2021 Northwestern Wildcats football team

The 2021 Northwestern Wildcats football team represented Northwestern University during the 2021 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The Wildcats played their home games at Ryan Field in Evanston, Illinois, and competed in the West Division of the Big Ten Conference. They were led by 16th-year head coach Pat Fitzgerald. They finished the season 3–9, 1–8 in Big Ten play to finish in a tie for last place in the West division.

2021 Northwestern Wildcats football
ConferenceBig Ten Conference
DivisionWest Division
2021 record3–9 (1–8 Big Ten)
Head coach
Offensive coordinatorMike Bajakian (2nd season)
Defensive coordinatorJim O'Neil (1st season)
Home stadiumRyan Field
(Capacity: 47,130)
2021 Big Ten Conference football standings
ConfOverall
Team W L  W L 
East Division
No. 3 Michigan xy$^  8 –1   12 –2  
No. 6 Ohio State x  8 –1   11 –2  
No. 9 Michigan State  7 –2   11 –2  
Penn State  4 –5   7 –6  
Maryland  3 –6   7 –6  
Rutgers  2 –7   5 –8  
Indiana  0 –9   2 –10  
West Division
No. 23 Iowa xy  7 –2   10 –4  
Minnesota  6 –3   9 –4  
Wisconsin  6 –3   9 –4  
Purdue  6 –3   9 –4  
Illinois  4 –5   5 –7  
Nebraska  1 –8   3 –9  
Northwestern  1 –8   3 –9  
Championship: Michigan 42, Iowa 3
  • ^ – College Football Playoff participant
  • $ – Conference champion
  • x – Division champion/co-champions
  • y – Championship game participant
Rankings from AP Poll

Previous season

The Wildcats finished the 2020 season 7–2, 6–1 in Big Ten play to win the West division. In a season initially canceled due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic,[1] the Wildcats only played conference opponents and had one game canceled due to COVID-19 protocols. They qualified for the Big Ten Championship Game where they lost to Ohio State. They received a bid to the Citrus Bowl where they defeated Auburn 35–19.

Schedule
DateTimeOpponentSiteTVResultAttendance
September 3 8:00 p.m. Michigan State
ESPN L 21–38 34,248
September 11 11:00 a.m. Indiana State*
  • Ryan Field
  • Evanston, IL
BTN W 24–6 26,181
September 18 3:00 p.m. at Duke*
ACCN L 23–30 12,323
September 25 11:00 a.m. Ohio*
  • Ryan Field
  • Evanston, IL
BTN W 35–6 27,129
October 2 6:30 p.m. at Nebraska
BTN L 7–56 87,364
October 16 11:00 a.m. Rutgers
  • Ryan Field
  • Evanston, IL
BTN W 21–7 30,218
October 23 11:00 a.m. at No. 6 Michigan
FOX L 7–33 109,449
October 30 2:30 p.m. Minnesota
  • Ryan Field
  • Evanston, IL
BTN L 14–41 28,158
November 6 6:00 p.m. No. 22 Iowa
  • Ryan Field
  • Evanston, IL
BTN L 12–17 38,141
November 13 11:00 a.m. at No. 18 Wisconsin
ESPN2 L 7–35 73,194
November 20 11:00 a.m. Purdue
BTN L 14–32 31,500
November 27 2:30 p.m. at Illinois
BTN L 14–47 27,624

Source[2]

Roster
2021 Northwestern Wildcats football team roster
Players Coaches
Offense
Pos.#NameClass
QB 0 Cole Freeman Fr
WR 2 Jordan Mosley Fr
WR 3 J. J. Jefferson Sr
WR 4 Berkeley Holman Sr
WR 5 Stephon Robinson, Jr. GS
WR 6 Malik Washington Jr
QB 7 Andrew Marty Sr
WR 8 Wayne Dennis, Jr. So
QB 9 Carl Richardson So
QB 10 Brendan Sullivan Fr
RB 11 Andrew Clair GS
 Defense
Pos.#NameClass
DB 0 Coco Azema So
DL 1 Joe Spivak GS
DB 2 Cameron Mitchell So
DL 5 Jeffery Pooler, Jr. GS
CB 7 Ore Adeyi Fr
DT 8 Te-Rah Edwards So
DB 9 Donovan Sermons Sr
CB 10 Theran Johnson Fr
 Special teams
Pos.#NameClass
Head coach
Coordinators/assistant coaches
Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • (S) Suspended
  • (I) Ineligible
  • Injured
  • Redshirt

Roster

Rankings
Further information: 2021 NCAA Division I FBS football rankings
Ranking movements
Legend: RV = Received votes.
Week
PollPre1234567891011121314Final
APRV
CoachesRV
CFPNot releasedNot released

References
  1. "Big Ten football to resume weekend of Oct. 24". ESPN.com. 2020-09-16. Retrieved 2021-06-28.
  2. "2021 Northwestern Football Schedule". FBSchedules.com. Retrieved February 2, 2021.
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