2012 Northwestern Wildcats football team

The 2012 Northwestern Wildcats football team represented Northwestern University during the 2012 NCAA Division I FBS football season. Pat Fitzgerald, in his seventh season at Northwestern, was the team's head coach. The Wildcats home games were played at Ryan Field in Evanston, Illinois. They were members of the Legends Division of the Big Ten Conference. The Wildcats won their first bowl game since the 1949 Rose Bowl against California by defeating Mississippi State in the Gator Bowl 34–20.^[1] They finished the season 10–3 (5–3 Big Ten).

2012 Northwestern Wildcats football
Gator Bowl champion
Gator Bowl, W 34–20 vs. Mississippi State
Conference	Big Ten Conference
Division	Legends Division
Ranking
Coaches	No. 16
AP	No. 17
Record	10–3 (5–3 Big Ten)
Head coach	Pat Fitzgerald (7th season)
Offensive coordinator	Mick McCall (5th season)
Offensive scheme	Spread
Defensive coordinator	Mike Hankwitz (5th season)
Base defense	Multiple 4–3
Captains	Brian Arnfelt Kain Colter Brian Mulroe David Nwabuisi
Home stadium	Ryan Field
Seasons ← 2011 2013 →

2012 Big Ten Conference football standings

v t e	Conf							Overall
Team		W		L					W		L
Legends Division
No. 25 Nebraska xy		7	–	1					10	–	4
No. 24 Michigan		6	–	2					8	–	5
No. 17 Northwestern		5	–	3					10	–	3
Michigan State		3	–	5					7	–	6
Iowa		2	–	6					4	–	8
Minnesota		2	–	6					6	–	7
Leaders Division
No. 3 Ohio State* x		8	–	0					12	–	0
Penn State*		6	–	2					8	–	4
Wisconsin y$		4	–	4					8	–	6
Purdue		3	–	5					6	–	7
Indiana		2	–	6					4	–	8
Illinois		0	–	8					2	–	10
Championship: Wisconsin 70, Nebraska 31
$ – BCS representative as conference champion x – Division champion/co-champions * Ohio State and Penn State ineligible for conference championship game and post-season bowl games due to NCAA sanctions. Rankings from AP Poll

Preseason

Recruiting

Northwestern signed 21 recruits to letters-of-intent on National Signing Day on February 1, 2012.^[2]

Transfers

Wide receiver Kyle Prater transferred to Northwestern from USC on January 28, 2012, after being injured during most of the 2011 season and redshirting in 2010.^[3] The Wildcats requested a waiver to allow Prater to play immediately in 2012, as he transferred to a school close to home in order to care for a family member.^[4] Sophomore running back Adonis Smith, who was thought to be a candidate for the starting running back job in 2012 after rushing for 266 yards in 2011, announced his intent to transfer from Northwestern on February 22.^[5] He decided to transfer to UNLV.^[6] Defensive back Quinn Evans transferred to Northwestern after graduating from Stanford in June 2012. After missing the entire 2011 season because of injury, he chose to attend Northwestern as a graduate student with a year of college football eligibility remaining.^[7]

Schedule

The schedule is as follows:^[8]

