2007 Northwestern Wildcats football team
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.
| 2007 Northwestern Wildcats football | |
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| 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) |
| Captains |
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| Home stadium | Ryan Field (Capacity: 47,130) |
| 2007 Big Ten Conference football standings | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| 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 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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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,[2] and SI.com's Steve Megargee claimed that Indiana was the only Big Ten school with an easier schedule.[3] 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.[4]
The Wildcats began the season with their first shutout since 1997 in a 27–0 win against the Northeastern Huskies.[5] 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.[6] 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.[7]
Schedule
| Date | Time | Opponent | Site | TV | Result | Attendance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| September 1 | 11:00 AM | Northeastern* | BTN | W 27–0 | 16,199 | |
| September 8 | 11:00 AM | Nevada* |
| BTN | W 36–31 | 17,653 |
| September 15 | 7:00 PM | Duke* |
| BTN | L 14–20 | 23,716 |
| September 22 | 2:30 PM | at No. 8 Ohio State | ABC/ESPN | L 7–58 | 105,178 | |
| September 29 | 11:00 AM | Michigan |
| BTN | L 16–28 | 40,604 |
| October 6 | 11:00 AM | at Michigan State |
| BTN | W 48–41 OT | 67,378 |
| October 13 | 11:00 AM | Minnesota |
| BTN | W 49–48 2OT | 23,314 |
| October 19 | 6:00 PM | at Eastern Michigan* | ESPNU | W 26–14 | 10,000 | |
| October 27 | 11:00 AM | at Purdue | BTN | L 17–35 | 58,237 | |
| November 3 | 11:00 AM | Iowa |
| ESPN2 | L 17–28 | 30,173 |
| November 10 | 11:00 AM | Indiana |
| ESPNC | W 31–28 | 20,466 |
| November 17 | 11:00 AM | at No. 20 Illinois | ESPN | L 22–41 | 54,116 | |
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References
- "Year-by-Year Results" (PDF). 2018. p. 93. Archived (PDF) from the original on 2019-03-16. Retrieved 2019-03-14.
- ESPN - Easy schedules should help these teams succeed - College Football
- SI.com - NCAA Football - Big Ten schedule rankings
- "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.
- NCAA Football - Northeastern Huskies/Northwestern Wildcats Recap Saturday September 1, 2007 - Yahoo! Sports
- "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.
- "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.