2013 Northwestern Wildcats football

Conference	Big Ten Conference
Division	Legends Division
Record	5–7 (1–7 Big Ten)
Head coach	Pat Fitzgerald (8th season)
Offensive coordinator	Mick McCall (6th season)
Offensive scheme	Spread
Defensive coordinator	Mike Hankwitz (6th season)
Base defense	Multiple 4–3
Captains	Kain Colter^[1] Rashad Lawrence Damien Proby Tyler Scott Brandon Vitabile
Home stadium	Ryan Field
Seasons ← 2012 2014 →

2013 Big Ten Conference football standings
v t e
Team	W		L	W		L
Legends Division
No. 3 Michigan State x$	8	–	0	13	–	1
Iowa	5	–	3	8	–	5
Nebraska	5	–	3	9	–	4
Minnesota	4	–	4	8	–	5
Michigan	3	–	5	7	–	6
Northwestern	1	–	7	5	–	7
Leaders Division
No. 12 Ohio State x%	8	–	0	12	–	2
No. 22 Wisconsin	6	–	2	9	–	4
Penn State*	4	–	4	7	–	5
Indiana	3	–	5	5	–	7
Illinois	1	–	7	4	–	8
Purdue	0	–	8	1	–	11
Championship: Michigan State 34, Ohio State 24
$ – BCS representative as conference champion % – BCS at-large representative x – Division champion/co-champions Penn State ineligible for conference championship game and post-season bowl games due to NCAA sanctions Rankings from AP Poll

The 2013 Northwestern Wildcats football team represented Northwestern University during the 2013 NCAA Division I FBS football season. Pat Fitzgerald, in his eighth season at Northwestern, was the team's head coach. The Wildcats home games were played at Ryan Field in Evanston, Illinois. They were members of the Legends Division of the Big Ten Conference.

Personnel

Name	Position	Seasons at Northwestern	Alma mater
Pat Fitzgerald	Head coach	8	Northwestern (1996)
Mick McCall	Offensive coordinator/quarterbacks	6	Southern Colorado (1978)
Mike Hankwitz	Defensive coordinator	6	Michigan (1970)
Randy Bates	Linebackers	7	Ohio State (1983)
Jerry Brown	Defensive Backs/Assistant head coach	20	Northwestern (1972)
Adam Cushing	Offensive line	3	Chicago (2002)
Bob Heffner	Superbacks	4	Temple (1979)
Marty Long	Defensive line	4	The Citadel (1986)
Matt MacPherson	Running backs/recruiting coordinator	7	DePauw (1993)
Dennis Springer	Wide receivers	2	Butler (1993)
Reference:^[2]

Schedule

Date	Time	Opponent	Rank	Site	TV	Result	Attendance
August 31	9:30 pm	at California*	No. 22	California Memorial Stadium Berkeley, CA	ESPN2	W 44–30	58,816
September 7	5:00 pm	Syracuse*	No. 19	Ryan Field Evanston, IL	BTN	W 48–27	38,033
September 14	8:00 pm	Western Michigan*	No. 17	Ryan Field Evanston, IL	BTN	W 38–17	33,128
September 21	2:30 pm	Maine*	No. 18	Ryan Field Evanston, IL	BTN	W 35–21	32,726
October 5	7:00 pm	No. 4 Ohio State	No. 16	Ryan Field Evanston, IL (College GameDay)	ABC	L 30–40	47,330
October 12	2:30 pm	at Wisconsin	No. 19	Camp Randall Stadium Madison, WI	ABC/ESPN2	L 6–35	81,411
October 19	11:00 am	Minnesota		Ryan Field Evanston, IL	ESPN2	L 17–20	36,578
October 26	11:00 am	at Iowa		Kinnick Stadium Iowa City, IA	BTN	L 10–17 ^OT	66,838
November 2	2:30 pm	at Nebraska		Memorial Stadium Lincoln, NE	BTN	L 24–27	91,140
November 16	3:30 pm	Michigan		Ryan Field Evanston, IL (rivalry)	BTN	L 19–27 ^3OT	47,330
November 23	11:00 am	No. 13 Michigan State		Ryan Field Evanston, IL	ESPN	L 6–30	40,013
November 30	2:30 pm	at Illinois		Memorial Stadium Champaign, IL (Battle for the Land of Lincoln Trophy)	BTN	W 37–34	37,058
*Non-conference game Homecoming Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game All times are in Central time

	1	2	3	4	Total
#22 Wildcats	7	10	10	17	44
Golden Bears	7	3	14	6	30

	1	2	3	4	Total
Orange	0	7	6	14	27
#19 Wildcats	10	24	0	14	48

	1	2	3	4	Total
Broncos	3	7	7	0	17
#17 Wildcats	0	24	7	7	38

	1	2	3	4	Total
Black Bears	0	0	7	14	21
#18 Wildcats	7	7	7	14	35

	1	2	3	4	Total
#4 Buckeyes	10	3	7	20	40
#16 Wildcats	7	13	3	7	30

For the first time since November 11, 1995, ESPN's College GameDay was broadcast from Evanston prior to the game.^[4]

	1	2	3	4	Total
#19 Wildcats	3	3	0	0	6
Badgers	7	14	7	7	35

	1	2	3	4	Total
Golden Gophers	0	7	7	6	20
Wildcats	7	0	0	10	17

	1	2	3	4	OT	Total
Wildcats	0	0	7	3	0	10
Hawkeyes	7	3	0	0	7	17

	1	2	3	4	Total
Wildcats	14	7	0	3	24
Cornhuskers	7	7	7	6	27

	1	2	3	4	OT	2OT	3OT	Total
Wolverines	3	0	0	6	7	3	8	27
Wildcats	3	3	3	0	7	3	0	19

	1	2	3	4	Total
#13 Spartans	0	14	9	7	30
Wildcats	3	3	0	0	6

	1	2	3	4	Total
Wildcats	10	10	3	14	37
Fighting Illini	0	17	10	7	34

^ "Year-by-Year Results" (PDF). 2018. p. 94. Archived (PDF) from the original on March 16, 2019. Retrieved March 14, 2019.
^ "Coaches". Northwestern University Department of Athletics. Archived from the original on July 29, 2014. Retrieved September 8, 2013.
^ "2013 Northwestern Football Schedule". Northwestern University Department of Athletics. Archived from the original on July 18, 2012. Retrieved August 21, 2013.
^ Ecker, Danny (September 29, 2013). "ESPN's 'College GameDay' Coming to Evanston for Lakefront Broadcast". Crain's Chicago Business. Retrieved September 30, 2013.

v t e Northwestern Wildcats football
Venues	Northwestern Field (1905–1925) Ryan Field (1926–2023)
Bowls & rivalries	Bowl games Illinois Michigan: George Jewett Trophy Notre Dame
Culture and lore	Willie the Wildcat "Go U Northwestern" Marching band 2006 Michigan State game
People	Head coaches NFL draftees Statistical leaders
Seasons	1876 1877–1881 1882 1883–1885 1886 1887 1888 1889 1890 1891 1892 1893 1894 1895 1896 1897 1898 1899 1900 1901 1902 1903 1904 1905 1906–1907 1908 1909 1910 1911 1912 1913 1914 1915 1916 1917 1918 1919 1920 1921 1922 1923 1924 1925 1926 1927 1928 1929 1930 1931 1932 1933 1934 1935 1936 1937 1938 1939 1940 1941 1942 1943 1944 1945 1946 1947 1948 1949 1950 1951 1952 1953 1954 1955 1956 1957 1958 1959 1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969 1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024