# 1989 Northwestern Wildcats football team

The 1989 Northwestern Wildcats team represented Northwestern University during the 1989 NCAA Division I-A football season. In their fourth year under head coach Francis Peay, the Wildcats compiled a 0–11 record (0–8 against Big Ten Conference opponents) and finished in last place in the Big Ten Conference.
The team's offensive leaders were quarterback Tim O'Brien with 2,218 passing yards, junior running back Bob Christian with 1,291 rushing yards, and Richard Buchanan with 1,115 receiving yards. Buchanan received first-team All-Big Ten honors from the Associated Press, and Christian received second-team honors.

## Schedule

| Date | Time | Opponent | Site | Result | Attendance |
| September 9 | | at Duke* | Wallace Wade StadiumDurham, NC | L 31–41 | 15,220 |
| September 16 | | Air Force* | Dyche StadiumEvanston, IL | L 31–48 | 27,334 |
| September 23 | | Rutgers* | Dyche StadiumEvanston, IL | L 27–38 | |
| October 7 | 1:00 p.m. | at Indiana | Memorial StadiumBloomington, IN | L 11–43 | 47,845 |
| October 14 | 1:00 p.m. | Minnesota | Dyche StadiumEvanston, IL | L 18–20 | 26,849 |
| October 21 | | at Wisconsin | Camp Randall StadiumMadison, WI | L 31–35 | 44,978 |
| October 28 | 1:00 p.m. | Iowa | Dyche StadiumEvanston, IL | L 22–35 | 36,312 |
| November 4 | 1:00 p.m. | Ohio State | Dyche StadiumEvanston, IL | L 27–52 | 28,236 |
| November 11 | | at Purdue | Ross–Ade StadiumWest Lafayette, IN | L 15–46 | 31,470 |
| November 18 | 1:05 p.m. | at Michigan State | Spartan StadiumEast Lansing, MI | L 14–76 | 64,817 |
| November 25 | 2:00 p.m. | No. 11 Illinois | Dyche StadiumEvanston, IL (rivalry) | L 14–63 | 31,017 |
| *Non-conference gameRankings from AP Poll released prior to the gameAll times are in Central time |||||||

## Game summaries
### Ohio State

| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Ohio St | 7 | 21 | 7 | 17 | 52 |
| Northwestern | 7 | 0 | 6 | 14 | 27 |
at Dyche Stadium, Evanston, Illinois
* Date: November 4
* Game time: 1:00 p.m.
* Game weather: Overcast, 45 °F (7 °C)
* Game attendance: 28,236
* Referee: John Nealon
* TV announcers (WOSU-TV): Jack Kramer and Paul Warfield
* Box Score
Game information :
First quarter
OSU – Carlos Snow 25-yard run (Pat O'Morrow kick), 9:04. Ohio St 7–0. Drive: 13 plays, 85 yards, 5:56.
NW – Tim O'Brien 11-yard run (Ira Adler kick), 4:52. Tie 7–7. Drive: 9 plays, 61 yards, 4:12.
Second quarter
OSU – Scottie Graham 20-yard run (Pat O'Morrow kick), 5:05. Ohio St 14–7. Drive: 11 plays, 75 yards, 4:16.
OSU – James Bryant 63-yard run (Pat O'Morrow kick), 2:04. Ohio St 21–7. Drive: 2 plays, 77 yards, 0:17.
OSU – James Bryant 46-yard pass from Greg Frey (Pat O'Morrow kick), 0:59. Ohio St 28–7. Drive: 2 plays, 46 yards, 0:16.
Third quarter
OSU – Dante Lee 5-yard run (Pat O'Morrow kick), 5:20. Ohio St 35–7. Drive: 16 plays, 80 yards, 9:40.
NW – Bob Christian 3-yard run (run failed), 2:46. Ohio St 35–13. Drive: 9 plays, 51 yards, 2:34.
Fourth quarter
OSU – Pat O'Morrow 19-yard field goal, 14:13. Ohio St 38–13. Drive: 9 plays, 80 yards, 3:33.
OSU – Dante Lee 8-yard run (Pat O'Morrow kick), 10:49. Ohio St 45–13. Drive: 4 plays, 29 yards, 1:48.
NW – Richard Buchanan 14-yard pass from Tim O'Brien (pass failed), 8:14. Ohio St 45–20. Drive: 9 plays, 78 yards, 2:35.
OSU – Dante Lee 6-yard run (Pat O'Morrow kick), 1:15. Ohio St 52–20. Drive: 13 plays, 80 yards, 6:59.
NW – Mark Benson 21-yard pass from Kevin Krebs (run good), 0:00. Ohio St 52–28. Drive: 8 plays, 73 yards, 1:15.
Top passers
OSU – Greg Frey – 8/10, 106 yards, TD
NW – Tim O'Brien – 15/21, 172 yards, TD, INT
Top rushers
OSU – Dante Lee – 24 rushes, 157 yards, 3 TD
NW – Bob Christian – 27 rushes, 144 yards, TD
Top receivers
OSU – James Bryant – 1 reception, 46 yards, TD
NW – Richard Buchanan – 8 receptions, 101 yards, TD :

