2012 Northwestern Wildcats football team

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2012 Northwestern Wildcats football
NorthwesternWildcats.png
Gator Bowl champion
ConferenceBig Ten Conference
DivisionLegends Division
Ranking
CoachesNo. 16
APNo. 17
2012 record10–3 (5–3 Big Ten)
Head coach
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 (Capacity: 47,130)
Seasons
← 2011
2013 →
2012 Big Ten Conference football standings
  • v
  • t
 Conf Overall
Team   W   L     W   L  
Legends Division
No. 25 Nebraska x   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 $   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).

Previous season[]

In 2011 the Wildcats had a 6–7 record, ending the season with a 33–22 loss to Texas A&M in the 2011 Meineke Car Care Bowl of Texas.

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 , 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 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*
  • Ryan Field
  • Evanston, IL
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. 24
  • Beaver Stadium
  • University Park, PA
ESPNL 28–3995,796[14]
October 1311:00 amat Minnesota
  • TCF Bank Stadium
  • Minneapolis, MN
ESPN2W 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. 24
  • Michigan Stadium
  • Ann Arbor, MI
ESPNL 31–38 OT112,510[18]
November 1711:00 amat Michigan State
  • Spartan Stadium
  • East Lansing, MI
ESPN2W 23–2075,101[19]
November 2411:00 amIllinois
BTNW 50–1432,415[20]
January 111:00 amvs. Mississippi StateNo. 21
ESPN2W 34–2048,612[21]
  • *Non-conference game
  • daggerHomecoming
  • Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game
  • All times are in Central time

Rankings[]

See also: 2012 NCAA Division I FBS football rankings
Ranking movements
Legend: ██ Increase in ranking. ██ Decrease in ranking.
NR = Not ranked. RV = Received votes. т = Tied with team above or below. ( ) = First place votes.
Week
Poll Pre 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 Final 
AP NR RV RV RV RV 24 RV RV NR RV RV RV RV 22 21 17 
Coaches NR RV RV RV RV 22 RV RV RV RV 21 RV RV 20 17 16 
Harris Not released RV RV RV RV 24 RV RV 21 20 Not released 
BCS Not released NR NR NR 24 NR NR 22 20 Not released

Game summaries[]

Syracuse[]

See also: 2012 Syracuse Orange football team
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 at kickoff, reaching 95°F 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)

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[]

See also: 2012 Vanderbilt Commodores football team
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, mostly cloudy, 9mph-NW wind
  • Referee: Matt Laeffler
  • TV announcers (BTN): Eric Collins (Play-by-play), Derek Rackley (Color) & Lisa Byington (Sideline)

Boston College[]

See also: 2012 Boston College Eagles football team
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, sunny, 8mph-NE wind
  • Referee: Gary Patterson
  • TV announcers (BTN): Josh Lewin (Play-by-play), Jon Jansen (Color) & Evan Fitzgerald (Sideline)

South Dakota[]

See also: 2012 South Dakota Coyotes football team
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, mostly sunny, 15mph-WNW wind
  • Referee: Todd Geerlings
  • TV announcers (BTN): Wayne Larrivee (Play-by-play), Jon Jansen (Color) & Evan Fitzgerald (Sideline)

Indiana[]

See also: 2012 Indiana Hoosiers football team
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, partly cloudy, 6mph-WNW wind
  • Referee: Mike Cannon
  • TV announcers (BTN): Kevin Kugler (Play-by-play) & Chris Martin (Color)

Penn State[]

See also: 2012 Penn State Nittany Lions football team
1 234Total
#24 Northwestern 0 14140 28
• Penn State 3 7722 39
  • Date: October 6
  • Location: Beaver Stadium, University Park, PA
  • Game start: 11:00 AM CDT
  • Elapsed time: 3:20
  • Game attendance: 95,769
  • Game weather: 54–56°F, cloudy and cool, 12mph-W wind
  • Referee: John O'Neill
  • TV announcers (ESPN): Dave Pasch (Play-by-play), Brian Griese (Color) & Jenn Brown (Sideline)

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/QB's 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[]

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