2012 Northwestern Wildcats football team

2012 Northwestern Wildcats football
2012 Northwestern Wildcats football
Gator Bowl champion
Gator Bowl, W 34–20 vs. Mississippi State
Conference	Big Ten Conference
	Legends Division
Ranking
Coaches	No. 16
AP	No. 17
Record	10–3 (5–3 Big Ten)
Head coach	Pat Fitzgerald (7th season);
Offensive coordinator	Mick McCall (5th season)
Offensive scheme	Spread
Defensive coordinator	Mike Hankwitz (5th season)
Base defense	Multiple 4–3
Captains	Brian Arnfelt; Kain Colter; Brian Mulroe; David Nwabuisi;
Home stadium	Ryan Field
	Seasons ← 2011 2013 →

2012 Big Ten Conference football standings
v t e
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]

Date	Time	Opponent	Rank	Site	TV	Result	Attendance
September 1	11:00 am	at Syracuse*		Carrier Dome Syracuse, NY	ESPN2	W 42–41	37,830^[9]
September 8	7:00 pm	Vanderbilt*		Ryan Field Evanston, IL	BTN	W 23–13	31,644^[10]
September 15	2:30 pm	Boston College*		Ryan Field Evanston, IL	BTN	W 22–13	32,597^[11]
September 22	2:30 pm	South Dakota*		Ryan Field Evanston, IL	BTN	W 38–7	28,641^[12]
September 29	11:00 am	Indiana		Ryan Field Evanston, IL	BTN	W 44–29	33,129^[13]
October 6	11:00 am	at Penn State	No. 24	Beaver Stadium University Park, PA	ESPN	L 28–39	95,796^[14]
October 13	11:00 am	at Minnesota		TCF Bank Stadium Minneapolis, MN	ESPN2	W 21–13	49,651^[15]
October 20	2:30 pm	Nebraska		Ryan Field Evanston, IL	ABC/ESPN2	L 28–29	47,330^[16]
October 27	11:00 am	Iowa		Ryan Field Evanston, IL	ESPN2	W 28–17	44,121^[17]
November 10	11:00 am	at Michigan	No. 24	Michigan Stadium Ann Arbor, MI (rivalry)	ESPN	L 31–38 ^OT	112,510^[18]
November 17	11:00 am	at Michigan State		Spartan Stadium East Lansing, MI	ESPN2	W 23–20	75,101^[19]
November 24	11:00 am	Illinois		Ryan Field Evanston, IL (Land of Lincoln Trophy)	BTN	W 50–14	32,415^[20]
January 1	11:00 am	vs. Mississippi State	No. 21	EverBank Field Jacksonville, FL (Gator Bowl)	ESPN2	W 34–20	48,612^[21]
*Non-conference game Homecoming 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
Poll	Pre	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	Final
AP	—	RV	RV	RV	RV	24	RV	RV	—	RV	RV	RV	RV	22	21	17
Coaches	—	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							—	—	—	24	—	—	22	20	Not released

Game summaries

Syracuse

	1	2	3	4	Total
• Northwestern	7	14	14	7	42
Syracuse	6	7	14	14	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)

Sources:^[9]^[22]

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	2	3	4	Total
Vanderbilt	7	3	0	3	13
• Northwestern	3	0	3	17	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)

Sources:^[10]^[23]

Boston College

	1	2	3	4	Total
Boston College	3	7	0	3	13
• Northwestern	6	6	3	7	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)

Sources:^[11]^[24]

South Dakota

	1	2	3	4	Total
South Dakota	0	0	7	0	7
• Northwestern	14	14	7	3	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)

Sources:^[12]^[25]

Indiana

	1	2	3	4	Total
Indiana	0	0	21	8	29
• Northwestern	7	13	17	7	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)

Sources:^[13]^[26]

