# 2016 Northwestern Wildcats football team

The 2016 Northwestern Wildcats football team represented Northwestern University during the 2016 NCAA Division I FBS football season. They were led by Pat Fitzgerald who is in his 11th season as the team's head coach. The Wildcats home games were played at Ryan Field in Evanston, Illinois. They were members of the West Division of the Big Ten Conference.

## Schedule

Northwestern announced its 2016 football schedule on July 11, 2013. The 2016 schedule consists of 7 home and 5 away games in the regular season. The Wildcats will host Big Ten foes Illinois, Indiana, Nebraska, and Wisconsin, and will travel to Iowa, Michigan State, Minnesota, Ohio State, and Purdue.
The team will host all three non–conference games which are against the Duke Blue Devils from the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC), Illinois State Redbirds from the Missouri Valley Conference, and the Western Michigan Broncos from the Mid-American Conference (MAC).
| Date | Time | Opponent | Site | TV | Result | Attendance |
| September 3 | 11:00 a.m. | Western Michigan* | Ryan FieldEvanston, IL | ESPNU | L 21–22 | 30,635 |
| September 10 | 2:30 p.m. | No. 10 (FCS) Illinois State* | Ryan FieldEvanston, IL | BTN | L 7–9 | 30,748 |
| September 17 | 7:00 p.m. | Duke* | Ryan FieldEvanston, IL | BTN | W 24–13 | 34,464 |
| September 24 | 6:30 p.m. | No. 20 Nebraska | Ryan FieldEvanston, IL | BTN | L 13–24 | 40,284 |
| October 1 | 11:00 a.m. | at Iowa | Kinnick StadiumIowa City, IA | ESPNU | W 38–31 | 67,047 |
| October 15 | 2:30 p.m. | at Michigan State | Spartan StadiumEast Lansing, MI | BTN | W 54–40 | 75,625 |
| October 22 | 11:00 a.m. | Indiana | Ryan FieldEvanston, IL | BTN | W 24–14 | 35,417 |
| October 29 | 2:30 p.m. | at No. 6 Ohio State | Ohio StadiumColumbus, OH | ESPN | L 20–24 | 107,296 |
| November 5 | 11:00 a.m. | No. 8 Wisconsin | Ryan FieldEvanston, IL | ABC | L 7–21 | 42,016 |
| November 12 | 11:00 a.m. | at Purdue | Ross–Ade StadiumWest Lafayette, IN | BTN | W 45–17 | 30,548 |
| November 19 | 2:30 p.m. | at Minnesota | TCF Bank StadiumMinneapolis, MN | BTN | L 12–29 | 38,162 |
| November 26 | 11:00 a.m. | Illinois | Ryan FieldEvanston, IL (rivalry) | BTN | W 42–21 | 30,022 |
| December 28 | 1:00 p.m. | vs. No. 23 Pittsburgh* | Yankee StadiumBronx, NY (Pinstripe Bowl) | ESPN | W 31–24 | 37,918 |
| *Non-conference gameHomecomingRankings from AP Poll released prior to gameAll times are in Central time |||||||
    Schedule Source:

## Game summaries
### Western Michigan

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Broncos | 0 | 6 | 10 | 6 | 22 |
| Wildcats | 7 | 0 | 7 | 7 | 21 |

### Illinois State

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| #10 (FCS) Redbirds | 0 | 6 | 0 | 3 | 9 |
| Wildcats | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 7 |

### Duke

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Blue Devils | 0 | 7 | 0 | 6 | 13 |
| Wildcats | 7 | 0 | 10 | 7 | 24 |

### Nebraska

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| #20 Cornhuskers | 0 | 10 | 14 | 0 | 24 |
| Wildcats | 0 | 7 | 6 | 0 | 13 |

### At Iowa

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Wildcats | 10 | 7 | 14 | 7 | 38 |
| Hawkeyes | 7 | 14 | 3 | 7 | 31 |

### At Michigan State

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Wildcats | 7 | 12 | 21 | 14 | 54 |
| Spartans | 14 | 3 | 14 | 9 | 40 |

### Indiana

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Hoosiers | 3 | 0 | 9 | 2 | 14 |
| Wildcats | 14 | 10 | 0 | 0 | 24 |

### At Ohio State

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Wildcats | 0 | 10 | 7 | 3 | 20 |
| #6 Buckeyes | 10 | 7 | 0 | 7 | 24 |

### Wisconsin

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| #8 Badgers | 0 | 10 | 3 | 8 | 21 |
| Wildcats | 0 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 7 |

### At Purdue

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Wildcats | 7 | 7 | 21 | 10 | 45 |
| Boilermakers | 10 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 17 |

### At Minnesota

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Wildcats | 0 | 0 | 6 | 6 | 12 |
| Golden Gophers | 6 | 6 | 3 | 14 | 29 |

### Illinois

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Fighting Illini | 0 | 14 | 7 | 0 | 21 |
| Wildcats | 14 | 7 | 14 | 7 | 42 |

### Pittsburgh–Pinstripe Bowl

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| #22 Panthers | 3 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 24 |
| Wildcats | 0 | 14 | 7 | 10 | 31 |

## Awards and honors

Weekly Awards :
| Player | Award | Date Awarded |
| Ifeadi Odenigbo | Co-Big Ten Defensive Player of the Week | October 3, 2016 |
| Justin Jackson | Big Ten Co-Offensive Player of the Week | October 17, 2016 |
| Solomon Vault | Big Ten Special Teams Player of the Week | October 17, 2016 |
| John Moten IV | Co-Big Ten Freshman of the Week | November 12, 2016 |
| John Moten IV | Big Ten Freshman of the Week | November 29, 2016 |
| Austin Carr | Richter-Howard Receiver of the Year | November 30, 2016 |