2008 Northwestern Wildcats football team

	2008 Big Ten football standings
	† – BCS representative as champion ; ‡ – BCS at-large representative ; § – Conference co-champions ; *All wins for Penn State (11-2, 7-1) vacated due to scandal. ; Rankings from AP Poll / Coaches' Poll;

Northwestern Wildcats football
	2008 Northwestern Wildcats football
Alamo Bowl, L 23–30 OT vs. Missouri
Conference	Big Ten Conference
2008 record	9–4 (5–3 Big Ten)
Head coach	Pat Fitzgerald (3rd as HC) (7th overall season)
Offensive coordinator	Mick McCall (1st season)
Offensive scheme	Spread
Defensive coordinator	Mike Hankwitz (1st season)
Captain	C.J. Bachér
Captain	Prince Kwateng
Captain	Eric Peterman
Captain	Brendan Smith
Home stadium	Ryan Field (Capacity: 47,130)
	Seasons ← 2007 2009 →

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[]

Date	Time	Opponent	Rank	Site	TV	Result	Attendance
August 30	11:00 AM^[2]	Syracuse*		Ryan Field Evanston, IL	ESPN2^[2]	W 30–10	20,015^[3]
September 6	6:00 PM^[4]	at Duke*		Wallace Wade Stadium Durham, NC		W 24–20	23,614^[3]
September 13	11:00 AM^[2]	Southern Illinois*		Ryan Field Evanston, IL	BTN^[2]	W 33–7	19,062^[3]
September 20	11:00 AM^[2]	Ohio*		Ryan Field Evanston, IL	BTN^[2]	W 16–8	22,069^[3]
September 27	11:00 AM^[5]	at Iowa		Kinnick Stadium Iowa City, IA	ESPNC^[6]	W 22–17	70,585^[3]
October 11	2:30 PM^[6]	No. 23 Michigan State		Ryan Field Evanston, IL	ESPN2^[6]	L 20–37	32,527^[3]
October 18	11:00 AM^[5]	Purdue		Ryan Field Evanston, IL	ESPN2^[5]	W 48–26	27,163^[3]
October 25	11:00 AM^[5]	at Indiana		Memorial Stadium Bloomington, IN	BTN^[5]	L 19–21	30,698^[3]
November 1	11:00 AM^[5]	at No. 20 Minnesota		Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome Minneapolis, MN	ESPN2^[6]	W 24–17	54,122^[3]
November 8	11:00 AM^[6]	No. 12 Ohio State		Ryan Field Evanston, IL	ESPN2^[6]	L 10–45	47,130^[3]
November 15	11:00 AM^[6]	at Michigan		Michigan Stadium Ann Arbor, MI	ESPN2	W 21–14	107,856^[3]
November 22	2:30 PM^[6]	Illinois		Ryan Field Evanston, IL (Sweet Sioux Tomahawk)	BTN	W 27–10	32,166^[3]
December 29	7:00 PM	vs. No. 25 Missouri	No. 22	Alamodome San Antonio, TX (Alamo Bowl)	ESPN	L 23–30 ^OT	55,986^[3]
*Non-conference game Homecoming 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
Name	GP	Solo	Ast	Total	TFL-Yds	No-Yds	BrUp	QBH	No.-Yds	Avg	TD	Long	Rcv-Yds	FF	Blkd Kick
Total

Special teams[]

Name	Punting								Kickoffs
Name	No.	Yds	Avg	Long	TB	FC	I20	Blkd	No.	Yds	Avg	TB	OB


Total

Name	Punt Returns					Kick Returns
Name	No.	Yds	Avg	TD	Long	No.	Yds	Avg	TD	Long

Total

References[]

↑ "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.
↑ ^2.0 ^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.
↑ ^3.00 ^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.
↑ "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.
↑ ^5.0 ^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.
↑ ^6.0 ^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.

[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.

[su/siu/ou-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.

[stats-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.

[duke-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.

[homecoming_games-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.

[official_schedule-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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