Date	Time	Opponent	Rank	Site	TV	Result	Attendance
September 1	11:00 am	at Syracuse*		Carrier Dome Syracuse, NY	ESPN2	W 42–41	37,830^[9]
September 8	7:00 pm	Vanderbilt*		Ryan Field Evanston, IL	BTN	W 23–13	31,644^[10]
September 15	2:30 pm	Boston College*		Ryan Field Evanston, IL	BTN	W 22–13	32,597^[11]
September 22	2:30 pm	South Dakota*		Ryan Field Evanston, IL	BTN	W 38–7	28,641^[12]
September 29	11:00 am	Indiana		Ryan Field Evanston, IL	BTN	W 44–29	33,129^[13]
October 6	11:00 am	at Penn State	No. 24	Beaver Stadium University Park, PA	ESPN	L 28–39	95,796^[14]
October 13	11:00 am	at Minnesota		TCF Bank Stadium Minneapolis, MN	ESPN2	W 21–13	49,651^[15]
October 20	2:30 pm	Nebraska		Ryan Field Evanston, IL	ABC/ESPN2	L 28–29	47,330^[16]
October 27	11:00 am	Iowa		Ryan Field Evanston, IL	ESPN2	W 28–17	44,121^[17]
November 10	11:00 am	at Michigan	No. 24	Michigan Stadium Ann Arbor, MI (rivalry)	ESPN	L 31–38 ^OT	112,510^[18]
November 17	11:00 am	at Michigan State		Spartan Stadium East Lansing, MI	ESPN2	W 23–20	75,101^[19]
November 24	11:00 am	Illinois		Ryan Field Evanston, IL (Land of Lincoln Trophy)	BTN	W 50–14	32,415^[20]
January 1	11:00 am	vs. Mississippi State	No. 21	EverBank Field Jacksonville, FL (Gator Bowl)	ESPN2	W 34–20	48,612^[21]
*Non-conference game Homecoming Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game All times are in Central time

Rankings

See also: 2012 NCAA Division I FBS football rankings

Ranking movements
Legend: ██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking
— = Not ranked RV = Received votes

	Week
Poll	Pre	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	Final
AP	—	RV	RV	RV	RV	24	RV	RV	—	RV	RV	RV	RV	22	21	17
Coaches	—	RV	RV	RV	RV	22	RV	RV	RV	RV	21	RV	RV	20	17	16
Harris	Not released						RV	RV	RV	RV	24	RV	RV	21	20	Not released
BCS	Not released							—	—	—	24	—	—	22	20	Not released

Game summaries

Syracuse

See also: 2012 Syracuse Orange football team

1 2 3 4 Total • Northwestern 7 14 14 7 42 Syracuse 6 7 14 14 41 Date: September 1 Location: Carrier Dome, Syracuse, NY Game start: 11:00 a.m. CDT Elapsed time: 4:00 Game attendance: 37,830 Game weather: 80 °F (27 °C) at kickoff, reaching 95 °F (35 °C) inside the dome by the 2nd half Referee: John O'Neill TV announcers (ESPN2): Beth Mowins (Play-by-play), Joey Galloway (Color) & Jenn Brown (Sideline) Sources:^[9]^[22]

Scoring summary 1 10:47 SYR Ross Krautman 22 yd field goal SYR 0–3 1 3:57 SYR Ross Krautman 33 yd field goal SYR 0–6 1 0:23 NU Venric Mark 82 yd punt return (Jeff Budzien kick) NU 7–6 2 10:58 SYR Prince-Tyson Gulley 14 yd run (Ross Krautman kick) SYR 7–13 2 6:53 NU Venric Mark 21 yd pass from Kain Colter (Jeff Budzien kick) NU 14–13 2 3:49 NU Christian Jones 14 yd pass from Kain Colter (Jeff Budzien kick) NU 21–13 3 13:32 NU Chi Chi Ariguzo 33 yd fumble return (Jeff Budzien kick) NU 28–13 3 7:34 NU Kain Colter 1 yd run (Jeff Budzien kick) NU 35–13 3 2:21 SYR Marcus Sales 7 yd pass from Ryan Nassib (Ross Krautman kick) NU 35–20 3 0:00 SYR Jeremiah Kobena 50 yd pass from Ryan Nassib (Ross Krautman kick) NU 35–27 4 6:42 SYR Jeremiah Kobena 7 yd pass from Ryan Nassib (two-point conversion failed) NU 35–33 4 2:40 SYR Christopher Clark 20 yd pass from Ryan Nassib (Prince-Tyson Gulley run for two-point conversion) SYR 35–41 4 0:44 NU Demetrius Fields 9 yd pass from Trevor Siemian (Jeff Budzien kick) Nu 42–41

The game got off to a slow start with some notable miscues on Northwestern's special teams play. All of which was quickly forgotten when Venric Mark scored an 82-yard touchdown on a punt return, the first return touchdown of his career. Northwestern continued to dominate offensively on the work of Mark and Kain Colter, taking a 35–13 lead in the middle of the 3rd quarter. The Orange then scored 4 straight touchdowns to lead 41–35 by attacking the young Northwestern secondary with deep passes to the outside. With under 3 minutes left and needing a score to win, Northwestern changed quarterbacks. Trevor Siemian came on to lead a 75-yard drive that scored the go-ahead touchdown. Northwestern survived to win and remain 7–0 in season openers under Pat Fitzgerald.

