2023 Northwestern Wildcats football team

The 2023 Northwestern Wildcats football team represented Northwestern University in the West Division of the Big Ten Conference during the 2023 NCAA Division I FBS football season. They were led by first-year head coach David Braun and played their home games at Ryan Field (in its final season) in Evanston, Illinois. Braun began the season as interim head coach and was elevated to permanent head coach on November 15 following the team's 24–10 road win over Wisconsin.^[1]

2023 Northwestern Wildcats football
Las Vegas Bowl champion
Las Vegas Bowl, W 14–7 vs. Utah
Conference	Big Ten Conference
Division	West Division
Record	8–5 (5–4 Big Ten)
Head coach	David Braun (1st season)
Offensive coordinator	Mike Bajakian (4th season)
Offensive scheme	Spread
Base defense	Multiple 4–3
Home stadium	Ryan Field
Seasons ← 2022 2024 →

2023 Big Ten Conference football standings

v t e	Conf							Overall
Team		W		L					W		L
East Division
No. 1 Michigan xy$#^		9	–	0					15	–	0
No. 10 Ohio State		8	–	1					11	–	2
No. 13 Penn State		7	–	2					10	–	3
Maryland		4	–	5					8	–	5
Rutgers		3	–	6					7	–	6
Michigan State		2	–	7					4	–	8
Indiana		1	–	8					3	–	9
West Division
No. 24 Iowa xy		7	–	2					10	–	4
Northwestern		5	–	4					8	–	5
Wisconsin		5	–	4					7	–	6
Minnesota		3	–	6					6	–	7
Illinois		3	–	6					5	–	7
Nebraska		3	–	6					5	–	7
Purdue		3	–	6					4	–	8
Championship: Michigan 26, Iowa 0
# – College Football Playoff champion ^ – College Football Playoff participant $ – Conference champion x – Division champion/co-champions y – Championship game participant Rankings from AP Poll

The Wildcats finished the regular season with a record of 7–5 and went 5–4 in conference play to finish second in the Big Ten West. Braun was named Big Ten Coach of the Year.^[2] The Wildcats were selected to face Utah in the Las Vegas Bowl, where they won 14–7.

The Northwestern Wildcats football team drew an average home attendance of 20,800 in 2023.

Hazing and sexual abuse allegations

On July 7, 2023, the school announced that they had suspended head coach Pat Fitzgerald for two weeks without pay after an investigation related to hazing within the football program.^[3] Three days later as details emerged of the allegations from a former player that included hazing and sexual abuse, the school fired Fitzgerald after 17 years as head coach.^[4] The school named defensive coordinator David Braun the interim head coach for the season.^[5]

Preseason

Big 10 media poll

The Wildcats were predicted to finish seventh in the Big Ten's West Division.^[6]

Big Ten media poll West Division
Predicted finish	Team	Points (1st place votes)
1	Wisconsin	233 (20)
2	Iowa	232 (16)
3	Minnesota	176 (1)
4	Illinois	152
5	Nebraska	116
6	Purdue	89
7	Northwestern	38

Schedule

Date	Time	Opponent	Site	TV	Result	Attendance	Source
September 3	11:00 a.m.	at Rutgers	SHI Stadium Piscataway, NJ	CBS	L 7–24	53,026
September 9	2:30 p.m.	UTEP*	Ryan Field Evanston, IL	BTN	W 38–7	14,851
September 16	2:30 p.m.	at No. 21 Duke*	Wallace Wade Stadium Durham, NC	ACCN	L 14–38	18,141
September 23	6:30 p.m.	Minnesota	Ryan Field Evanston, IL	BTN	W 37–34 OT	20,148
September 30	11:00 a.m.	No. 6 Penn State	Ryan Field Evanston, IL	BTN	L 13–41	25,064
October 7	2:00 p.m.	Howard*	Ryan Field Evanston, IL	BTN	W 23–20	22,160
October 21	2:30 p.m.	at Nebraska	Memorial Stadium Lincoln, NE	BTN	L 9–17	86,769
October 28	11:00 a.m.	Maryland	Ryan Field Evanston, IL	BTN	W 33–27	19,286
November 4	2:30 p.m.	Iowa	Wrigley Field Chicago, IL	Peacock	L 7–10	38,000
November 11	2:30 p.m.	at Wisconsin	Camp Randall Stadium Madison, WI	FS1	W 24–10	76,124
November 18	11:00 a.m.	Purdue	Ryan Field Evanston, IL	BTN	W 23–15	23,291
November 25	2:30 p.m.	at Illinois	Memorial Stadium Champaign, IL (rivalry)	BTN	W 45–43	42,310
December 23	6:30 p.m.	vs. Utah*	Allegiant Stadium Paradise, NV (Las Vegas Bowl)	ABC	W 14–7	20,897
*Non-conference game Homecoming Rankings from AP Poll (and CFP Rankings, after October 31) - Released prior to game All times are in Central time Source: [7]

