a punt return, the first return touchdown of his career. Northwestern continued to dominate offensively on the work of Mark and Kain Colter, taking a 35–13 lead in the middle of the 3rd quarter. The Orange then scored 4 straight touchdowns to lead 41–35 by attacking the young Northwestern secondary with deep passes to the outside. With under 3 minutes left and needing a score to win, Northwestern changed quarterbacks. Trevor Siemian came on to lead a 75-yard drive that scored the go-ahead touchdown. Northwestern survived to win and remain 7–0 in season openers under Pat Fitzgerald.

Vanderbilt

1 234Total
Vanderbilt 7 303 13
• Northwestern 3 0317 23
  • Date: September 8
  • Location: Ryan Field, Evanston, IL
  • Game start: 7:03 p.m. CDT
  • Elapsed time: 3:15
  • Game attendance: 31,644
  • Game weather: 71 °F (22 °C), mostly cloudy, wind 9 mph (14 km/h) NW
  • Referee: Matt Laeffler
  • TV announcers (BTN): Eric Collins (Play-by-play), Derek Rackley (Color) & Lisa Byington (Sideline)
Scoring summary
110:11VandyJordan Matthews 22 yd pass from Jordan Rodgers (Carey Spear kick)Vandy 7–0
17:14NUJeff Budzien 40 yd field goalVandy 7–3
212:38VandyCarey Spear 32 yd field goalVandy 10–3
310:16NUJeff Budzien 37 yd field goalVandy 10–6
49:28NUVenric Mark 7 yd run (Jeff Budzien kick)NU 10–13
45:21VandyCarey Spear 26 yd field goalTied 13–13
42:01NUJeff Budzien 18 yd field goalNU 13–16
41:24NUKain Colter 29 yd run (Jeff Budzien kick)NU 13–23

Boston College

1 234Total
Boston College 3 703 13
• Northwestern 6 637 22
  • Date: September 15
  • Location: Ryan Field, Evanston, IL
  • Game start: 2:43 p.m. CDT
  • Elapsed time: 3:19
  • Game attendance: 32,597
  • Game weather: 75 °F (24 °C), sunny, wind 8 mph (13 km/h) NE
  • Referee: Gary Patterson
  • TV announcers (BTN): Josh Lewin (Play-by-play), Jon Jansen (Color) & Evan Fitzgerald (Sideline)
Scoring summary
112:25NUJeff Budzien 42 yd field goalNU 0–3
18:03BCNate Freese 21 yd field goalTied 3–3
13:36NUJeff Budzien 20 yd field goalNU 3–6
213:21NUJeff Budzien 29 yd field goalNU 3–9
21:38BCJohnathan Coleman 31 yd pass from Chase Rettig (Nate Freese kick)BC 10–9
20:02NUJeff Budzien 41 yd field goalNU 10–12
32:50NUJeff Budzien 19 yd field goalNU 10–15
414:50BCNate Freese 34 yd field goalNU 13–15
41:37NUMike Trumpy 27 yd run (Jeff Budzien kick)NU 13–22

South Dakota

1 234Total
South Dakota 0 070 7
• Northwestern 14 1473 38
  • Date: September 22
  • Location: Ryan Field, Evanston, IL
  • Game start: 2:42 p.m. CDT
  • Elapsed time: 2:58
  • Game attendance: 28,641
  • Game weather: 55 °F (13 °C), mostly sunny, wind 15 mph (24 km/h) WNW
  • Referee: Todd Geerlings
  • TV announcers (BTN): Wayne Larrivee (Play-by-play), Jon Jansen (Color) & Evan Fitzgerald (Sideline)
Scoring summary
111:29NUVenric Mark 3 yd run (Jeff Budzien kick)NU 0–7
17:28NUTyris Jones 5 yd run (Jeff Budzien kick)NU 0–14
28:16NUVenric Mark 6 yd run (Jeff Budzien kick)NU 0–21
20:52NUVenric Mark 4 yd run (Jeff Budzien kick)NU 0–28
311:33NUTreyvon Green 33 yd run (Jeff Budzien kick)NU 0–35
34:10SDJosh Vander Maten 4 yd run (Kevin Robb kick)NU 7–35
410:00NUSteve Flaherty 39 yd field goalNU 7–38