Vanderbilt

See also: 2012 Vanderbilt Commodores football team

1 2 3 4 Total Vanderbilt 7 3 0 3 13 • Northwestern 3 0 3 17 23 Date: September 8 Location: Ryan Field, Evanston, IL Game start: 7:03 p.m. CDT Elapsed time: 3:15 Game attendance: 31,644 Game weather: 71 °F (22 °C), mostly cloudy, wind 9 mph (14 km/h) NW Referee: Matt Laeffler TV announcers (BTN): Eric Collins (Play-by-play), Derek Rackley (Color) & Lisa Byington (Sideline) Sources:^[10]^[23]

Scoring summary 1 10:11 Vandy Jordan Matthews 22 yd pass from Jordan Rodgers (Carey Spear kick) Vandy 7–0 1 7:14 NU Jeff Budzien 40 yd field goal Vandy 7–3 2 12:38 Vandy Carey Spear 32 yd field goal Vandy 10–3 3 10:16 NU Jeff Budzien 37 yd field goal Vandy 10–6 4 9:28 NU Venric Mark 7 yd run (Jeff Budzien kick) NU 10–13 4 5:21 Vandy Carey Spear 26 yd field goal Tied 13–13 4 2:01 NU Jeff Budzien 18 yd field goal NU 13–16 4 1:24 NU Kain Colter 29 yd run (Jeff Budzien kick) NU 13–23

Boston College

See also: 2012 Boston College Eagles football team

1 2 3 4 Total Boston College 3 7 0 3 13 • Northwestern 6 6 3 7 22 Date: September 15 Location: Ryan Field, Evanston, IL Game start: 2:43 p.m. CDT Elapsed time: 3:19 Game attendance: 32,597 Game weather: 75 °F (24 °C), sunny, wind 8 mph (13 km/h) NE Referee: Gary Patterson TV announcers (BTN): Josh Lewin (Play-by-play), Jon Jansen (Color) & Evan Fitzgerald (Sideline) Sources:^[11]^[24]

Scoring summary 1 12:25 NU Jeff Budzien 42 yd field goal NU 0–3 1 8:03 BC Nate Freese 21 yd field goal Tied 3–3 1 3:36 NU Jeff Budzien 20 yd field goal NU 3–6 2 13:21 NU Jeff Budzien 29 yd field goal NU 3–9 2 1:38 BC Johnathan Coleman 31 yd pass from Chase Rettig (Nate Freese kick) BC 10–9 2 0:02 NU Jeff Budzien 41 yd field goal NU 10–12 3 2:50 NU Jeff Budzien 19 yd field goal NU 10–15 4 14:50 BC Nate Freese 34 yd field goal NU 13–15 4 1:37 NU Mike Trumpy 27 yd run (Jeff Budzien kick) NU 13–22

South Dakota

See also: 2012 South Dakota Coyotes football team

1 2 3 4 Total South Dakota 0 0 7 0 7 • Northwestern 14 14 7 3 38 Date: September 22 Location: Ryan Field, Evanston, IL Game start: 2:42 p.m. CDT Elapsed time: 2:58 Game attendance: 28,641 Game weather: 55 °F (13 °C), mostly sunny, wind 15 mph (24 km/h) WNW Referee: Todd Geerlings TV announcers (BTN): Wayne Larrivee (Play-by-play), Jon Jansen (Color) & Evan Fitzgerald (Sideline) Sources:^[12]^[25]

