1920 Northwestern Purple football team

1920 Big Ten Conference football standings
	$ – Conference champion;

1920 Northwestern Purple football
1920 Northwestern Purple football
Conference	Big Ten Conference
1920 record	3–4 (2–3 Big Ten)
Head coach	Elmer McDevitt (1st season);
Captain	Graham Penfield
Home stadium	Northwestern Field
	Seasons ← 1919 1921 →

The 1920 Northwestern Purple team represented Northwestern University during the 1920 college football season. In their first year under head coach Elmer McDevitt, the Purple compiled a 3–4 record (2–3 against Big Ten Conference opponents) and finished in seventh place in the Big Ten Conference.^[1]^[2]

Schedule[]

Date	Opponent	Site	Result	Attendance	Source
October 2	Knox*	Northwestern Field Evanston, IL	W 14–0		^[3]
October 9	Minnesota	Northwestern Field Evanston, IL	W 17–0		^[4]
October 16	at Wisconsin	Randall Field Madison, WI	L 7–27	10,000	^[5]
October 30	vs. Indiana	Washington Park Indianapolis	L 7–10	12,000	^[6]
November 6	at Iowa	Iowa Field Iowa City, IA	L 0–20		^[7]
November 13	Purdue	Northwestern Field Evanston, IL	W 14–0	10,000	^[8]
November 20	Notre Dame *	Northwestern Field Evanston, IL (rivalry)	L 7–33		^[9]
*Non-conference game Homecoming

^ "1920 Northwestern Wildcats Schedule and Results". SR/College Football. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved February 22, 2016.
^ "2017 Northwestern Football Media Guide" (PDF). Northwestern University. p. 106. Retrieved June 16, 2018.
^ Walter Eckersall (October 3, 1920). "Keeping Eye on Ball Gives 14-0 Win to Purple". Chicago Tribune. p. II-1 – via Newspapers.com.
^ Quin A. Ryan (October 10, 1920). "Purple Upsets Norsemen, 17-0, as Fans Go Wild: Biggest Surprise of Year Is Deserved Win". Chicago Tribune. p. II-1 – via Newspapers.com.
^ "Wisconsin Triumphs Over Purple". The Wisconsin State Journal. October 17, 1920. p. 1 – via Newspapers.com.
^ "Indiana Wins Slow Grid Contest From Northwestern, 10-7". The Indianapolis Star. October 31, 1920. p. 23 – via Newspapers.com.
^ Sec Taylor (November 7, 1920). "Iowa Triumphs Over Purple on Wet Field". The Des Moines Register. pp. Sports 1–2 – via Newspapers.com.
^ Quin Ryan (November 14, 1920). "Purple Eleven Upsets Purdue in 14-0 Combat". Chicago Tribune. pp. II-1, II-2 – via Newspapers.com.
^ "Purple Bows To Notre Dame by 33 to 7 Count". Chicago Tribune. November 21, 1920. p. II-1 – via Newspapers.com.

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1920 Big Ten Conference football standings
v t	Conf					Overall
Team	W		L		T	W		L		T
Ohio State $	5	–	0	–	0	7	–	1	–	0
Wisconsin	4	–	1	–	0	6	–	1	–	0
Indiana	3	–	1	–	0	5	–	2	–	0
Illinois	4	–	2	–	0	5	–	2	–	0
Iowa	3	–	2	–	0	5	–	2	–	0
Michigan	2	–	2	–	0	5	–	2	–	0
Northwestern	2	–	3	–	0	3	–	4	–	0
Chicago	2	–	4	–	0	3	–	4	–	0
Purdue	0	–	4	–	0	2	–	5	–	0
Minnesota	0	–	6	–	0	1	–	6	–	0

$ – Conference champion