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2020 Northwestern Wildcats football team

The 2020 Northwestern Wildcats football team represented Northwestern University during the 2020 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 15th-year head coach Pat Fitzgerald.

2020 Northwestern Wildcats football
Big Ten West Division champion
Citrus Bowl champion
Citrus Bowl, W 35–19 vs. Auburn
ConferenceBig Ten Conference
DivisionWest Division
Ranking
CoachesNo. 10
APNo. 10
Record7–2 (6–1 Big Ten)
Head coach
Offensive coordinatorMike Bajakian (1st season)
Offensive schemeSpread
Defensive coordinatorMike Hankwitz (13th season)
Base defenseMultiple 4–3
Home stadiumRyan Field
Uniform
Seasons
← 2019
2021 →
2020 Big Ten Conference football standings
Conf Overall
Team   W   L     W   L  
East Division
No. 2 Ohio State xy$^   5 – 0     7 – 1  
No. 12 Indiana   6 – 1     6 – 2  
Penn State   4 – 5     4 – 5  
Maryland   2 – 3     2 – 3  
Rutgers   3 – 6     3 – 6  
Michigan   2 – 4     2 – 4  
Michigan State   2 – 5     2 – 5  
West Division
No. 10 Northwestern xy   6 – 1     7 – 2  
No. 16 Iowa   6 – 2     6 – 2  
Wisconsin   3 – 3     4 – 3  
Minnesota   3 – 4     3 – 4  
Nebraska   3 – 5     3 – 5  
Purdue   2 – 4     2 – 4  
Illinois   2 – 6     2 – 6  
Championship: Ohio State 22, Northwestern 10
  • ^ – College Football Playoff participant
  • $ – Conference champion
  • x – Division champion/co-champions
  • y – Championship game participant
  • Note: Due to COVID-19, the Big Ten suspended the season on August 11, but later decided to begin play on October 24. In addition to the title game that was played on December 19, the conference seeded all remaining teams for "championship week" games.[1]
Rankings from AP Poll.

On August 11, 2020, the Big Ten Conference canceled all fall sports competitions due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[2] However, on September 16, the Big Ten reinstated the season, announcing an eight-game season beginning on October 24.[3]

Schedule

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Northwestern had games scheduled against Tulane, Central Michigan, and Morgan State, but canceled these games on July 9 due to the Big Ten Conference's decision to play a conference-only schedule due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[4]

DateTimeOpponentRankSiteTVResultAttendance
October 24, 20206:30 p.m.Maryland
BTNW 43–30
October 312:30 p.m.at Iowa
ESPNW 21–201,432
November 711:00 a.m.Nebraska
  • Ryan Field
  • Evanston, IL
BTNW 21–130
November 146:30 p.m.at PurdueNo. 23
BTNW 27–20886
November 212:30 p.m.No. 10 WisconsinNo. 19
  • Ryan Field
  • Evanston, IL
ABCW 17–70
November 282:30 p.m.at Michigan StateNo. 8
ESPNL 20–290
December 511:00 a.m.Minnesota
BTN/FS1No Contest
December 1211:00 a.m.IllinoisNo. 14
  • Ryan Field
  • Evanston, IL
ESPN2W 28–100
December 1911:00 a.m.vs. No. 4 Ohio StateNo. 14
FOXL 10–223,178
January 1, 202112:00 p.m.vs. Auburn*No. 14
ABCW 35–1913,039

[5]

Rankings

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Further information: 2020 NCAA Division I FBS football rankings
Ranking movements
Legend: ██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking
— = Not ranked RV = Received votes
Week
PollPre12345678910111213141516Final
APRVnone——————RVRV23191116151510
Coaches—none——————RVRV23201317141410
CFPNot released8141414Not released