### At Purdue

| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Northwestern | 0 | 7 | 8 | 0 | 15 |
| Purdue | 32 | 0 | 0 | 14 | 46 |
at Ross–Ade Stadium, West Lafayette, Indiana
* Date: November 11, 1989
* Game attendance: 31,470
Purdue snapped a streak of 10 straight games without a first quarter point.
| Team | Category | Player | Statistics |
| Northwestern | Passing | Tim O'Brien | 15/40, 213 Yds, 2 TD |
| Northwestern | Rushing | Bob Christian | 21 Rush, 59 Yds |
| Northwestern | Receiving | | |
| Purdue | Passing | Eric Hunter | 11/24, 263 Yds, 3 TD |
| Purdue | Rushing | Eric Hunter | 9 Rush, 55 Yds |
| Purdue | Receiving | Rod Dennis | 4 Rec, 146 Yds, 3 TD |
Scoring summary :
| Quarter | Time | Drive | Drive | Drive | Team | Scoring information | Score | Score |
| Quarter | Time | Plays | Yards | TOP | Team | Scoring information | NW | PUR |
| 1 | 13:25 | | | | Purdue | Blocked punt returned 35 yards for touchdown by Rick Smith, Larry Sullivan kick good | 0 | 7 |
| 1 | | | 2:02 | | Purdue | 37-yard field goal by Larry Sullivan | 0 | 10 |
| 1 | | | | | Purdue | Rod Dennis 39-yard touchdown reception from Eric Hunter, Larry Sullivan kick good | 0 | 17 |
| 1 | | 2 | | | Purdue | Larry Coleman 6-yard touchdown run, 2-point run good | 0 | 25 |
| 1 | | | 1:02 | | Purdue | Rod Dennis 46-yard touchdown reception from Eric Hunter, Larry Sullivan kick good | 0 | 32 |
| 2 | 7:38 | | | | Northwestern | Richard Buchanan 13-yard touchdown reception from Tim O'Brien, kick good | 7 | 32 |
| 3 | 6:32 | | | | Northwestern | Greg Fischer 6-yard touchdown reception from Tim O'Brien, 2-point pass good | 15 | 32 |
| 4 | 11:23 | | | | Purdue | Calvin Williams 44-yard touchdown reception from Eric Hunter, Larry Sullivan kick good | 15 | 39 |
| 4 | 1:51 | | | | Purdue | Rod Dennis 57-yard touchdown reception from Jeff Lesniewicz, Larry Sullivan kick good | 15 | 46 |
| "TOP" = time of possession. For other American football terms, see Glossary of American football. | "TOP" = time of possession. For other American football terms, see Glossary of American football. | "TOP" = time of possession. For other American football terms, see Glossary of American football. | "TOP" = time of possession. For other American football terms, see Glossary of American football. | "TOP" = time of possession. For other American football terms, see Glossary of American football. | "TOP" = time of possession. For other American football terms, see Glossary of American football. | "TOP" = time of possession. For other American football terms, see Glossary of American football. | 15 | 46 |