Penn State

	1	2	3	4	Total
#24 Northwestern	0	14	14	0	28
• Penn State	3	7	7	22	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 (12–13 °C), cloudy and cool, wind W 12 mph (19 km/h)
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 – Freshman
13 Trevor Siemian – Sophomore
15 P. J. Carollo – 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 – 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 – Freshman
12 Cermak Bland – Freshman
14 Christian Jones – Sophomore
17 Rashad Lawrence – Junior
19 Cameron Dickerson – 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 – Freshman
43 Tim Riley – Junior
81 Evan Watkins – Junior
85 Mark Szott – Freshman
86 Jack Schwaba – Freshman
87 Brian Smith – Junior

Offensive line

53 Geoff Mogus – Freshman
57 Matt Frazier – Freshman
61 Alex Pietrzak – Freshman
62 Taylor Paxton – Junior
63 Ian Park – Freshman
65 Hayden Baker – Sophomore
66 Brandon Vitabile – Sophomore
70 Patrick Ward – Senior
71 Shane Mertz – 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 – Freshman
90 C. J. Robbins – 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 – 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 – Freshman
56 Will Studlien – Junior

Defensive backs

3 Sean Oliver – Freshman
4 Jarrell Williams – Freshman
9 Jimmy Hall – Sophomore
15 Daniel Jones – Sophomore
16 Davion Fleming – Junior
23 Nick VanHoose – 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 – 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 – Freshman

Long snappers

52 Chris Fitzpatrick – Freshman
59 Pat Hickey – Junior

Head coach

Pat Fitzgerald

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

References

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

[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.

[NU@SYR_boxscore-9] "Northwestern Wildcats vs. Syracuse Orange Box Score". ESPN. September 1, 2012. Retrieved September 30, 2012.

[NUvsVandy_boxscore-10] "Vanderbilt Commodores vs. Northwestern Wildcats Box Score". ESPN. September 8, 2012. Retrieved September 30, 2012.

[NUvsBC_boxscore-11] "Boston College Eagles vs. Northwestern Wildcats Box Score". ESPN. September 15, 2012. Retrieved September 30, 2012.

[NUvsSD_boxscore-12] "South Dakota Coyotes vs. Northwestern Wildcats Box Score". ESPN. September 22, 2012. Retrieved September 30, 2012.

[NUvsIU_boxscore-13] "Indiana Hoosiers vs. Northwestern Wildcats Box Score". ESPN. September 29, 2012. Retrieved September 30, 2012.

[NUvsPSU_boxscore-14] "Northwestern Wildcats vs. Penn State Nittany Lions Box Score". ESPN. October 6, 2012. Retrieved October 7, 2012.

[NUvsUM_boxscore-15] "Northwestern Wildcats vs. Minnesota Golden Gophers Box Score". ESPN. October 13, 2012. Retrieved October 13, 2012.^{[dead link]}

[NEBvsNU_boxscore-16] "Nebraska Cornhuskers vs. Northwestern Wildcats Box Score". ESPN. October 20, 2012. Retrieved October 21, 2012.

[IOWAvsNU_boxscore-17] "Iowa Hawkeyes vs. Northwestern Wildcats Box Score". ESPN. October 27, 2012. Retrieved October 27, 2012.

[NUvsMICH_boxscore-18] "Northwestern Wildcats vs. Michigan Wolverines Box Score". ESPN. November 10, 2012. Retrieved November 12, 2012.

[NUvsMSU_boxscore-19] "Northwestern Wildcats vs. Michigan State Spartans Box Score". ESPN. November 17, 2012. Retrieved November 17, 2012.

[ILLvsNU_boxscore-20] "Illinois Fighting Illini vs. Northwestern Wildcats Box Score". ESPN. November 24, 2012. Retrieved November 24, 2012.

[MSSTvsNU_boxscore-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.

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2012 Northwestern Wildcats football team

Preseason

Recruiting

Transfers

Schedule

Rankings

Game summaries

Syracuse

Vanderbilt

Boston College

South Dakota

Indiana

Penn State

Roster

References

External links

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