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Northwestern Football Team History


Northwestern Wildcats
Northwestern University
 Evanston, IL
Founded: 1851
Stadium: Ryan Field
Capacity: 47,130
Colors: Purple & White
Coach: David Braun
Conference: Big 10-

Team Home Summary  Coaches Games by Year Opponents Rankings Bowls Conference

Northwestern 
Team Timeline
First Team: 1875  
  1994 - Michigan State self-forfeited all wins in the 1994 season, resulting in Northwestern's loss to Michigan State being retroactively changed to a win.
 
Championships
National Championships
None
Conference Championships
  1903, 1926, 1930, 1931, 1936, 1995, 1996
2000
Division Championships
  2018, 2020
 
Team Records
 Overall Record 571-709-44
 Winning Pct. 45%
 Vacated Wins 0
 Forfeit Games 0
 Adjusted Record 571-709-44
 Winning Pct. 45%
 National Championships 0
 Conference Titles 0
 Division Titles 0
 Conference Record 277-456-15
 All American Players 
 NFL Players (#2)
 Home Record 386-340-30
 Away Record 174-353-13
 
By The Numbers
 Seasons 137
 Winning Seasons (#1) 62
 Losing Seasons (#1)70
 Most Wins in A Season 10 (2017)
 Most Loses in A Season 11 (2022)
 10 Win Seasons 5
 Most Points Scored in a Game 97 (11/5/1904)
 Most Points Scored in a Season 441 (2000)
 Most Points Allowed in a Game 78 (10/25/1913)
 Most Points Allowed in a Season 505 (1981)
 Largest Margin of Victory 97 (11/5/1904)
 Largest Margin of Defeat 76 (11/11/1899)
 Most Points Both Teams in a Game 105 (11/4/2000)
 Last Shutout 11/18/2017
 Last Time Shutout 10/26/2019
 Shutouts All-Time 167
 Been Shutout All-Time 181
 
Streaks
 Longest Win 9 (10/14/2017-8/30/2018)
 Longest Losing  34 (9/22/1979-9/18/1982)
 
Bowl Records
 Overall Record 7-10-0
 Rose 1-1-0
 Cotton 0-0-0
 Orange 0-0-0
 Fiesta 0-0-0
 Sugar 0-0-0
 
By the Decade
 2020-29  22-34
 2010-19  71-56
 2000-09  61-61
 1990-99 44-69
 1980-89 18-90-2
 1970-79 28-80-1
 1960-69 38-56-1
 1950-59 33-54-3
 1940-49 42-44-3
 1930-39 43-30-8
 1920-29 40-37-1
Next Game
 11/23/2024 (Sat)  
@ Michigan in a Conference Game
Last Time: Northwestern lost 7-33 in 2021.
All-Time:
 Northwestern vs. Michigan 15-59-2 20.3% 
 
2024 Season
 Sat., Aug. 31  vs. Miami Ohio  13-6 W
 Fri., Sep. 6  vs. Duke  20-26 L
 Sat., Sep. 14  vs. Eastern Illinois  31-7 W
 Sat., Sep. 21  @ Washington  5-24 L
 Sat., Sep. 28  OPEN 
 Sat., Oct. 5  vs. Indiana  24-41 L
 Fri., Oct. 11  @ Maryland  37-10 L
 Sat., Oct. 19  vs. Wisconsin  3-23 L
 Sat., Oct. 26  @ Iowa  14-40 L
 Sat., Nov. 2  @ Purdue  26-20 W
 Sat., Nov. 9  OPEN 
 Sat., Nov. 16  vs. Ohio State  7-31 L
 Sat., Nov. 23  @ Michigan  
 Sat., Nov. 30  vs. Illinois  
 
2024 Season Totals
  Record3-7
  Scoring180-228
  Conference Record0-5
  Home Record2-4
  Away Record1-3
 
2024 Big 10  Standings
 Season   Conference 
Indiana 10-05-0
Oregon 11-04-0
Washington 6-54-1
Michigan 5-53-1
Penn State 9-13-1
Southern California 5-53-2
Maryland 5-52-2
Michigan State 4-62-3
Minnesota 6-42-1
Rutgers 6-42-2
Nebraska 5-51-2
UCLA 4-61-3
Wisconsin 5-51-2
Illinois 7-3
Iowa 6-40-1
Northwestern 3-70-5
Ohio State 9-1
Purdue 1-90-4
 
Longest Running Rivalry
 Northwestern & Illinois have played 117 games.
Northwestern has won 56 games.
Illinois has won 56 games.
with 5 tie games.
 
Record when scoring..... (since 2000)
 Scoring  Record 
 less than 10 0-37
 10 or more 154-114
 20 or more  137-62
 30 or more 77-16
 40 or more 31-4
 
Record when allowing..... (since 2000)
 Points Allowed  Record 
 less than 10 34-1
 10 or more 120-150
 20 or more 68-138
 30 or more 24-102
 40 or more 10-48
 
  
 
Some records may be incomplete.

NOTES:
(1) Winning and losing seasons counted only if team plays at least 8 games.
(2) NFL Players counted for any player that participated in a regular season game.

Great Moments in College Football History

The first college football game was broadcast on television in 1939. The teams involved were Fordham University and Waynesburg College.