Scoring summary 1 11:29 NU Venric Mark 3 yd run (Jeff Budzien kick) NU 0–7 1 7:28 NU Tyris Jones 5 yd run (Jeff Budzien kick) NU 0–14 2 8:16 NU Venric Mark 6 yd run (Jeff Budzien kick) NU 0–21 2 0:52 NU Venric Mark 4 yd run (Jeff Budzien kick) NU 0–28 3 11:33 NU Treyvon Green 33 yd run (Jeff Budzien kick) NU 0–35 3 4:10 SD Josh Vander Maten 4 yd run (Kevin Robb kick) NU 7–35 4 10:00 NU Steve Flaherty 39 yd field goal NU 7–38

Indiana

See also: 2012 Indiana Hoosiers football team

1 2 3 4 Total Indiana 0 0 21 8 29 • Northwestern 7 13 17 7 44 Date: September 29 Location: Ryan Field, Evanston, IL Game start: 11:01 a.m. CDT Elapsed time: 3:18 Game attendance: 33,129 Game weather: 66 °F (19 °C), partly cloudy, wind 6 mph (9.7 km/h) WNW Referee: Mike Cannon TV announcers (BTN): Kevin Kugler (Play-by-play) & Chris Martin (Color) Sources:^[13]^[26]

Scoring summary 1 5:52 NU Kain Colter 8 yd run (Jeff Budzien kick) NU 0–7 2 11:41 NU Jeff Budzien 44 yd field goal) NU 0–10 2 7:59 NU Kain Colter 8 yd run (Jeff Budzien kick) NU 0–17 2 0:56 NU Jeff Budzien 34 yd field goal) NU 0–20 3 11:52 NU Kain Colter 15 yd run (Jeff Budzien kick) NU 0–27 3 9:24 IU Stephen Houston 20 yd run (Mitch Ewald kick) NU 7–27 3 7:28 IU Kofi Hughes 35 yd pass from Nate Sudfeld (Mitch Ewald kick) NU 14–27 3 4:43 NU Venric Mark 1 yd run (Jeff Budzien kick) NU 14–34 3 4:29 IU Tevin Coleman 96 yd kickoff return (Mitch Ewald kick) NU 21–34 3 1:16 NU Jeff Budzien 29 yd field goal NU 21–37 4 14:06 IU D'Angelo Roberts 2 yd run (Kofi Hughes run for two-point conversion) NU 29–37 4 5:07 NU Kain Colter 22 yd run (Jeff Budzien kick) NU 29–44

Penn State

See also: 2012 Penn State Nittany Lions football team

1 2 3 4 Total #24 Northwestern 0 14 14 0 28 • Penn State 3 7 7 22 39 Date: October 6 Location: Beaver Stadium, University Park, PA Game start: 11:00 AM CDT Elapsed time: 3:20 Game attendance: 95,769 Game weather: 54–56 °F (12–13 °C), cloudy and cool, wind W 12 mph (19 km/h) Referee: John O'Neill TV announcers (ESPN): Dave Pasch (Play-by-play), Brian Griese (Color) & Jenn Brown (Sideline)

