2017 Northwestern Wildcats football team

The 2017 Northwestern Wildcats football team represented Northwestern University during the 2017 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The Wildcats played their home games at Ryan Field in Evanston, Illinois, and competed in the West Division of the Big Ten Conference. They were led by 12th-year head coach Pat Fitzgerald. This was the Wildcats' fifth ten-win season, three of which were led by Pat Fitzgerald. They finished the season 10–3, 7–2 in Big Ten play to finish in second place in the West Division. They were invited to the Music City Bowl where they defeated Kentucky.

2017 Northwestern Wildcats football
Music City Bowl champion
Music City Bowl, W 24–23 vs. Kentucky
Conference	Big Ten Conference
Division	West Division
Ranking
Coaches	No. 17
AP	No. 17
Record	10–3 (7–2 Big Ten)
Head coach	Pat Fitzgerald (12th season)
Offensive coordinator	Mick McCall (10th season)
Offensive scheme	Spread
Defensive coordinator	Mike Hankwitz (10th season)
Base defense	Multiple 4–3
Home stadium	Ryan Field
Seasons ← 2016 2018 →

2017 Big Ten Conference football standings

v t e	Conf							Overall
Team		W		L					W		L
East Division
No. 5 Ohio State xy$		8	–	1					12	–	2
No. 15 Michigan State		7	–	2					10	–	3
No. 8 Penn State		7	–	2					11	–	2
Michigan		5	–	4					8	–	5
Rutgers		3	–	6					4	–	8
Indiana		2	–	7					5	–	7
Maryland		2	–	7					4	–	8
West Division
No. 7 Wisconsin xy		9	–	0					13	–	1
No. 17 Northwestern		7	–	2					10	–	3
Iowa		4	–	5					8	–	5
Purdue		4	–	5					7	–	6
Nebraska		3	–	6					4	–	8
Minnesota		2	–	7					5	–	7
Illinois		0	–	9					2	–	10
Championship: Ohio State 27, Wisconsin 21
$ – Conference champion x – Division champion/co-champions y – Championship game participant Rankings from AP Poll

Recruiting

Position key

Back	B		Center	C		Cornerback	CB		Defensive back	DB
Defensive end	DE		Defensive lineman	DL		Defensive tackle	DT		End	E
Fullback	FB		Guard	G		Halfback	HB		Kicker	K
Kickoff returner	KR		Offensive tackle	OT		Offensive lineman	OL		Linebacker	LB
Long snapper	LS		Punter	P		Punt returner	PR		Quarterback	QB
Running back	RB		Safety	S		Tight end	TE		Wide receiver	WR

Recruits

The Wildcats signed a total of 19 recruits.

