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2008 Northwestern Wildcats football
Alamo Bowl, L 23–30 OT vs. Missouri
ConferenceBig Ten Conference
2008 record9–4 (5–3 Big Ten)
Head coachPat Fitzgerald (3rd as HC) (7th overall season)
Offensive coordinatorMick McCall (1st season)
Offensive schemeSpread
Defensive coordinatorMike Hankwitz (1st season)
CaptainC.J. Bachér[1]
CaptainPrince Kwateng
CaptainEric Peterman
CaptainBrendan Smith
Home stadiumRyan Field (Capacity: 47,130)
Seasons
← 2007
2009 →
2008 Big Ten football standings
v · d · e Conf     Overall
Team   W   L         W   L  
#8/8 Penn State §   0* 1         0* 2  
#9/11 Ohio State §   7 1         10 3  
#24/24 Michigan State   6 2         9 4  
Northwestern   5 3         9 4  
#20/20 Iowa   5 3         9 4  
Wisconsin   3 5         7 6  
Minnesota   3 5         7 6  
Illinois   3 5         5 7  
Purdue   2 6         4 8  
Michigan   2 6         3 9  
Indiana   1 7         3 9  
† – BCS representative as champion
‡ – BCS at-large representative
§ – Conference co-champions

The 2008 Northwestern Wildcats football team represented Northwestern University in the Big Ten Conference during the 2008 NCAA Division I FBS football season. Pat Fitzgerald, in his third season at Northwestern, was the team's head coach. The Wildcats played their homes games at Ryan Field in Evanston, Illinois.

Previous season[]

The 2007 team finished the season with a win-loss record of 6–6 and did not receive a bowl invitation.

Schedule[]

DateTimeOpponentRankSiteTVResultAttendance
August 3011:00 AM[2]Syracuse*ESPN2[2]W 30–1020,015[3]
September 66:00 PM[4]at Duke*W 24–2023,614[3]
September 1311:00 AM[2]Southern Illinois*
  • Ryan Field
  • Evanston, IL
BTN[2]W 33–719,062[3]
September 2011:00 AM[2]Ohio*
  • Ryan Field
  • Evanston, IL
BTN[2]W 16–822,069[3]
September 2711:00 AM[5]at IowaESPNC[6]W 22–1770,585[3]
October 112:30 PM[6]No. 23 Michigan State
  • Ryan Field
  • Evanston, IL
ESPN2[6]L 20–3732,527[3]
October 1811:00 AM[5]Purduedagger
  • Ryan Field
  • Evanston, IL
ESPN2[5]W 48–2627,163[3]
October 2511:00 AM[5]at IndianaBTN[5]L 19–2130,698[3]
November 111:00 AM[5]at No. 20 MinnesotaESPN2[6]W 24–1754,122[3]
November 811:00 AM[6]No. 12 Ohio State
  • Ryan Field
  • Evanston, IL
ESPN2[6]L 10–4547,130[3]
November 1511:00 AM[6]at MichiganESPN2W 21–14107,856[3]
November 222:30 PM[6]Illinois
BTNW 27–1032,166[3]
December 297:00 PMvs. No. 25 MissouriNo. 22ESPNL 23–30 OT55,986[3]
  • *Non-conference game
  • daggerHomecoming
  • Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game
  • All times are in Central time

Game summaries[]

Syracuse[]

1 2 3 4 OT
Orange 3 0 7 0 10
Wildcats 0 9 14 7 30





Duke[]

1 2 3 4 OT
Wildcats 7 10 0 7 24
Blue Devils 7 3 3 7 20





Southern Illinois[]

1 2 3 4 OT
Salukis 7 0 0 0 7
Wildcats 6 10 10 7 33





Ohio[]

1 2 3 4 OT
Bobcats 0 0 8 0 8
Wildcats 6 10 0 0 16




Iowa[]

1 2 3 4 OT
Wildcats 0 10 6 6 22
Hawkeyes 3 14 0 0 17





Michigan State[]

1 2 3 4 OT
Spartans 17 7 10 3 37
Wildcats 0 7 10 3 20





Purdue[]

1 2 3 4 OT
Boilermakers 6 6 0 14 26
Wildcats 0 24 10 14 48





Indiana[]

1 2 3 4 OT
Wildcats 3 6 10 0 19
Hoosiers 7 7 7 0 21





Minnesota[]

1 2 3 4 OT
Wildcats 10 7 0 7 24
Golden Gophers 0 17 0 0 17





Ohio State[]

1 2 3 4 OT
Buckeyes 7 17 7 14 45
Wildcats 7 0 3 0 10





Michigan[]

1 2 3 4 OT
Wildcats 7 0 14 0 21
Wolverines 7 7 0 0 14





Illinois[]