Roster

2012 Northwestern Wildcats roster^[27]^[28]
Quarterbacks 2 Kain Colter (C) – Junior 10 Zack Oliver –   Freshman 13 Trevor Siemian – Sophomore 15 P. J. Carollo –   Freshman 18 Christian Salem – Freshman Running backs 3 Tyris Jones – Senior 5 Venric Mark – Junior 20 Malin Jones – Freshman 21 Jordan Perkins – Freshman 22 Treyvon Green – Sophomore 25 Jordan Perkins –   Freshman 27 Mike Panico – Freshman 28 Tim Hanrahan – Sophomore 29 Stephen Buckley – Freshman 32 Mike Trumpy – Junior 34 Michael Odom – Freshman Wide receivers 6 Tony Jones – Sophomore 8 Demetrius Fields – Senior 8 Jack Mitchell – Freshman 11 Pierre Youngblood-Ary –   Freshman 12 Cermak Bland –   Freshman 14 Christian Jones – Sophomore 17 Rashad Lawrence – Junior 19 Cameron Dickerson –   Freshman 21 Kyle Prater – Sophomore 80 Mike Jensen – Junior 82 Andrew Scanlan – Freshman 83 Mike McHugh – Freshman 84 Drew Moulton – Junior 89 Austin Carr – Freshman Superbacks 40 Dan Vitale – Freshman 41 Doug Diedrick –   Freshman 43 Tim Riley – Junior 81 Evan Watkins – Junior 85 Mark Szott –   Freshman 86 Jack Schwaba – Freshman 87 Brian Smith – Junior		Offensive line 53 Geoff Mogus –   Freshman 57 Matt Frazier –   Freshman 61 Alex Pietrzak –   Freshman 62 Taylor Paxton – Junior 63 Ian Park – Freshman 65 Hayden Baker – Sophomore 66 Brandon Vitabile – Sophomore 70 Patrick Ward – Senior 71 Shane Mertz –   Freshman 72 Brian Mulroe (C) – Senior 73 Adam DePietro – Freshman 74 Chuck Porcelli – Senior 75 Jack Konopka – Sophomore 76 Eric Olson – Freshman 77 Kenton Playko – Freshman 79 Neal Deiters – Senior 81 Paul Jorgensen – Sophomore Defensive line 1 Bo Cisek – Senior 67 Sean McEvilly – Sophomore 68 Connor Mahoney – Freshman 88 Quentin Williams – Senior 89 Max Chapman –   Freshman 90 C. J. Robbins –   Freshman 91 Brian Arnfelt (C) – Senior 92 Will Hampton – Junior 93 Greg Kuhar – Freshman 94 Dean Lowry – Freshman 95 Davon Custis – Junior 96 Anthony Battle – Junior 97 Tyler Scott – Junior 98 Deonte Gibson –   Freshman 99 Chance Carter – Sophomore		Linebackers 18 Ifeadi Odenigbo – Freshman 33 David Nwabuisi (C) – Senior 35 Eric Wilson – Freshman 44 Chi Chi Ariguzo – Sophomore 45 Collin Ellis – Sophomore 46 Damien Proby – Junior 48 Roderick Goodlow – Senior 50 Timmy Vernon – Junior 51 Jaylen Prater – Freshman 54 Eric Hauser – Freshman 55 Drew Smith –   Freshman 56 Will Studlien – Junior Defensive backs 3 Sean Oliver – Freshman 4 Jarrell Williams –   Freshman 9 Jimmy Hall – Sophomore 15 Daniel Jones – Sophomore 16 Davion Fleming – Junior 23 Nick VanHoose –   Freshman 24 Ibraheim Campbell – Sophomore 36 Mike Eshun – Sophomore 39 Joe Cannon – Sophomore 47 Troy Sheppard – Freshman Cornerbacks 2 Dwight White – Freshman 13 C.J. Bryant – Sophomore 22 Demetrius Dugar – Senior 31 Quinn Evans – Senior Safeties 7 Hunter Bates – Senior 10 Traveon Henry – Freshman 26 Terrance Brown – Freshman 27 Jared Carpenter – Senior 42 Joseph Jones – Freshman		Punters 31 Chris Gradone –   Freshman 39 Zak Kucera – Freshman 49 Brandon Williams – Junior Punters/kickers 33 Matt Micucci – Freshman Kickers 34 Steve Flaherty – Senior 37 Jeff Budzien – Junior 38 Arthur Omilian –   Freshman Long snappers 52 Chris Fitzpatrick – Freshman 59 Pat Hickey – Junior Head coach Pat Fitzgerald Coordinators/Assistant coaches Randy Bates – Linebackers coach Jerry brown – Assistant head coach/defensive backs coach Adam Cushing – Offensive line coach Mike Hankwitz – Defensive coordinator Bob heffner – Superbacks coach Marty long – Defensive line coach Matt macpherson – Running backs coach/recruiting coordinator Mick mccall – Offensive coordinator/QBs coach Dennis springer – Wide receivers coach Legend (C) Team captain   Redshirt