Game summaries

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Maryland

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See also: 2020 Maryland Terrapins football team
Maryland Terrapins vs. Northwestern Wildcats – Game summary
Quarter 1 2 34Total
Terrapins 3 0 003
Wildcats 14 16 7643

at Ryan Field • Evanston, Illinois

  • Date: October 24, 2020
  • Game time: 6:30 p.m. CDT
  • Game attendance: 0
  • TV: BTN
Game information

At Iowa

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See also: 2020 Iowa Hawkeyes football team
Northwestern Wildcats vs. Iowa Hawkeyes – Game summary
Quarter 1 2 34Total
Wildcats 0 14 7021
Hawkeyes 17 3 0020

at Kinnick Stadium • Iowa City, Iowa

  • Date: October 31, 2020
  • Game time: 2:30 p.m. CDT
  • Game weather: 61 °F (16 °C), Clear and Sunny, Wind 15–20 mph (24–32 km/h)
  • Game attendance: 1,432
  • Referee: Larry Smith
  • TV announcers (ESPN): Bob Wischusen, Dan Orlovsky and Allison Williams
Game information

Nebraska

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See also: 2020 Nebraska Cornhuskers football team
Nebraska Cornhuskers vs. Northwestern Wildcats – Game summary
Quarter 1 2 34Total
Cornhuskers 0 13 0013
Wildcats 7 0 7721

at Ryan Field • Evanston, Illinois

  • Date: November 7, 2020
  • Game time: 11:00 a.m. CST
  • Game weather: Sunny, 66 °F (19 °C)
  • Game attendance: 0
  • Referee: Jerry McGinn
  • TV announcers (BTN): Cory Provus (play-by-play), Jeremy Leman (analyst), Olivia Harlan (sideline)
Game information

At Purdue

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See also: 2020 Purdue Boilermakers football team
Northwestern Wildcats vs. Purdue Boilermakers – Game summary
Quarter 1 2 34Total
No. 23 Wildcats 7 10 7327
Boilermakers 3 7 3720

at Ross-Ade Stadium • West Lafayette, Indiana

  • Date: November 14, 2020
  • Game time: 6:30 p.m. CST
  • Game weather: 46 °F (8 °C), Overcast, SE 10 mph (16 km/h)
  • Game attendance: 886
  • Referee: Jeff Servinski
  • TV announcers (BTN): Cory Provus (play-by-play), Anthony Herron (analyst), Olivia Dekker (sideline)
Game information

Wisconsin

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See also: 2020 Wisconsin Badgers football team
Wisconsin Badgers vs. Northwestern Wildcats – Game summary
Quarter 1 2 34Total
No. 10 Badgers 7 0 007
No. 19 Wildcats 7 7 0317

at Ryan Field • Evanston, Illinois

  • Date: November 21, 2020
  • Game time: 2:30 p.m. CST
  • Game attendance: No in-person attendance
  • TV: ABC
Game information

I've been watching Northwestern play and honestly, they got a bunch of Rece Davises out there running around.

At Michigan State

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See also: 2020 Michigan State Spartans football team
Northwestern Wildcats vs. Michigan State Spartans – Game summary
Quarter 1 2 34Total
No. 8 Wildcats 0 6 7720
Spartans 10 7 01229

at Spartan Stadium • East Lansing, Michigan

  • Date: November 28, 2020
  • Game time: 2:30 p.m. CST
  • Game weather: Sunny, light clouds • Temperature: 45 °F (7 °C) • Wind: SW 7 miles per hour (11 km/h)
  • Game attendance: 0
  • Referee: M. Kluczynski
  • TV announcers (ESPN): Clay Matvick, Rocky Boiman
Game information

At Minnesota (Cancelled)