Indiana

1 234Total
Indiana 0 0218 29
• Northwestern 7 13177 44
  • Date: September 29
  • Location: Ryan Field, Evanston, IL
  • Game start: 11:01 a.m. CDT
  • Elapsed time: 3:18
  • Game attendance: 33,129
  • Game weather: 66 °F (19 °C), partly cloudy, wind 6 mph (9.7 km/h) WNW
  • Referee: Mike Cannon
  • TV announcers (BTN): Kevin Kugler (Play-by-play) & Chris Martin (Color)
Scoring summary
15:52NUKain Colter 8 yd run (Jeff Budzien kick)NU 0–7
211:41NUJeff Budzien 44 yd field goal)NU 0–10
27:59NUKain Colter 8 yd run (Jeff Budzien kick)NU 0–17
20:56NUJeff Budzien 34 yd field goal)NU 0–20
311:52NUKain Colter 15 yd run (Jeff Budzien kick)NU 0–27
39:24IUStephen Houston 20 yd run (Mitch Ewald kick)NU 7–27
37:28IUKofi Hughes 35 yd pass from Nate Sudfeld (Mitch Ewald kick)NU 14–27
34:43NUVenric Mark 1 yd run (Jeff Budzien kick)NU 14–34
34:29IUTevin Coleman 96 yd kickoff return (Mitch Ewald kick)NU 21–34
31:16NUJeff Budzien 29 yd field goalNU 21–37
414:06IUD'Angelo Roberts 2 yd run (Kofi Hughes run for two-point conversion)NU 29–37
45:07NUKain Colter 22 yd run (Jeff Budzien kick)NU 29–44

Penn State

1 234Total
#24 Northwestern 0 14140 28
• Penn State 3 7722 39

Roster

2012 Northwestern Wildcats roster[27][28]

Quarterbacks

  • 2 Kain Colter (C) – Junior
  • 10 Zack Oliver – Redshirt Freshman
  • 13 Trevor Siemian – Sophomore
  • 15 P. J. Carollo – Redshirt Freshman
  • 18 Christian Salem – Freshman

Running backs

  • 3 Tyris Jones – Senior
  • 5 Venric Mark – Junior
  • 20 Malin Jones – Freshman
  • 21 Jordan Perkins – Freshman
  • 22 Treyvon Green – Sophomore
  • 25 Jordan Perkins – Redshirt Freshman
  • 27 Mike Panico – Freshman
  • 28 Tim Hanrahan – Sophomore
  • 29 Stephen Buckley – Freshman
  • 32 Mike Trumpy – Junior
  • 34 Michael Odom – Freshman

Wide receivers

  • 6 Tony Jones – Sophomore
  • 8 Demetrius Fields – Senior
  • 8 Jack Mitchell – Freshman
  • 11 Pierre Youngblood-Ary – Redshirt Freshman
  • 12 Cermak Bland – Redshirt Freshman
  • 14 Christian Jones – Sophomore
  • 17 Rashad Lawrence – Junior
  • 19 Cameron Dickerson – Redshirt Freshman
  • 21 Kyle Prater – Sophomore
  • 80 Mike Jensen – Junior
  • 82 Andrew Scanlan – Freshman
  • 83 Mike McHugh – Freshman
  • 84 Drew Moulton – Junior
  • 89 Austin Carr – Freshman

Superbacks

  • 40 Dan Vitale – Freshman
  • 41 Doug Diedrick – Redshirt Freshman
  • 43 Tim Riley – Junior
  • 81 Evan Watkins – Junior
  • 85 Mark Szott – Redshirt Freshman
  • 86 Jack Schwaba – Freshman
  • 87 Brian Smith – Junior
  

Offensive line

  • 53 Geoff Mogus – Redshirt Freshman
  • 57 Matt Frazier – Redshirt Freshman
  • 61 Alex Pietrzak – Redshirt Freshman
  • 62 Taylor Paxton – Junior
  • 63 Ian Park – Freshman
  • 65 Hayden Baker – Sophomore
  • 66 Brandon Vitabile – Sophomore
  • 70 Patrick Ward – Senior
  • 71 Shane Mertz – Redshirt Freshman
  • 72 Brian Mulroe (C) – Senior
  • 73 Adam DePietro – Freshman
  • 74 Chuck Porcelli – Senior
  • 75 Jack Konopka – Sophomore
  • 76 Eric Olson – Freshman
  • 77 Kenton Playko – Freshman
  • 79 Neal Deiters – Senior
  • 81 Paul Jorgensen – Sophomore