Game summaries

At Rutgers

See also: 2023 Rutgers Scarlet Knights football team

	1	2	3	4	Total
Wildcats	0	0	0	7	7
Scarlet Knights	7	10	7	0	24

Statistics	NU	RUTG
First downs	13	20
Total yards	201	285
Rushing yards	12	122
Passing yards	189	163
Turnovers	2	1
Time of possession	22:04	37:56

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
Northwestern	Passing	Ben Bryant	20/36, 169 yards, 2 INT
	Rushing	Brendan Sullivan	4 rushes, 11 yards
	Receiving	Camron Johnson	4 receptions, 45 yards
Rutgers	Passing	Gavin Wimsatt	17/29, 163 yards, TD
	Rushing	Kyle Monangai	14 rushes, 49 yards, TD
	Receiving	Isaiah Washington	4 receptions, 36 yards

UTEP

See also: 2023 UTEP Miners football team

	1	2	3	4	Total
Miners	7	0	0	0	7
Wildcats	7	0	21	10	38

Statistics	UTEP	NU
First downs	18	17
Total yards	319	391
Rushing yards	104	184
Passing yards	215	207
Turnovers	3	0
Time of possession	31:21	28:39

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
UTEP	Passing	Gavin Hardison	17/25, 192 yards, TD, 2 INT
	Rushing	Torrance Burgess Jr.	7 rushes, 34 yards
	Receiving	Jeremiah Ballard	4 receptions, 92 yards
Northwestern	Passing	Ben Bryant	11/17, 116 yards, TD
	Rushing	Cam Porter	17 rushes, 90 yards
	Receiving	Joseph Himon II	1 reception, 85 yards, TD

At No. 21 Duke

See also: 2023 Duke Blue Devils football team

	1	2	3	4	Total
Wildcats	0	7	0	7	14
No. 21 Blue Devils	7	10	14	7	38

Statistics	NU	DUKE
First downs	19	25
Total yards	267	487
Rushing yards	104	268
Passing yards	163	219
Turnovers	1	0
Time of possession	28:54	31:06

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
Northwestern	Passing	Ben Bryant	17/34, 123 yards, TD, INT
	Rushing	Cam Porter	10 rushes, 49 yards
	Receiving	Camron Johnson	5 receptions, 45 yards
Duke	Passing	Riley Leonard	15/20, 219 yards
	Rushing	Riley Leonard	13 rushes, 97 yards, 2 TD
	Receiving	Jalon Calhoun	5 receptions, 112 yards

Minnesota

See also: 2023 Minnesota Golden Gophers football team

	1	2	3	4	OT	Total
Golden Gophers	7	17	7	0	3	34
Wildcats	0	7	3	21	6	37

Statistics	MINN	NU
First downs	15	25
Total yards	397	492
Rushing yards	244	92
Passing yards	153	400
Turnovers	0	1
Time of possession	30:10	29:50

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
Minnesota	Passing	Athan Kaliakmanis	14/19, 153 yards, 2 TD
	Rushing	Darius Taylor	31 rushes, 198 yards, 2 TD
	Receiving	Daniel Jackson	4 receptions, 53 yards, TD
Northwestern	Passing	Ben Bryant	33/49, 396 yards, 4 TD
	Rushing	Cam Porter	16 rushes, 56 yards, TD
	Receiving	Bryce Kirtz	10 receptions, 215 yards, 2 TD

