1974 Northwestern Wildcats football team

1974 Northwestern Wildcats football
Conference	Big Ten Conference
1974 record	3–8 (2–6 Big Ten)
Head coach	John Pont (2nd season)
Captain	Paul Hiemenz
Captain	Larry Lilja
Home stadium	Dyche Stadium
Seasons

1974 Big Ten football standings
	Conf							Overall
Team	W		L		T			W		L		T
#4/3 Ohio State §	7	–	1	–	0			10	–	2	–	0
#3/5 Michigan §	7	–	1	–	0			10	–	1	–	0
#12/18 Michigan State	6	–	1	–	1			7	–	3	–	1
Wisconsin	5	–	3	–	0			7	–	4	–	0
Illinois	4	–	3	–	1			6	–	4	–	1
Purdue	3	–	5	–	0			4	–	6	–	1
Minnesota	2	–	6	–	0			4	–	7	–	0
Iowa	2	–	6	–	0			3	–	8	–	0
Northwestern	2	–	6	–	0			3	–	8	–	0
Indiana	1	–	7	–	0			1	–	10	–	0
§ – Conference co-champions Rankings from AP Poll / Coaches' Poll

The 1974 Northwestern Wildcats team represented Northwestern University in the 1974 Big Ten Conference football season. In their second year under head coach John Pont, the Wildcats compiled a 3–8 record (2–6 against Big Ten Conference opponents) and finished in a three-way tie for seventh place in the Big Ten Conference.

The team's offensive leaders were quarterback Mitch Anderson with 1,282 passing yards, Jim Pooler with 949 rushing yards, and Scott Yelvington with 417 receiving yards. Three Northwestern players received All-Big Ten honors: (1) offensive tackle Paul Hiemenz (AP-1; UPI-2); (2) wide receiver Steve Yelvington (AP-2); and (3) running back Jim Pooler (AP-2).

Schedule

Date	Opponent	Site	Result
September 14	at Michigan State	Spartan Stadium East Lansing, MI	L 7–41
September 21	No. 1 Notre Dame*	Dyche Stadium Evanston, IL (Rivalry)	L 3–49
September 28	at No. 10 Nebraska*	Memorial Stadium Lincoln, NE	L 7–49
October 5	Oregon*	Dyche Stadium Evanston, IL	W 14–10
October 12	at Iowa	Kinnick Stadium Iowa City, IA	L 10–35
October 19	Purdue	Dyche Stadium Evanston, IL	L 26–31
October 26	No. 1 Ohio State	Dyche Stadium Evanston, IL	L 7–55
November 2	at Minnesota	Memorial Stadium Minneapolis, MN	W 21–13
November 9	Indiana	Dyche Stadium Evanston, IL	W 24–22
November 16	Wisconsin	Dyche Stadium Evanston, IL	L 7–52
November 23	at Illinois	Memorial Stadium Champaign, IL (Sweet Sioux Tomahawk)	L 14–28
*Non-conference game Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game

Roster

1974 Northwestern Wildcats football team roster
Players			Coaches
Offense Pos. # Name Class QB 12 Anderson, MitchMitch Anderson 7.0 !Sr RB 44 Boothe, RichRich Boothe 5.0 !Jr RB 20 Boykin, GregGreg Boykin 5.0 !Jr QB 3 Dean, RandyRandy Dean 3.0 !So T 74 Dembowski, RichRich Dembowski 5.0 !Jr T 68 Hiemenz, PaulPaul Hiemenz (C) 7.0 !Sr C 57 Lilja, LarryLarry Lilja (C) 7.0 !Sr RB 24 Pooler, JimJim Pooler 5.0 !Jr G 67 Ruff, MarkMark Ruff 7.0 !Sr G 62 Shambley, DeWayneDeWayne Shambley 3.0 !So WR 46 Stevens, BillBill Stevens 7.0 !Sr FB 39 Trimble, JimJim Trimble 7.0 !Sr TE 95 Yelvington, ScottScott Yelvington 3.0 !So	Defense Pos. # Name Class LB 58 Andler, MikeMike Andler 7.0 !Sr DB 8 Baske, DougDoug Baske 7.0 !Sr DE 43 Belko, DougDoug Belko 7.0 !Sr DT 93 Holliday, JohnJohn Holliday 5.0 !Jr DT 86 Kuceyeski, RandyRandy Kuceyeski 5.0 !Jr DE 98 Mason, RobRob Mason 7.0 !Sr LB 33 Patrnchak, CarlCarl Patrnchak 7.0 !Sr LB 32 Patrnchak, JoeJoe Patrnchak 7.0 !Sr DE 13 Phillips, D. R.D. R. Phillips 7.0 !Sr SS 22 Shaw, PetePete Shaw 5.0 !Jr DB Dean, RobertRobert Dean 3.0 !So	Special teams Pos. # Name Class	Head coach John Pont Coordinators/assistant coaches Legend (C) Team captain (S) Suspended (I) Ineligible Injured Redshirt