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See also: 2020 Minnesota Golden Gophers football team
Northwestern Wildcats vs. Minnesota Golden Gophers – Game summary
Quarter 1 2 34Total
No. 14 Wildcats 0 0 000
Golden Gophers 0 0 000

at TCF Bank Stadium • Minneapolis, Minnesota

  • Date: December 5, 2020
  • Game time: 11:00 a.m. CST
  • TV: BTN/FS1

Illinois

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See also: 2020 Illinois Fighting Illini football team and Illinois–Northwestern football rivalry
Illinois Fighting Illini vs. Northwestern Wildcats – Game summary
Quarter 1 2 34Total
Fighting Illini 3 0 0710
No. 14 Wildcats 0 14 14028

at Ryan Field • Evanston, Illinois

  • Date: December 12, 2020
  • Game time: 11:00 a.m. CST
  • Game attendance: 0
  • TV: ESPN2
Game information

Vs. Ohio State

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See also: 2020 Big Ten Football Championship Game and 2020 Ohio State Buckeyes football team
Northwestern Wildcats vs. Ohio State Buckeyes (Big Ten Championship game) – Game summary
Quarter 1 2 34Total
No. 14 Wildcats 7 3 0010
No. 4 Buckeyes 3 3 7922

at Lucas Oil Stadium • Indianapolis, IN

  • Date: December 19, 2020
  • Game time: 11:18 a.m. CST
  • Game weather: Overcast (game played indoors)
  • Game attendance: 3,178
  • Referee: Mark Kluczynski
  • TV announcers (FOX): Gus Johnson (play-by-play), Joel Klatt (analyst), and Jenny Taft (sideline)
Game information

Vs. Auburn

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See also: 2021 Citrus Bowl and 2020 Auburn Tigers football team
Northwestern Wildcats vs. Auburn Tigers (Citrus Bowl) – Game summary
Quarter 1 2 34Total
Auburn 0 6 7619
No. 14 Wildcats 14 0 71435

at Camping World Stadium • Orlando, FL

  • Date: January 1st, 2021
  • Game time: 12:00 p.m. CST
  • Game weather: Mostly Sunny
  • Game attendance: 13,039
  • Referee: Jerry Magallanes
  • TV announcers (ABC): Dave Flemming (play-by-play), Rod Gilmore (analyst), Paul Carcaterra (sideline reporter)
Game information

Players drafted into the NFL

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See also: 2021 NFL draft
Round Pick Player Position NFL Club
1 13 Rashawn Slater OT Los Angeles Chargers
1 26 Greg Newsome II CB Cleveland Browns
5 174 Earnest Brown IV DE Los Angeles Rams

Undrafted players

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Player Position NFL Club
Blake Gallagher LB Baltimore Ravens
Riley Lees WR Cincinnati Bengals
Gunnar Vogel OT Chicago Bears
J.R. Pace CB Atlanta Falcons
John Raine TE Atlanta Falcons
Paddy Fisher LB Carolina Panthers

Source:[6]

References

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  1. ^ Stevens, Matthew (September 16, 2020). "Big Ten To Play A "Championship Weekend" 9th Game Of 2020 Season". Sports Illustrated. Retrieved September 17, 2020.
  2. ^ "Big Ten Statement on 2020-21 Fall Season". Big Ten Conference. August 11, 2020. Archived from the original on August 11, 2020. Retrieved August 11, 2020.
  3. ^ "The Big Ten Conference Adopts Stringent Medical Protocols; Football Season to Resume October 23-24, 2020". Big Ten Conference. September 16, 2020. Archived from the original on September 16, 2020. Retrieved September 16, 2020.
  4. ^ Myerberg, Paul. "Big Ten football reduces season schedule to only conference games, maybe setting stage for others to follow". USA TODAY. Retrieved July 10, 2020.
  5. ^ "2020 Northwestern Football Schedule". FBSchedules.com. Retrieved February 29, 2020.
  6. ^ Bible, The NFL Draft (May 11, 2021). "2021 NFL Draft undrafted free agent tracker: Rookie UDFA signings from all 32 teams". The NFL Draft Bible on Sports Illustrated: The Leading Authority on the NFL Draft. Retrieved May 27, 2021.
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