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American college football season
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).
Previous season
In 2011 the Wildcats had a 6–7 record, ending the season with a 33–22 loss to Texas A&M in the 2011 Meineke Car Care Bowl of Texas .
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 * ESPN2 W 42–4137,830[ 9]
September 8 7:00 PM Vanderbilt * BTN W 23–1331,644[ 10]
September 15 2:30 PM Boston College * BTN W 22–1332,597[ 11]
September 22 2:30 PM South Dakota * BTN W 38–728,641[ 12]
September 29 11:00 AM Indiana BTN W 44–2933,129[ 13]
October 6 11:00 AM at Penn State No. 24 ESPN L 28–3995,796[ 14]
October 13 11:00 AM at Minnesota ESPN2 W 21–1349,651[ 15]
October 20 2:30 PM Nebraska ABC/ESPN2 L 28–2947,330[ 16]
October 27 11:00 AM Iowa ESPN2 W 28–1744,121[ 17]
November 10 11:00 AM at Michigan No. 24 ESPN L 31–38 OT 112,510[ 18]
November 17 11:00 AM at Michigan State ESPN2 W 23–2075,101[ 19]
November 24 11:00 AM Illinois BTN W 50–1432,415[ 20]
January 1 11:00 AM vs. Mississippi State No. 21 ESPN2 W 34–2048,612[ 21]
*Non-conference game HomecomingRankings from AP Poll released prior to the game All times are in Central time
Rankings
Ranking movementsLegend: ██ 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
1
2 3 4 Total
• Northwestern
7
14 14 7
42
Syracuse
6
7 14 14
41
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
Overall Record
Last Meeting
Result[ 23]
4–5
2009
SYR 37–34
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
1
2 3 4 Total
Vanderbilt
7
3 0 3
13
• Northwestern
3
0 3 17
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
Overall Record
Last Meeting
Result[ 25]
1–1–1
2010
NU 23–21
Boston College
1
2 3 4 Total
Boston College
3
7 0 3
13
• Northwestern
6
6 3 7
22
Date: September 15Location: Ryan Field , Evanston, IL Game start: 2:43 p.m. CDT Elapsed time: 3:19Game attendance: 32,597Game weather: 75°F, sunny, 8mph-NE windReferee: Gary PattersonTV announcers (BTN): Josh Lewin (Play-by-play), Jon Jansen (Color) & Evan Fitzgerald (Sideline)
Scoring summary 1 12:25 NU Jeff Budzien 42 yd field goal NU 0–3
1 8:03 BC Nate Freese 21 yd field goalTied 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
Overall Record
Last Meeting
Result[ 27]
3–1
2011
NU 24–17
South Dakota
1
2 3 4 Total
South Dakota
0
0 7 0
7
• Northwestern
14
14 7 3
38
Date: September 22Location: Ryan Field , Evanston, IL Game start: 2:42 p.m. CDT Elapsed time: 2:58Game attendance: 28,641Game weather: 55°F, mostly sunny, 15mph-WNW windReferee: Todd GeerlingsTV announcers (BTN): Wayne Larrivee (Play-by-play), Jon Jansen (Color) & Evan Fitzgerald (Sideline)
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
Overall Record
Last Meeting
Result[ 29]
4–0
1927
NU 47–2
Indiana
1
2 3 4 Total
Indiana
0
0 21 8
29
• Northwestern
7
13 17 7
44
Date: September 29Location: Ryan Field , Evanston, IL Game start: 11:01 a.m. CDT Elapsed time: 3:18Game attendance: 33,129Game weather: 66°F, partly cloudy, 6mph-WNW windReferee: Mike CannonTV announcers (BTN): Kevin Kugler (Play-by-play) & Chris Martin (Color)
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
Overall Record
Last Meeting
Result[ 31]
45–34–1
2011
NU 59–38
Penn State
1
2 3 4 Total
#24 Northwestern
0
14 14 0
28
• Penn State
3
7 7 22
39
Overall Record
Last Meeting
Result[ 32]
3–12
2011
PSU 34–24
Roster
References
^ Greenstein, Teddy (January 1, 2013). "Northwestern Wins Gator Bowl to End Drought" . Chicago Tribune . Retrieved January 1, 2013 .
^ Taylor, John (February 1, 2012). "Northwestern announces 2012 recruiting class" . NBC Sports . Retrieved February 22, 2012 .
^ "WR Prater transfers from So. Cal to Northwestern" . Sports Illustrated . January 28, 2012. Retrieved February 22, 2012 .
^ Greenstein, Teddy (June 27, 2012). "Prater, NU Expect to Hear From NCAA in July" . Chicago Tribune . Retrieved June 29, 2012 .
^ Powers, Scott (February 22, 2012). "Adonis Smith Leaving Northwestern" . ESPN . Retrieved February 22, 2012 .