References

1. Greenstein, Teddy (January 1, 2013). "Northwestern Wins Gator Bowl to End Drought". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved January 1, 2013.
2. Taylor, John (February 1, 2012). "Northwestern announces 2012 recruiting class". NBC Sports. Retrieved February 22, 2012.
3. "WR Prater transfers from So. Cal to Northwestern". Sports Illustrated. January 28, 2012. Retrieved February 22, 2012.
4. Greenstein, Teddy (June 27, 2012). "Prater, NU Expect to Hear From NCAA in July". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved June 29, 2012.
5. Powers, Scott (February 22, 2012). "Adonis Smith Leaving Northwestern". ESPN. Retrieved February 22, 2012.
6. Taylor, John (March 8, 2012). "Ex-Northwestern RB Headed to UNLV". NBC Sports. Retrieved March 8, 2012.
7. . Northwestern University Department of Athletics. June 11, 2012. Archived from the original on June 14, 2012. Retrieved June 11, 2012.
8. . Northwestern University Department of Athletics. Archived from the original on June 20, 2010. Retrieved February 22, 2012.
9. "Northwestern Wildcats vs. Syracuse Orange Box Score". ESPN. September 1, 2012. Retrieved September 30, 2012.
10. "Vanderbilt Commodores vs. Northwestern Wildcats Box Score". ESPN. September 8, 2012. Retrieved September 30, 2012.
11. "Boston College Eagles vs. Northwestern Wildcats Box Score". ESPN. September 15, 2012. Retrieved September 30, 2012.
12. "South Dakota Coyotes vs. Northwestern Wildcats Box Score". ESPN. September 22, 2012. Retrieved September 30, 2012.
13. "Indiana Hoosiers vs. Northwestern Wildcats Box Score". ESPN. September 29, 2012. Retrieved September 30, 2012.
14. "Northwestern Wildcats vs. Penn State Nittany Lions Box Score". ESPN. October 6, 2012. Retrieved October 7, 2012.
15. "Northwestern Wildcats vs. Minnesota Golden Gophers Box Score". ESPN. October 13, 2012. Retrieved October 13, 2012.
16. "Nebraska Cornhuskers vs. Northwestern Wildcats Box Score". ESPN. October 20, 2012. Retrieved October 21, 2012.
17. "Iowa Hawkeyes vs. Northwestern Wildcats Box Score". ESPN. October 27, 2012. Retrieved October 27, 2012.
18. "Northwestern Wildcats vs. Michigan Wolverines Box Score". ESPN. November 10, 2012. Retrieved November 12, 2012.
19. "Northwestern Wildcats vs. Michigan State Spartans Box Score". ESPN. November 17, 2012. Retrieved November 17, 2012.
20. "Illinois Fighting Illini vs. Northwestern Wildcats Box Score". ESPN. November 24, 2012. Retrieved November 24, 2012.
21. "Mississippi State Bulldogs vs. Northwestern Wildcats Box Score". ESPN. January 1, 2013. Retrieved January 1, 2013.
22. . Northwestern University Department of Athletics. September 1, 2012. Archived from the original on December 27, 2014. Retrieved September 1, 2012.
23. . Northwestern University Department of Athletics. September 8, 2012. Archived from the original on December 27, 2014. Retrieved September 8, 2012.
24. . Northwestern University Department of Athletics. September 15, 2012. Archived from the original on December 27, 2014. Retrieved September 16, 2012.
25. . Northwestern University Department of Athletics. September 22, 2012. Archived from the original on December 27, 2014. Retrieved September 23, 2012.
26. . Northwestern University Department of Athletics. September 29, 2012. Archived from the original on December 27, 2014. Retrieved September 30, 2012.
27. . Archived from the original on July 29, 2014. Retrieved October 4, 2012.
28. . Archived from the original on November 19, 2012. Retrieved October 4, 2012.

External links

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