College recruiting information (2017)
Name	Hometown	High school / college	Height	Weight	Commit date
Sam Gerak C	Avon, Ohio	Avon HS	6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)	270 lb (120 kg)	Dec 21, 2015
	Star ratings: Scout:   Rivals:   247Sports:    ESPN:
Sam Miller DT	Houston, Texas	Stratford HS	6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)	260 lb (120 kg)	Jan 24, 2016
	Star ratings: Scout:   Rivals:   247Sports:    ESPN:
Rashawn Slater OG	Sugar Land, Texas	Clements HS	6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)	269 lb (122 kg)	Jan 27, 2016
	Star ratings: Scout:   Rivals:   247Sports:    ESPN:
Earnest Brown IV DE	Denton, Texas	Ryan HS	6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)	240 lb (110 kg)	Mar 22, 2016
	Star ratings: Scout:   Rivals:   247Sports:    ESPN:
Trevor Kent DE	Pittsburg, Kansas	Pittsburg HS	6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)	253 lb (115 kg)	Mar 23, 2016
	Star ratings: Scout:   Rivals:   247Sports:    ESPN:
Austin Hiller S	Austin, Texas	Lake Travis HS	6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)	200 lb (91 kg)	Mar 24, 2016
	Star ratings: Scout:   Rivals:   247Sports:    ESPN:
Trey Pugh TE	Plain City, Ohio	Jonathan Alder HS	6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)	225 lb (102 kg)	Apr 3, 2016
	Star ratings: Scout:   Rivals:   247Sports:    ESPN:
Bryce Jackson S	Denton, Texas	Guyer HS	6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)	181 lb (82 kg)	Apr 6, 2016
	Star ratings: Scout:   Rivals:   247Sports:    ESPN:
Cameron Ruiz CB	Lake Villa, Illinois	Lakes Community HS	5 ft 10 in (1.78 m)	165 lb (75 kg)	Apr 11, 2016
	Star ratings: Scout:   Rivals:   247Sports:    ESPN:
Peter McIntyre LB	Toledo, Ohio	St. John's Jesuit HS	6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)	213 lb (97 kg)	Apr 21, 2016
	Star ratings: Scout:   Rivals:   247Sports:    ESPN:
Andrew Marty QB	Cincinnati, Ohio	Wyoming HS	6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)	200 lb (91 kg)	Apr 26, 2016
	Star ratings: Scout:   Rivals:   247Sports:    ESPN:
J.R. Pace S	Atlanta, Georgia	Woodward Academy	6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)	190 lb (86 kg)	May 15, 2016
	Star ratings: Scout:   Rivals:   247Sports:    ESPN:
Jace James WR	Carol Stream, Illinois	Glenbard North HS	6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)	185 lb (84 kg)	Jun 12, 2016
	Star ratings: Scout:   Rivals:   247Sports:    ESPN:
Charlie Kuhbander K	Springboro, Ohio	Springboro HS	5 ft 11 in (1.80 m)	185 lb (84 kg)	Jun 13, 2016
	Star ratings: Scout:   Rivals:   247Sports:    ESPN:
Ethan Wiederkehr OT	Shoreham, New York	Shoreham-Wading River HS	6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)	285 lb (129 kg)	Jun 13, 2016
	Star ratings: Scout:   Rivals:   247Sports:    ESPN:
Berkeley Holman WR	Bellflower, California	St. John Bosco HS	6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)	175 lb (79 kg)	Jun 18, 2016
	Star ratings: Scout:   Rivals:   247Sports:    ESPN:
Kyric McGowan RB	Dalton, Georgia	Dalton HS	5 ft 10 in (1.78 m)	183 lb (83 kg)	Jul 27, 2016
	Star ratings: Scout:   Rivals:   247Sports:    ESPN:
Blake Gallagher LB	Needham, Massachusetts	Saint Sebastian's School	6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)	220 lb (100 kg)	Dec 14, 2016
	Star ratings: Scout:   Rivals:   247Sports:    ESPN:
Chee Anyanwu S	Buford, Georgia	Buford HS	6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)	190 lb (86 kg)	Jan 21, 2017
	Star ratings: Scout:   Rivals:   247Sports:    ESPN:
Overall recruiting rankings:
Note: In many cases, Scout, Rivals, 247Sports, and ESPN may conflict in their listings of height and weight. In these cases, the average was taken. ESPN grades are on a 100-point scale. Sources: "Northwestern Football Commitments". Rivals.com. Retrieved February 19, 2017. "2017 Northwestern Football Commits". Scout.com. Retrieved February 19, 2017. "ESPN". ESPN.com. Retrieved February 19, 2017. "Scout.com Team Recruiting Rankings". Scout.com. Retrieved February 19, 2017. "2017 Team Ranking". Rivals.com. Retrieved February 19, 2017.

Schedule

Northwestern announced its 2017 football schedule on July 11, 2013. The 2017 schedule consisted of 7 home and 5 away games in the regular season. The Wildcats hosted Big Ten foes Iowa, Michigan State, Minnesota, Penn State, and Purdue, and traveled to Illinois, Maryland, Nebraska, Wisconsin.^[1]

The Wildcats hosted two of the three non-conference opponents, Bowling Green from the Mid-American Conference and Nevada from the Mountain West Conference, and traveled to Duke from the Atlantic Coast Conference.