^ Taylor, John (March 8, 2012). "Ex-Northwestern RB Headed to UNLV" . NBC Sports . Retrieved March 8, 2012 .
^ "Northwestern Announces Addition of Transfer Quinn Evans" . Northwestern University Department of Athletics. June 11, 2012. Archived from the original on June 14, 2012. Retrieved June 11, 2012 .
^ "2012 Northwestern Football Schedule" . Northwestern University Department of Athletics. Archived from the original on June 20, 2010. Retrieved February 22, 2012 .
^ a b "Northwestern Wildcats vs. Syracuse Orange Box Score" . ESPN . September 1, 2012. Retrieved September 30, 2012 .
^ a b "Vanderbilt Commodores vs. Northwestern Wildcats Box Score" . ESPN . September 8, 2012. Retrieved September 30, 2012 .
^ a b "Boston College Eagles vs. Northwestern Wildcats Box Score" . ESPN . September 15, 2012. Retrieved September 30, 2012 .
^ a b "South Dakota Coyotes vs. Northwestern Wildcats Box Score" . ESPN . September 22, 2012. Retrieved September 30, 2012 .
^ a b "Indiana Hoosiers vs. Northwestern Wildcats Box Score" . ESPN . September 29, 2012. Retrieved September 30, 2012 .
^ "Northwestern Wildcats vs. Penn State Nittany Lions Box Score" . ESPN . October 6, 2012. Retrieved October 7, 2012 .
^ "Northwestern Wildcats vs. Minnesota Golden Gophers Box Score" . ESPN . October 13, 2012. Retrieved October 13, 2012 .
^ "Nebraska Cornhuskers vs. Northwestern Wildcats Box Score" . ESPN . October 20, 2012. Retrieved October 21, 2012 .
^ "Iowa Hawkeyes vs. Northwestern Wildcats Box Score" . ESPN . October 27, 2012. Retrieved October 27, 2012 .
^ "Northwestern Wildcats vs. Michigan Wolverines Box Score" . ESPN . November 10, 2012. Retrieved November 12, 2012 .
^ "Northwestern Wildcats vs. Michigan State Spartans Box Score" . ESPN . November 17, 2012. Retrieved November 17, 2012 .
^ "Illinois Fighting Illini vs. Northwestern Wildcats Box Score" . ESPN . November 24, 2012. Retrieved November 24, 2012 .
^ "Mississippi State Bulldogs vs. Northwestern Wildcats Box Score" . ESPN . January 1, 2013. Retrieved January 1, 2013 .
^ "Northwestern 42, Syracuse 41" . Northwestern University Department of Athletics. September 1, 2012. Archived from the original on December 27, 2014. Retrieved September 1, 2012 .
^ DeLassus, David. "Northwestern vs Syracuse (NY)" . College Football Data Warehouse. Archived from the original on December 27, 2014. Retrieved December 27, 2014 .
^ "Northwestern 23, Vanderbilt 13" . Northwestern University Department of Athletics. September 8, 2012. Archived from the original on December 27, 2014. Retrieved September 8, 2012 .
^ DeLassus, David. "Northwestern vs Vanderbilt (TN)" . College Football Data Warehouse. Archived from the original on December 27, 2014. Retrieved December 27, 2014 .
^ "Northwestern 22, Boston College 13" . Northwestern University Department of Athletics. September 15, 2012. Archived from the original on December 27, 2014. Retrieved September 16, 2012 .
^ DeLassus, David. "Northwestern vs Boston College (MA)" . College Football Data Warehouse. Archived from the original on December 27, 2014. Retrieved December 27, 2014 .
^ "Northwestern 38, South Dakota 7" . Northwestern University Department of Athletics. September 22, 2012. Archived from the original on December 27, 2014. Retrieved September 23, 2012 .
^ DeLassus, David. "Northwestern vs South Dakota" . College Football Data Warehouse. Archived from the original on July 12, 2003. Retrieved December 27, 2014 .
^ "Indiana vs Northwestern" . Northwestern University Department of Athletics. September 29, 2012. Archived from the original on December 27, 2014. Retrieved September 30, 2012 .
^ DeLassus, David. "Northwestern vs Indiana" . College Football Data Warehouse. Archived from the original on December 27, 2014. Retrieved December 27, 2014 .
^ DeLassus, David. "Northwestern vs Penn State" . College Football Data Warehouse. Archived from the original on December 27, 2014. Retrieved December 27, 2014 .
^ "2012 Northwestern Wildcats football roster" . Archived from the original on July 29, 2014. Retrieved October 4, 2012 .
^ "2012 Northwestern Wildcats captains announcement" . Archived from the original on November 19, 2012. Retrieved October 4, 2012 .
External links
Media related to 2012 Northwestern Wildcats football team at Wikimedia Commons
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