No. 6 Penn State

See also: 2023 Penn State Nittany Lions football team

	1	2	3	4	Total
No. 6 Nittany Lions	3	7	17	14	41
Wildcats	3	7	0	3	13

Statistics	PSU	NU
First downs	19	12
Total yards	353	175
Rushing yards	134	45
Passing yards	219	130
Turnovers	1	1
Time of possession	32:08	27:52

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
Penn State	Passing	Drew Allar	18/33, 189 yards, TD
	Rushing	Nicholas Singleton	21 rushes, 80 yards, TD
	Receiving	KeAndre Lambert-Smith	4 receptions, 86 yards
Northwestern	Passing	Ben Bryant	14/25, 122 yards
	Rushing	Brendan Sullivan	7 rushes, 25 yards
	Receiving	Camron Johnson	6 receptions, 81 yards

Howard

See also: 2023 Howard Bison football team

	1	2	3	4	Total
Bison	0	0	7	13	20
Wildcats	9	7	7	0	23

Statistics	HOW	NU
First downs	18	21
Total yards	331	312
Rushing yards	162	181
Passing yards	169	131
Turnovers	0	0
Time of possession	29:34	30:26

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
Howard	Passing	Quinton Williams	18/30, 169 yards
	Rushing	Eden James	21 rushes, 177 yards, TD
	Receiving	Richie Ilarraza	7 receptions, 65 yards
Northwestern	Passing	Brendan Sullivan	13/18, 131 yards, 2 TD
	Rushing	Cam Porter	18 rushes, 78 yards
	Receiving	Camron Johnson	4 receptions, 55 yards, TD

At Nebraska

See also: 2023 Nebraska Cornhuskers football team

	1	2	3	4	Total
Wildcats	3	3	0	3	9
Cornhuskers	3	7	0	7	17

Statistics	NU	NEB
First downs	12	14
Total yards	257	248
Rushing yards	81	163
Passing yards	176	85
Turnovers	1	2
Time of possession	30:52	29:08

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
Northwestern	Passing	Brendan Sullivan	12/23, 176 yards, INT
	Rushing	Anthony Tyus III	6 rushes, 63 yards
	Receiving	Bryce Kirtz	3 receptions, 96 yards
Nebraska	Passing	Heinrich Haarberg	8/17, 85 yards, TD, 2 INT
	Rushing	Emmett Johnson	12 rushes, 73 yards
	Receiving	Malachi Coleman	1 reception, 44 yards, TD

Maryland

See also: 2023 Maryland Terrapins football team

	1	2	3	4	Total
Terrapins	14	3	3	7	27
Wildcats	14	10	3	6	33

Statistics	MD	NU
First downs	25	19
Total yards	391	364
Rushing yards	117	99
Passing yards	274	265
Turnovers	2	0
Time of possession	29:13	30:47

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
Maryland	Passing	Taulia Tagovailoa	30/47, 274 yards, 3 TD, INT
	Rushing	Colby McDonald	5 rushes, 43 yards
	Receiving	Jeshaun Jones	9 receptions, 78 yards, TD
Northwestern	Passing	Brendan Sullivan	16/23, 265 yards, 2 TD
	Rushing	Brendan Sullivan	14 rushes, 56 yards
	Receiving	Joseph Himon II	2 receptions, 67 yards

Iowa

See also: 2023 Iowa Hawkeyes football team

	1	2	3	4	Total
Hawkeyes	0	0	7	3	10
Wildcats	0	0	0	7	7

Statistics	IOWA	NU
First downs	14	12
Total yards	169	170
Rushing yards	104	89
Passing yards	65	81
Turnovers	1	0
Time of possession	30:18	29:42

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
Iowa	Passing	Deacon Hill	10/15, 65 yards, TD, INT
	Rushing	Leshon Williams	24 rushes, 79 yards
	Receiving	Kaleb Brown	1 reception, 23 yards
Northwestern	Passing	Brendan Sullivan	12/19, 81 yards, TD
	Rushing	Anthony Tyus III	10 rushes, 40 yards
	Receiving	A. J. Henning	4 receptions, 13 yards

At Wisconsin

See also: 2023 Wisconsin Badgers football team

	1	2	3	4	Total
Wildcats	7	17	0	0	24
Badgers	3	0	0	7	10

Statistics	NU	WIS
First downs	18	17
Total yards	324	341
Rushing yards	129	86
Passing yards	195	255
Turnovers	0	1
Time of possession	32:10	27:50