Date	Time	Opponent	Rank	Site	TV	Result	Attendance
September 2	2:30 p.m.	Nevada*		Ryan Field Evanston, IL	BTN	W 31–20	33,018
September 9	11:00 a.m.	at Duke*		Wallace Wade Stadium Durham, NC	ESPNU	L 17–41	20,241
September 16	6:30 p.m.	Bowling Green*		Ryan Field Evanston, IL	BTN	W 49–7	33,706
September 30	11:00 a.m.	at No. 10 Wisconsin		Camp Randall Stadium Madison, WI	ABC	L 24–33	80,584
October 7	11:00 a.m.	No. 4 Penn State		Ryan Field Evanston, IL	ABC	L 7–31	41,061
October 14	2:30 p.m.	at Maryland		Maryland Stadium College Park, MD	ESPN2	W 37–21	38,325
October 21	11:00 a.m.	Iowa		Ryan Field Evanston, IL	ESPN2	W 17–10 OT	40,036
October 28	2:30 p.m.	No. 16 Michigan State		Ryan Field Evanston, IL	ESPN	W 39–31 3OT	39,369
November 4	2:30 p.m.	at Nebraska		Memorial Stadium Lincoln, NE	BTN	W 31–24 OT	89,721
November 11	6:00 p.m.	Purdue	No. 25	Ryan Field Evanston, IL	ESPN2	W 23–13	33,765
November 18	11:00 a.m.	Minnesota	No. 23	Ryan Field Evanston, IL	BTN	W 39–0	30,014
November 25	3:00 p.m.	at Illinois	No. 22	Memorial Stadium Champaign, IL (rivalry)	FS1	W 42–7	30,456
December 29	4:30 p.m.	vs. Kentucky	No. 21	Nissan Stadium Nashville, TN (Music City Bowl)	ESPN	W 24–23	48,675
*Non-conference game Homecoming Rankings from AP Poll and CFP Rankings after October 31 released prior to game All times are in Central time

Schedule Source:^[2]

Rankings

Further information: 2017 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	23	20	20	17
Coaches	RV	RV	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	RV	RV	23	20	20	17
CFP	Not released									—	25	23	22	21	21	Not released