Defensive line

  • 1 Bo Cisek – Senior
  • 67 Sean McEvilly – Sophomore
  • 68 Connor Mahoney – Freshman
  • 88 Quentin Williams – Senior
  • 89 Max Chapman – Redshirt Freshman
  • 90 C. J. Robbins – Redshirt Freshman
  • 91 Brian Arnfelt (C) – Senior
  • 92 Will Hampton – Junior
  • 93 Greg Kuhar – Freshman
  • 94 Dean Lowry – Freshman
  • 95 Davon Custis – Junior
  • 96 Anthony Battle – Junior
  • 97 Tyler Scott – Junior
  • 98 Deonte Gibson – Redshirt Freshman
  • 99 Chance Carter – Sophomore
  

Linebackers

  • 18 Ifeadi Odenigbo – Freshman
  • 33 David Nwabuisi (C) – Senior
  • 35 Eric Wilson – Freshman
  • 44 Chi Chi Ariguzo – Sophomore
  • 45 Collin Ellis – Sophomore
  • 46 Damien Proby – Junior
  • 48 Roderick Goodlow – Senior
  • 50 Timmy Vernon – Junior
  • 51 Jaylen Prater – Freshman
  • 54 Eric Hauser – Freshman
  • 55 Drew Smith – Redshirt Freshman
  • 56 Will Studlien – Junior

Defensive backs

  • 3 Sean Oliver – Freshman
  • 4 Jarrell Williams – Redshirt Freshman
  • 9 Jimmy Hall – Sophomore
  • 15 Daniel Jones – Sophomore
  • 16 Davion Fleming – Junior
  • 23 Nick VanHoose – Redshirt Freshman
  • 24 Ibraheim Campbell – Sophomore
  • 36 Mike Eshun – Sophomore
  • 39 Joe Cannon – Sophomore
  • 47 Troy Sheppard – Freshman

Cornerbacks

  • 2 Dwight White – Freshman
  • 13 C.J. Bryant – Sophomore
  • 22 Demetrius Dugar – Senior
  • 31 Quinn Evans – Senior

Safeties

  • 7 Hunter Bates – Senior
  • 10 Traveon Henry – Freshman
  • 26 Terrance Brown – Freshman
  • 27 Jared Carpenter – Senior
  • 42 Joseph Jones – Freshman
  

Punters

  • 31 Chris Gradone – Redshirt Freshman
  • 39 Zak Kucera – Freshman
  • 49 Brandon Williams – Junior

Punters/kickers

  • 33 Matt Micucci – Freshman

Kickers

  • 34 Steve Flaherty – Senior
  • 37 Jeff Budzien – Junior
  • 38 Arthur Omilian – Redshirt Freshman

Long snappers

  • 52 Chris Fitzpatrick – Freshman
  • 59 Pat Hickey – Junior
Head coach
Coordinators/Assistant coaches
  • Randy Bates – Linebackers coach
  • Jerry brown – Assistant head coach/defensive backs coach
  • Adam Cushing – Offensive line coach
  • Mike Hankwitz – Defensive coordinator
  • Bob heffner – Superbacks coach
  • Marty long – Defensive line coach
  • Matt macpherson – Running backs coach/recruiting coordinator
  • Mick mccall – Offensive coordinator/QBs coach
  • Dennis springer – Wide receivers coach
Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • Redshirt Redshirt

