2011 Northwestern Wildcats football team

2011 Northwestern Wildcats football
Meineke Car Care Bowl of Texas, L 22–33 vs. Texas A&M
Conference	Big Ten Conference
Division	Legends Division
2011 record	6–7 (3–4 Big Ten)
Head coach	Pat Fitzgerald
Offensive coordinator	Mick McCall
Offensive scheme	Spread
Defensive coordinator	Mike Hankwitz
Base defense	Multiple 4–3
Home stadium	Ryan Field (Capacity: 47,130)
Seasons ← 2010 2012 →

2011 Big Ten football standings
	Conf							Overall
Team		W		L					W		L
Legends Division
#11 Michigan State x		7	–	1					11	–	3
#12 Michigan %		6	–	2					11	–	2
#24 Nebraska		5	–	3					9	–	4
Iowa		4	–	4					7	–	6
Northwestern		3	–	5					6	–	7
Minnesota		2	–	6					3	–	9
Leaders Division
#10 Wisconsin xy$		6	–	2					11	–	3
Penn State x		6	–	2					9	–	4
Purdue		4	–	4					7	–	6
Ohio State		3	–	5					6	–	7
Illinois		2	–	6					7	–	6
Indiana		0	–	8					1	–	11
Championship: Wisconsin 42, Michigan State 39
$ – BCS representative as conference champion % – BCS at-large representative x – Division champion/co-champions y – Championship game participant As of January 10, 2012; Rankings from AP Poll

1 2 3 4 Total • Northwestern 3 7 7 7 24 Boston College 3 7 0 7 17 Date: September 3 Location: Alumni Stadium, Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts Game start: 11:00 AM CDT Elapsed time: 3:25 Game attendance: 37,561 Referee: Dave Witvoet TV announcers (ESPNU): Rob Stone (Play-by-play) & Danny Kanell (Color)

Scoring summary 1 12:49 BC Nate Freese 19-yard field goal BC 3-0 1 7:01 NW Jeff Budzien 43-yard field goal Tied 3-3 2 8:03 BC Andre Williams 6-yard run (Nate Freese kick) BC 10-3 2 0:38 NW Kain Colter 3-yard run (Jeff Budzien kick) Tied 10-10 3 11:53 NW Mike Trumpy 5-yard run (Jeff Budzien kick) NW 17-10 4 9:24 NW Adonis Smith 1-yard run (Jeff Budzien kick) NW 24-10 4 6:00 BC Andre Williams 1-yard run (Nate Freese kick) NW 24-17

Scoring summary
1	12:49	BC	Nate Freese 19-yard field goal	BC 3-0
1	7:01	NW	Jeff Budzien 43-yard field goal	Tied 3-3
2	8:03	BC	Andre Williams 6-yard run (Nate Freese kick)	BC 10-3
2	0:38	NW	Kain Colter 3-yard run (Jeff Budzien kick)	Tied 10-10
3	11:53	NW	Mike Trumpy 5-yard run (Jeff Budzien kick)	NW 17-10
4	9:24	NW	Adonis Smith 1-yard run (Jeff Budzien kick)	NW 24-10
4	6:00	BC	Andre Williams 1-yard run (Nate Freese kick)	NW 24-17

1 2 3 4 Total Eastern Illinois 0 7 7 7 21 • Northwestern 14 14 7 7 42 Date: September 10 Location: Ryan Field, Evanston, Illinois Game start: 2:30 PM CDT Elapsed time: 3:03 Game attendance: 28,042 Referee: Bill LeMonnier TV announcers (BTN): Matt Devlin (Play-by-play), Glen Mason (Color) & Rhett Kleinschmidt (Sideline)

1 2 3 4 Total Northwestern 0 7 0 7 14 • Army 7 0 7 7 21 Date: September 17 Location: Michie Stadium, West Point, New York Game start: 2:30 PM CST Elapsed time: 3:03 Game attendance: 35,784 Referee: Ron Cherry TV announcers (CBSSN): Gary Thorne (Play-by-play) & Randy Cross (Color)

1 2 3 4 Total Northwestern 0 14 14 7 35 • Illinois 7 3 7 21 38 Date: October 1 Location: Memorial Stadium, Champaign, Illinois Game start: 11:00 AM CDT Elapsed time: 3:16 Game attendance: 53,243 Referee: John O'Neill TV announcers (ESPN2): Beth Mowins (Play-by-play) & Mike Bellotti (Color)

1 2 3 4 Total • Michigan 7 7 14 14 42 Northwestern 14 10 0 0 24 Date: October 8 Location: Ryan Field, Evanston, Illinois Game start: 6:00 PM CDT Elapsed time: 3:16 Game attendance: 47,330 Referee: Scott McElwee TV announcers (BTN): Tom Hart (Play-by-play), Derek Rackley (Color) & Lisa Byington (Sideline)

1 2 3 4 Total Northwestern 0 7 10 14 31 • Iowa 10 7 0 24 41 Date: October 15 Location: Kinnick Stadium, Iowa City, Iowa Game start: 6:00 PM CDT Elapsed time: 3:10 Game attendance: 70,585 Referee: Dennis Lipski TV announcers (BTN): Eric Collins (Play-by-play), Chris Martin (Color) & Dionne Miller (Sideline)

1 2 3 4 Total • Penn State 14 13 7 0 34 Northwestern 14 10 0 0 24 Date: October 22 Location: Ryan Field, Evanston, Illinois Game start: 6:00 PM CDT Elapsed time: 3:15 Game attendance: 40,004 Referee: Bill LeMonnier TV announcers (BTN): Tom Hart (Play-by-play), Derek Rackley (Color) & Lisa Byington (Sideline)

The 2011 Northwestern Wildcats football team represented Northwestern University during the 2011 NCAA Division I FBS football season. Pat Fitzgerald, in his sixth season at Northwestern, was the team's head coach. The Wildcats home games were played at Ryan Field in Evanston, Illinois. They are members of the Legends Division of the Big Ten Conference. They finished the season 6–7, 3–4 in Big Ten play to finish in fifth place in the Legends Division. They were invited to the Meineke Car Care Bowl of Texas where they were defeated by Texas A&M 22–33.

In 2010 the Wildcats had a 7–6 record, ending the season with a 45–38 loss to Texas Tech in the 2011 TicketCity Bowl.

Starting in 2011, the Big Ten Conference created two divisions, "Legends" and "Leaders", following the University of Nebraska's membership into the conference. Northwestern was placed in the "Legends" division, with the University of Iowa, the University of Michigan, Michigan State University, the University of Minnesota and the University of Nebraska joining them.

The schedule is as follows:

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