The 2010 Northwestern Wildcats football team represented
Northwestern University
Northwestern University is a private research university in Evanston, Illinois. Founded in 1851, Northwestern is the oldest chartered university in Illinois and is ranked among the most prestigious academic institutions in the world.
Charte ...
in the
Big Ten
The Big Ten Conference (stylized B1G, formerly the Western Conference and the Big Nine Conference) is the oldest Division I collegiate athletic conference in the United States. Founded as the Intercollegiate Conference of Faculty Representati ...
during the
2010 NCAA Division I FBS football season.
Pat Fitzgerald
Patrick William Fitzgerald Jr. (born December 2, 1974) is the current head coach of the Northwestern University Wildcats football team. He was selected after the unexpected death of Randy Walker and announced at a press conference on July 7, 2 ...
, in his fifth season at Northwestern, was the team's head coach. The Wildcats home games were played at
Ryan Field Ryan Field may refer to:
* Baton Rouge Metropolitan Airport, also known as Ryan Field, in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, United States
* Ryan Field (airport), also known as Ryan Airfield, in Tucson, Arizona, United States
* Ryan Field (sportscaster) (born ...
in
Evanston, Illinois
Evanston ( ) is a city, suburb of Chicago. Located in Cook County, Illinois, United States, it is situated on the North Shore along Lake Michigan. Evanston is north of Downtown Chicago, bordered by Chicago to the south, Skokie to the west, Wil ...
. The annual rivalry game against the
University of Illinois
The University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (U of I, Illinois, University of Illinois, or UIUC) is a public land-grant research university in Illinois in the twin cities of Champaign and Urbana. It is the flagship institution of the University ...
was played at
Wrigley Field
Wrigley Field is a Major League Baseball (MLB) stadium on the North Side of Chicago, Illinois. It is the home of the Chicago Cubs, one of the city's two MLB franchises. It first opened in 1914 as Weeghman Park for Charles Weeghman's Chicago Wh ...
on November 20.
The Wildcats finished the season 7–6, 3–5 in Big Ten play and was invited to the inaugural
TicketCity Bowl
The First Responder Bowl is an NCAA post-season college football bowl game played annually in the Dallas, Texas, area. The bowl was first held on January 1, 2011, and since 2014 has been contested in late December. The bowl was held at the Cot ...
where they were defeated by
Texas Tech
Texas Tech University (Texas Tech, Tech, or TTU) is a public research university in Lubbock, Texas. Established on , and called Texas Technological College until 1969, it is the main institution of the five-institution Texas Tech University Sys ...
38–45.
Previous season
Last season, the Wildcats finished the season 8–5 (5–3 in
Big Ten
The Big Ten Conference (stylized B1G, formerly the Western Conference and the Big Nine Conference) is the oldest Division I collegiate athletic conference in the United States. Founded as the Intercollegiate Conference of Faculty Representati ...
play) and lost in the
Outback Bowl
The ReliaQuest Bowl is an annual college football bowl game played at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, Florida, usually on New Year's Day. The event has been formerly called the Hall of Fame Bowl from 1986 to 1995 and the Outback Bowl from 1996 to ...
35–38 in overtime against
Auburn
Auburn may refer to:
Places Australia
* Auburn, New South Wales
* City of Auburn, the local government area
*Electoral district of Auburn
*Auburn, Queensland, a locality in the Western Downs Region
*Auburn, South Australia
*Auburn, Tasmania
*Aub ...
.
Schedule
Regular season
Vanderbilt
Illinois State
Rice
Central Michigan
Minnesota
Purdue
Michigan State
Indiana
Penn State
Iowa
Northwestern won a thriller by scoring two touchdowns in the fourth quarter. The Wildcats led in the first two periods, but the Hawkeyes scored twice to take the lead in the third quarter.
Illinois
The Wildcats, one week after upsetting a ranked Iowa team, fell flat in Wrigley Field, losing 48-27 to the Fighting Illini. Illinois RB Mikel LeShoure ran wild on Northwestern's defense for 330 yards on 33 carries (for an average of 10.0 yards per carry), with a pair of touchdowns. The loss snapped a two game Northwestern winning streak over Illinois and sealed a bowl berth for Illinois, regardless of the outcome of their season finale against Fresno State next week. Northwestern falls to 3-4 in Big Ten play and 7-4 overall. The Wildcats face the 10-1 Wisconsin Badgers next week in Camp Randall Stadium, where they have not won since the 2000 season.
Wisconsin
TicketCity Bowl
Texas Tech
Rankings
Roster
Depth chart
References
{{Northwestern Wildcats football navbox
Northwestern
Northwestern Wildcats football seasons
Northwestern Wildcats football
The Northwestern Wildcats football team represents Northwestern University as an NCAA Division I college football team and member of the Big Ten Conference based near Chicago in Evanston, Illinois. Founded in 1851, Northwestern began playing fo ...