2007 Northwestern Wildcats football team

2007 Northwestern Wildcats football
Conference Big Ten Conference
2007 record 6–6 (3–5 Big Ten)
Head coach Pat Fitzgerald (2nd season)
Offensive coordinator Garrick McGee (2nd season)
Defensive coordinator Greg Colby (6th season)
Home stadium Ryan Field (Capacity: 47,130)
2007 Big Ten football standings
Conf  Overall
Team W L    W L 
No. 5 Ohio State $  7 –1     11 –2  
No. 18 Michigan  6 –2     9 –4  
No. 20 Illinois %  6 –2     9 –4  
No. 24 Wisconsin  5 –3     9 –4  
Penn State  4 –4     9 –4  
Iowa  4 –4     6 –6  
Purdue  3 –5     8 –5  
Indiana  3 –5     7 –6  
Michigan State  3 –5     7 –6  
Northwestern  3 –5     6 –6  
Minnesota  0 –8     1 –11  
  • $ – BCS representative as conference champion
  • % – BCS at-large representative
Rankings from AP Poll

The 2007 Northwestern Wildcats football team represented Northwestern University in the Big Ten Conference during the 2007 NCAA Division I FBS football season. Pat Fitzgerald, in his second season at Northwestern, was the team's head coach. The Wildcats played their homes games at Ryan Field in Evanston, Illinois.

Before the beginning of the 2007 season, Northwestern showed potential for improvement upon the previous year's record. ESPN.com's Mark Schlabach stated that Northwestern has the seventh easiest schedule in college football, [1] and SI.com's Steve Megargee claimed that Indiana was the only Big Ten school with an easier schedule.[2] Running back Tyrell Sutton was one of 64 players in college football to be put on the Maxwell Award watch list for the nation's best college football player.[3]

The Wildcats began the season with their first shutout since 1997 in a 27–0 win against the Northeastern Huskies.[4] On October 7, quarterback C. J. Bachér broke Brett Basanez's school record for single-game passing yards by throwing for 520 yards in a victory over Michigan State. Bachér went on to be named the Walter Camp National Offensive Player of the Week and the Big Ten Conference Offensive Player of the Week.[5] Another strong performance in a win against Minnesota earned Bachér Big Ten Conference Offensive Player of the Week honors for the second week in a row.[6]

Schedule

Date Time Opponent Site TV Result Attendance
September 1 11:00 AM Northeastern* Ryan Field • Evanston, IL BTN W 27–0   16,199
September 8 11:00 AM Nevada* Ryan Field • Evanston, IL BTN W 36–31   17,653
September 15 7:00 PM Duke* Ryan Field • Evanston, IL BTN L 14–20   23,716
September 22 2:30 PM at No. 9 Ohio State Ohio Stadium • Columbus, OH ABC/ESPN L 7–58   105,178
September 29 11:00 AM Michigan Ryan Field • Evanston, IL BTN L 16–28   40,604
October 6 11:00 AM at Michigan State Spartan Stadium • East Lansing, MI BTN W 48–41 OT  67,378
October 13 11:00 AM Minnesota Ryan Field • Evanston, IL BTN W 49–48 2OT  23,314
October 19 6:00 PM at Eastern Michigan* Ford Field • Detroit, MI ESPNU W 26–14   10,000
October 27 11:00 AM at Purdue Ross–Ade Stadium • West Lafayette, IN BTN L 17–35   58,237
November 3 11:00 AM Iowa Ryan Field • Evanston, IL ESPN2 L 17–28   30,173
November 10 11:00 AM Indiana Ryan Field • Evanston, IL ESPNC W 31–28   20,466
November 17 11:00 AM at No. 21 Illinois Memorial Stadium • Champaign, IL (Sweet Sioux Tomahawk) ESPN L 22–41   54,116
*Non-conference game. daggerHomecoming. #Rankings from Coaches' Poll released prior to game. All times are in Central Time.

References

  1. ↑ ESPN - Easy schedules should help these teams succeed - College Football
  2. ↑ SI.com - NCAA Football - Big Ten schedule rankings
  3. ↑ "Tyrell Sutton Named to Maxwell Award Watch List :: Sutton one of only 10 Big Ten players on list". Archived from the original on 2011-09-28. Retrieved 2007-11-03.
  4. ↑ NCAA Football - Northeastern Huskies/Northwestern Wildcats Recap Saturday September 1, 2007 - Yahoo! Sports
  5. ↑ "C.J. Bachér Named Big Ten's Offensive Player of the Week: Fans can also vote for C.J.; one of four nominees for the AT&T All-America Player of the Week award". Archived from the original on 2011-09-28. Retrieved 2007-11-03.
  6. ↑ "Big Ten Honors Quarterback C. J. Bachér Again With Offensive Player of the Week Award: Bachér also one of four nominees for the AT&T All-America Player of the Week award; fans can vote for C.J.!". Archived from the original on 2011-09-28. Retrieved 2007-11-03.
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