1 2 3 4 OT
Fighting Illini 0 0 7 3 10
Wildcats 6 7 3 11 27





Alamo Bowl, v. Missouri[]

1 2 3 4 OT
Tigers 0 10 10 3 30
Wildcats 7 3 13 0 23





Rankings[]


Ranking movements
Legend: ██ Increase in ranking. ██ Decrease in ranking.
NR = Not ranked. RV = Received votes. ( ) = First place votes.
Week
Poll Pre 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 Final 
AP NR NR NR RV RV RV RV RV RV RV RV RV RV 24 24 22 RV 
Coaches' NR NR RV RV RV RV 22 RV 24 RV 25 RV 24 20 22 20 RV 
Harris Not released 23 RV RV RV RV RV RV 24 22 21 Not released 
BCS Not released 22 NR 24 NR NR 24 22 23 Not released


Statistics[]

Team[]

Team Opp
Scoring    
  Points per Game    
First Downs    
  Rushing    
  Passing    
  Penalty    
Total Offense    
  Avg per Play    
  Avg per Game    
Fumbles-Lost    
Penalties-Yards    
  Avg per Game    
Team Opp
Punts-Yards    
  Avg per Punt    
Time of Possession/Game    
3rd Down Conversions    
4th Down Conversions    
Touchdowns Scored    
Field Goals-Attempts-Long    
PAT-Attempts    
Attendance    
  Games/Avg per Game    

Scores by quarter[]

1 2 3 4 OT
Northwestern 52 100 80 62 294
Opponents 64 78 49 41 232



Offense[]

Rushing[]

Name GP-GS Att Gain Loss Net Avg TD Long Avg/G
                   
                   
                   
                   
                   
                   
                   
                   
                   
                   
                   
TEAM                  
Total                  
Opponents                  

Passing[]

Name CMP ATT YDS CMP% YPA LNG TD INT SACK RAT
C. J. Bachér 218 365 2128 59.7 5.83 53 14 14 9 113.68
Mike Kafka 32 46 330 69.6 7.17 36 2 3 6 131.13
Eric Peterman 2 2 55 100.0 27.50 30 1 0 0 496.0
Total 252 413 2513 61.0 6.08 53 17 17 15 116.9
Opponents                  

Receiving[]

Name GP-GS No. Yds Avg TD Long Avg/G
                   
                   
                   
                   
                   
                   
                   
                   
                   
                   
                   
                   
                   
                   
Total                  
Opponents                  

Defense[]

Name GP Tackles Sacks Pass Defense Interceptions Fumbles Blkd
Kick
Solo Ast Total TFL-Yds No-Yds BrUp QBH No.-Yds Avg TD Long Rcv-Yds FF
Total

Special teams[]

Name Punting Kickoffs
No. Yds Avg Long TB FC I20 Blkd No. Yds Avg TB OB
Total
Name Punt Returns Kick Returns
No. Yds Avg TD Long No. Yds Avg TD Long
Total

References[]

  1. "Year-by-Year Results" (PDF). 2018. p. 93. https://s3.amazonaws.com/sidearm.sites/nusports.com/documents/2018/8/20/18_Northwestern_FB_Media_Guide.pdf#page=94.
  2. 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 "Kickoff Times Announced For NU's First Three Home Games". Northwestern University Department of Athletics. July 2, 2008. Archived from the original on July 5, 2008. https://web.archive.org/web/20080705094510/http://nusports.cstv.com/sports/m-footbl/spec-rel/070208aaa.html. Retrieved July 4, 2008.
  3. 3.00 3.01 3.02 3.03 3.04 3.05 3.06 3.07 3.08 3.09 3.10 3.11 3.12 "Cumulative Season Statistics". Northwestern University Department of athletics. http://www.nusports.com/sports/m-footbl/stats/2008-2009/teamcume.html. Retrieved October 11, 2011.
  4. "Kickoff Times Set For Duke's First Three Football Games". Duke University Department of Athletics. June 3, 2008. http://www.goduke.com/ViewArticle.dbml?SPSID=22672&SPID=1843&DB_OEM_ID=4200&ATCLID=1477519. Retrieved June 6, 2008.
  5. 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 5.4 5.5 "Big Ten Announces Start Times for 2008 Homecoming Games". Northwestern University Department of Athletics. May 12, 2008. http://nusports.cstv.com/sports/m-footbl/spec-rel/051208aaa.html. Retrieved May 12, 2008.
  6. 6.0 6.1 6.2 6.3 6.4 6.5 6.6 6.7 "Northwestern Official Athletics Site". Northwestern University Department of Athletics. September 29, 2008. Archived from the original on September 28, 2008. https://web.archive.org/web/20080928144930/http://nusports.cstv.com/sports/m-footbl/sched/nw-m-footbl-sched.html. Retrieved September 29, 2008.
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