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
Northwestern	Passing	Ben Bryant	18/26, 195 yards, 2 TD
	Rushing	Cam Porter	18 rushes, 72 yards
	Receiving	A. J. Henning	3 receptions, 70 yards, TD
Wisconsin	Passing	Tanner Mordecai	31/45, 255 yards
	Rushing	Cade Yacamelli	9 rushes, 47 yards
	Receiving	Will Pauling	10 receptions, 96 yards

Purdue

See also: 2023 Purdue Boilermakers football team

	1	2	3	4	Total
Boilermakers	0	0	7	8	15
Wildcats	6	0	10	7	23

Statistics	PUR	NU
First downs	21	12
Total yards	443	329
Rushing yards	303	99
Passing yards	140	230
Turnovers	4	1
Time of possession	34:43	25:17

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
Purdue	Passing	Ryan Browne	12/16, 104 yards, 2 INT
	Rushing	Tyrone Tracy Jr.	16 rushes, 160 yards, TD
	Receiving	Devin Mockobee	3 receptions, 44 yards
Northwestern	Passing	Ben Bryant	13/24, 230 yards, TD, INT
	Rushing	Cam Porter	17 rushes, 95 yards, 2 TD
	Receiving	Camron Johnson	3 receptions, 88 yards, TD

At Illinois

See also: 2023 Illinois Fighting Illini football team

	1	2	3	4	Total
Wildcats	7	14	7	17	45
Fighting Illini	3	17	3	20	43

Statistics	NU	ILL
First downs	20	20
Total yards	379	455
Rushing yards	145	107
Passing yards	234	348
Turnovers	2	4
Time of possession	29:50	30:10

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
Northwestern	Passing	Ben Bryant	24/32, 234 yards, 2 TD, 2 INT
	Rushing	Cam Porter	16 rushes, 69 yards
	Receiving	Camron Johnson	7 receptions, 124 yards, TD
Illinois	Passing	John Paddock	24/34, 334 yards, 3 TD, 2 INT
	Rushing	Reggie Love III	23 rushes, 106 yards
	Receiving	Casey Washington	9 receptions, 218 yards, 3 TD

Vs. Utah (Las Vegas Bowl)

Main article: 2023 Las Vegas Bowl

See also: 2023 Utah Utes football team

	1	2	3	4	Total
Utes	0	0	0	7	7
Wildcats	0	7	0	7	14

Statistics	UTAH	NU
First downs	13	18
Total yards	211	290
Rushing yards	138	65
Passing yards	73	225
Turnovers	3	0
Time of possession	34:21	25:39

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
Utah	Passing	Bryson Barnes	8/13, 55 yards, 2 INT
	Rushing	Ja'Quinden Jackson	8 rushes, 55 yards
	Receiving	Micah Bernard	3 receptions, 24 yards
Northwestern	Passing	Ben Bryant	23/34, 222 yards, 2 TD
	Rushing	Cam Porter	10 rushes, 33 yards
	Receiving	Bryce Kirtz	5 receptions, 68 yards, TD

References

1. Chicago Tribune staff (November 15, 2023). "David Braun named Northwestern's permanent head football coach midway through interim season". The Chicago Tribune. Retrieved December 2, 2023.
2. "Northwestern's Braun named Big Ten coach of the year. Coaches vote 8 Michigan players to 1st team". Associated Press. November 29, 2023. Retrieved December 1, 2023.
3. "Northwestern Football: Pat Fitzgerald Suspended Amid Hazing Probe - Sports Illustrated". Sports Illustrated. Retrieved August 23, 2023.
4. "Northwestern fires Fitzgerald amid hazing claims". ESPN.com. July 10, 2023. Retrieved August 23, 2023.
5. "Northwestern names defensive coordinator David Braun as interim head coach". Yahoo Sports. July 14, 2023. Retrieved August 23, 2023.
6. Cobb, David (July 25, 2023). "Big Ten football predicted order of finish for 2023: Michigan picked to win conference title over Ohio State". CBS Sports. Retrieved October 20, 2023.
7. "2023 Football Schedule". Northwestern University Sports. Retrieved December 20, 2022.