Roster

2017 Northwestern Wildcats football team roster
Players			Coaches
Offense Pos. # Name Class WR 2 Flynn Nagel Jr WR 4 Solomon Vault Sr WR 5 Charles Fessler  So WR 6 Jelani Roberts Jr QB 7 Matt Alviti  Sr RB 8 Auston Anderson  Jr SB 9 Garrett Dickerson Sr QB 10 T.J. Green  So QB 11 Aidan Smith  Fr QB 13 Andrew Marty Fr QB 14 Lloyd Yates  So WR 15 Macan Wilson  Sr WR 16 Kyric McGowan Fr WR 17 Jalen Brown  Jr QB 18 Clayton Thorson (C)  Jr WR 19 Riley Lees  Fr RB 20 John Moten IV  So RB 21 Justin Jackson (C) Sr WR 23 Steven Reese  So RB 25 Corey Acker  Sr RB 26 Chad Hanaoka Sr RB 28 Jeremy Larkin  Fr RB 36 Jesse Brown So SB 44 James Prather  Jr SB 46 Eric Lutzen  Jr OL 50 Samuel Gerak Fr OL 57 Cam Kolwich  Fr OL 59 J. B. Butler  Jr OL 61 Jason Goosen  Fr OL 64 Andrew Otterman  So OL 65 Jared Thomas  So OL 66 Nik Urban  Fr OL 68 Connor Mahoney  Sr OL 69 Brad North  Sr OL 70 Rashawn Slater Fr OL 71 Tommy Doles  Jr OL 72 Blake Hance  Jr OL 73 Gunnar Vogel  Fr OL 74 Graham Bullmore  Sr OL 75 Ben Oxley  Jr OL 76 Ethan Wiederkehr Fr OL 77 Jesse Meyler  Fr OL 78 Adam Lemke-Bell  So OL 79 Trey Klock  Jr SB 80 Trey Pugh Fr WR 81 Ramaud Chiaokhiao-Bowman  Fr SB 82 Alex Oelsner Fr WR 83 Will Lansbury Fr SB 83 Heath Reineke  Jr WR 84 Cameron Green  So WR 85 Jack Tirmonia  Fr SB 86 Cody Link  Fr SB 87 Eric Eshoo  Fr WR 88 Ben Skowronek So WR 89 Berkeley Holman Fr	Defense Pos. # Name Class CB 3 Keith Watkins II  Jr DB 7 Marcus McShepard  Sr LB 10 Brett Walsh  Jr DB 11 Parrker Westphal  Jr DB 12 Alonzo Mayo  So LB 13 Warren Long  Sr S 16 Godwin Igwebuike (C)  Sr DB 18 Cameron Ruiz Fr S 21 Kyle Queiro  Sr DB 22 Bryce Jackson Fr DB 23 Donovan Sermons Fr CB 24 Montre Hartage Jr DB 25 Austin Hiller Fr DB 26 Brian Bullock  Fr DB 27 Roderick Campbell So DB 28 J. R. Pace Fr DB 29 Trae Williams  So LB 32 Nate Hall  Jr DB 33 Travis Whillock  Fr LB 34 Chee Anyanwu Fr LB 35 Erik Mueller Fr DB 37 Moe Almasri  Sr LB 40 Peter McIntyre Fr S 41 Jared McGee  Jr LB 42 Paddy Fisher  Fr LB 45 Nathan Fox  So LB 46 Troy Hudetz Fr DB 47 Joe Bergin  So LB 49 Chris Bergin Fr LB 50 Jango Glackin  Fr LB 51 Blake Gallagher Fr DL 54 Trent Goens  So DE 55 Mark Gooden  Fr DE 56 Xavier Washington Sr DL 1 Tyler Lancaster (C)  Sr DE 87 Trevor Kent Fr DT 90 Jake Saunders  Fr DL 91 Samdup Miller Fr DL 92 Fred Wyatt  Jr DL 93 Joe Spivak Fr DE 94 Tommy Carnifax  Fr DL 95 Alex Miller So DL 97 Joe Gaziano  So DE 98 Earnest Brown IV Fr DL 99 Jordan Thompson Jr	Special teams Pos. # Name Class K, P 14 Charlie Kuhbander Fr H, P 17 Daniel Kubiuk  Jr K, P 31 Luke Otto  Sr P 37 Cody Gronewold Fr K, P 38 Drew Luckenbaugh  Fr PK 39 Mason Weissenhofer  So LS 43 Tyler Gillikin  Fr LS 48 Peter Snodgrass Fr LS 58 Trevor Stroebel  Sr P 96 Hunter Niswander Sr	Head coach Pat Fitzgerald Coordinators/assistant coaches Randy Bates (linebackers) Jerry Brown (assistant head coach / defensive backs) Adam Cushing (offensive line) Mike Hankwitz (defensive coordinator) Bob Heffner (superbacks) Marty Long (defensive line) Matt MacPherson (running backs / recruiting coordinator) Mick McCall (offensive coordinator / quarterbacks) Dennis Springer (wide receivers) Chris Bowers (director of player personnel) Cody Cejda (director of football operations) Darby Dunnagan (director of video operations) Jay Hooten (director of sports performance for football) Jacob Schmidt (director of player development) Tim Brandon (offensive graduate assistant) Erik Frazier (offensive graduate assistant) Deonte Gibson (defensive graduate assistant) Kevin Koch (defensive graduate assistant) Mike Jasinski (recruiting assistant) Bryan Payton (recruiting assistant) Christian Sarkisian (recruiting assistant) Legend (C) Team captain (S) Suspended (I) Ineligible Injured Redshirt Roster Last update: August 18, 2017

Players in the 2018 NFL Draft

See also: 2018 NFL draft

Player	Position	Round	Pick	NFL club
Justin Jackson	RB	7	251	Los Angeles Chargers

References

1. "B1G Releases Nine-Game Conference Schedules for 2016, 2017" (Press release). Northwestern Wildcats Department of Athletics. July 11, 2013. Retrieved February 17, 2017.
2. "2017 Northwestern Wildcats Football Schedule". FB Schedules. Retrieved February 17, 2017.