2015 Northwestern Wildcats football team

2015 Northwestern Wildcats football
2015 Northwestern Wildcats football
Outback Bowl, L 6–45 vs. Tennessee
Conference	Big Ten Conference
	West Division
Ranking
Coaches	No. 22
AP	No. 23
Record	10–3 (6–2 Big Ten)
Head coach	Pat Fitzgerald (10th season);
Offensive coordinator	Mick McCall (8th season)
Offensive scheme	Spread
Defensive coordinator	Mike Hankwitz (8th season)
Base defense	Multiple 4–3
Home stadium	Ryan Field
	Seasons ← 2014 2016 →

The 2015 Northwestern Wildcats football team represented Northwestern University during the 2015 NCAA Division I FBS football season. It was Pat Fitzgerald's tenth 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. They finished the season 10–3, 6–2 in Big Ten play to finish in a tie for second place in the West Division. They were invited to the Outback Bowl where they were defeated by Tennessee 45–6.

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Date	Time	Opponent	Rank	Site	TV	Result	Attendance
September 5	11:00 a.m.	No. 21 Stanford*		Ryan Field Evanston, IL	ESPN	W 16–6	36,024
September 12	3:00 p.m.	Eastern Illinois*		Ryan Field Evanston, IL	ESPNews	W 41–0	29,131
September 19	11:30 a.m.	at Duke*	No. 23	Wallace Wade Stadium Durham, NC	ACCN	W 19–10	24,127
September 26	7:00 p.m.	Ball State*	No. 17	Ryan Field Evanston, IL	BTN	W 24–19	30,107
October 3	11:00 a.m.	Minnesota	No. 16	Ryan Field Evanston, IL	BTN	W 27–0	30,044
October 10	2:30 p.m.	at No. 18 Michigan	No. 13	Michigan Stadium Ann Arbor, MI (rivalry)	BTN	L 0–38	110,452
October 17	11:00 a.m.	No. 17 Iowa	No. 20	Ryan Field Evanston, IL	ABC/ESPN2	L 10–40	44,135
October 24	11:00 a.m.	at Nebraska		Memorial Stadium Lincoln, NE	ESPN2	W 30–28	89,493
November 7	11:00 a.m.	Penn State	No. 21	Ryan Field Evanston, IL	ESPNU	W 23–21	34,116
November 14	11:00 a.m.	Purdue	No. 18	Ryan Field Evanston, IL	BTN	W 21–14	30,003
November 21	2:30 pm	at No. 25 Wisconsin	No. 20	Camp Randall Stadium Madison, WI	BTN	W 13–7	75,276
November 28	2:30 pm	vs. Illinois	No. 16	Soldier Field Chicago, IL (rivalry)	ESPNU	W 24–14	33,514
January 1, 2016	11:00 a.m.	vs. No. 23 Tennessee*	No. 13	Raymond James Stadium Tampa, FL (Outback Bowl)	ESPN2	L 6–45	53,202
*Non-conference game Homecoming Rankings from AP Poll and CFP Rankings after November 3 released prior to game All times are in Central time

Schedule

2015 Big Ten Conference football standings
v t e
Team	W		L	W		L
East Division
No. 6 Michigan State xy$^	7	–	1	12	–	2
No. 4 Ohio State x	7	–	1	12	–	1
No. 12 Michigan	6	–	2	10	–	3
Penn State	4	–	4	7	–	6
Indiana	2	–	6	6	–	7
Rutgers	1	–	7	4	–	8
Maryland	1	–	7	3	–	9
West Division
No. 9 Iowa xy	8	–	0	12	–	2
No. 23 Northwestern	6	–	2	10	–	3
No. 21 Wisconsin	6	–	2	10	–	3
Nebraska	3	–	5	6	–	7
Minnesota	2	–	6	6	–	7
Illinois	2	–	6	5	–	7
Purdue	1	–	7	2	–	10
Championship: Michigan State 16, Iowa 13
^ – College Football Playoff participant $ – Conference champion x – Division champion/co-champions y – Championship game participant Rankings from AP Poll