1985 Northwestern Wildcats football team

The 1985 Northwestern Wildcats team represented Northwestern University during the 1985 Big Ten Conference football season. In their fifth year under head coach Dennis Green, the Wildcats compiled a 3–8 record (1–7 against Big Ten Conference opponents) and finished in a tie for last place in the Big Ten Conference.^[2]

1985 Northwestern Wildcats football
Conference	Big Ten Conference
Record	3–8 (1–7 Big Ten)
Head coach	Dennis Green (5th season)
Captains	Casey Cummings[1] Jim Torkelson
Home stadium	Dyche Stadium
Seasons ← 1984 1986 →

1985 Big Ten Conference football standings

v t e	Conf							Overall
Team	W		L		T			W		L		T
No. 10 Iowa $	7	–	1	–	0			10	–	2	–	0
No. 2 Michigan	6	–	1	–	1			10	–	1	–	1
Illinois	5	–	2	–	1			6	–	5	–	1
No. 14 Ohio State	5	–	3	–	0			9	–	3	–	0
Michigan State	5	–	3	–	0			7	–	5	–	0
Minnesota	4	–	4	–	0			7	–	5	–	0
Purdue	3	–	5	–	0			5	–	6	–	0
Wisconsin	2	–	6	–	0			5	–	6	–	0
Indiana	1	–	7	–	0			4	–	7	–	0
Northwestern	1	–	7	–	0			3	–	8	–	0
$ – Conference champion Rankings from AP Poll

The team's offensive leaders were quarterback Mike Greenfield with 2,152 passing yards, Stanley Davenport with 598 rushing yards, and Curtis Duncan with 498 receiving yards.^[3]

Schedule

Date	Opponent	Site	TV	Result	Attendance	Source
September 7	at Duke*	Wallace Wade Stadium Durham, NC		L 17–40	21,000	[4]
September 14	at Missouri*	Faurot Field Columbia, MO		W 27–23
September 28	Northern Illinois*	Dyche Stadium Evanston, IL		W 38–16
October 5	at Indiana	Memorial Stadium Bloomington, IN		L 7–26	36,905
October 12	Minnesota	Dyche Stadium Evanston, IL		L 10–21	24,512
October 19	at Wisconsin	Camp Randall Stadium Madison, WI		W 17–14	78,401
October 26	No. 1 Iowa	Dyche Stadium Evanston, IL		L 10–49	47,269
November 2	at Purdue	Ross–Ade Stadium West Lafayette, IN		L 7–31	53,640
November 9	No. 4 Ohio State	Dyche Stadium Evanston, IL	WTBS	L 17–35	26,477
November 16	at Michigan State	Spartan Stadium East Lansing, MI		L 0–32	55,439
November 23	Illinois	Dyche Stadium Evanston, IL (rivalry)		L 20–45	33,054
*Non-conference game Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game

Roster

1985 Northwestern Wildcats football team roster
Players			Coaches
Offense Pos. # Name Class QB 10 Greg Bradshaw So TE 88 Rich Borresen Sr OT 75 Matt Burbach Jr RB 43 Casey Cummings Sr RB 1 Stanley Davenport So TE 83 Bob Driscoll So WR 82 Curtis Duncan Jr QB 14 Mike Greenfield So G 61 Steve Hofmann Jr OT 70 Daryl Newell Sr QB 17 Sandy Schwab Sr C 50 John Yale Sr	Defense Pos. # Name Class DT 54 Tom Flaherty Sr DT 53 Ted Karras Jr LB 35 Rich Myers So LB 56 Jim Torkelson Jr LB 57 Mike Witteck Sr	Special teams Pos. # Name Class	Head coach Dennis Green Coordinators/assistant coaches Legend (C) Team captain (S) Suspended (I) Ineligible Injured Redshirt

References

1. "Year-by-Year Results" (PDF). 2007. p. 149. Archived (PDF) from the original on March 16, 2019. Retrieved March 14, 2019.
2. "1985 Northwestern Wildcats Schedule and Results". SR/College Football. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved February 22, 2016.
3. "1985 Northwestern Wildcats Stats". SR/College Football. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved February 22, 2016.
4. "Duke beats Northwestern with 2 quick touchdowns". Star Tribune. September 8, 1985. Retrieved January 30, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.