References

  1. ^ Greenstein, Teddy (January 1, 2013). "Northwestern Wins Gator Bowl to End Drought". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved January 1, 2013.
  2. ^ Taylor, John (February 1, 2012). "Northwestern announces 2012 recruiting class". NBC Sports. Retrieved February 22, 2012.
  3. ^ "WR Prater transfers from So. Cal to Northwestern". Sports Illustrated. January 28, 2012. Retrieved February 22, 2012.
  4. ^ Greenstein, Teddy (June 27, 2012). "Prater, NU Expect to Hear From NCAA in July". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved June 29, 2012.
  5. ^ Powers, Scott (February 22, 2012). "Adonis Smith Leaving Northwestern". ESPN. Retrieved February 22, 2012.
  6. ^ Taylor, John (March 8, 2012). "Ex-Northwestern RB Headed to UNLV". NBC Sports. Retrieved March 8, 2012.
  7. ^ "Northwestern Announces Addition of Transfer Quinn Evans". Northwestern University Department of Athletics. June 11, 2012. Archived from the original on June 14, 2012. Retrieved June 11, 2012.
  8. ^ "2012 Northwestern Football Schedule". Northwestern University Department of Athletics. Archived from the original on June 20, 2010. Retrieved February 22, 2012.
  9. ^ a b "Northwestern Wildcats vs. Syracuse Orange Box Score". ESPN. September 1, 2012. Retrieved September 30, 2012.
  10. ^ a b "Vanderbilt Commodores vs. Northwestern Wildcats Box Score". ESPN. September 8, 2012. Retrieved September 30, 2012.
  11. ^ a b "Boston College Eagles vs. Northwestern Wildcats Box Score". ESPN. September 15, 2012. Retrieved September 30, 2012.
  12. ^ a b "South Dakota Coyotes vs. Northwestern Wildcats Box Score". ESPN. September 22, 2012. Retrieved September 30, 2012.
  13. ^ a b "Indiana Hoosiers vs. Northwestern Wildcats Box Score". ESPN. September 29, 2012. Retrieved September 30, 2012.
  14. ^ "Northwestern Wildcats vs. Penn State Nittany Lions Box Score". ESPN. October 6, 2012. Retrieved October 7, 2012.
  15. ^ "Northwestern Wildcats vs. Minnesota Golden Gophers Box Score". ESPN. October 13, 2012. Retrieved October 13, 2012.
  16. ^ "Nebraska Cornhuskers vs. Northwestern Wildcats Box Score". ESPN. October 20, 2012. Retrieved October 21, 2012.
  17. ^ "Iowa Hawkeyes vs. Northwestern Wildcats Box Score". ESPN. October 27, 2012. Retrieved October 27, 2012.
  18. ^ "Northwestern Wildcats vs. Michigan Wolverines Box Score". ESPN. November 10, 2012. Retrieved November 12, 2012.
  19. ^ "Northwestern Wildcats vs. Michigan State Spartans Box Score". ESPN. November 17, 2012. Retrieved November 17, 2012.
  20. ^ "Illinois Fighting Illini vs. Northwestern Wildcats Box Score". ESPN. November 24, 2012. Retrieved November 24, 2012.
  21. ^ "Mississippi State Bulldogs vs. Northwestern Wildcats Box Score". ESPN. January 1, 2013. Retrieved January 1, 2013.
  22. ^ "Northwestern 42, Syracuse 41". Northwestern University Department of Athletics. September 1, 2012. Archived from the original on December 27, 2014. Retrieved September 1, 2012.
  23. ^ "Northwestern 23, Vanderbilt 13". Northwestern University Department of Athletics. September 8, 2012. Archived from the original on December 27, 2014. Retrieved September 8, 2012.
  24. ^ "Northwestern 22, Boston College 13". Northwestern University Department of Athletics. September 15, 2012. Archived from the original on December 27, 2014. Retrieved September 16, 2012.
  25. ^ "Northwestern 38, South Dakota 7". Northwestern University Department of Athletics. September 22, 2012. Archived from the original on December 27, 2014. Retrieved September 23, 2012.
  26. ^ "Indiana vs Northwestern". Northwestern University Department of Athletics. September 29, 2012. Archived from the original on December 27, 2014. Retrieved September 30, 2012.
  27. ^ "2012 Northwestern Wildcats football roster". Archived from the original on July 29, 2014. Retrieved October 4, 2012.
  28. ^ "2012 Northwestern Wildcats captains announcement". Archived from the original on November 19, 2012. Retrieved October 4, 2012.

External links

Media related to 2012 Northwestern Wildcats football team at Wikimedia Commons

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