2006 Northwestern Wildcats football team

American college football season February 2026 August 2023 football 2006 Northwestern Wildcats File:Northwestern wildcats CMKY 80 100 0 0.svg 150px Big Ten Conference Big Ten 4–8 2–6 Pat Fitzgerald 1st Garrick McGee 1st Multiple Greg Colby 5th 4–3 Erryn Cobbhttp://grfx.cstv.com/photos/schools/nw/sports/m-footbl/auto_pdf/nu-mg-07-history.pdf#page=9 Year-by-Year Results 2007 150 PDF https://web.archive.org/web/20190316165052/http://grfx.cstv.com/photos/schools/nw/sports/m-footbl/auto_pdf/nu-mg-07-history.pdf#page=9 2019-03-16 live 2019-03-14 Bryan Heinz Shaun Herbert Nick Roach Ryan Field The 2006 Northwestern Wildcats football team represented Northwestern University in the Big Ten Conference during the 2006 NCAA Division I FBS football season. Head coach Randy Walker died unexpectedly on June 29, 2006 of an apparent heart attack at the age of 52. Pat Fitzgerald, seen by many before the tragedy as Walker's eventual successor, was promoted from linebackers coach and recruiting coordinator to head coach on July 7. The Wildcats also had to replace their offensive coordinator, offensive line coach, and Brett Basanez, the team's former four-year starter at quarterback and holder of dozens of school records. The 2006 season was not as successful as previous years. Northwestern began their season with a win at Miami, Walker's alma mater, in an emotional game that featured several tributes to the late coach.https://archive.today/20120913163216/http://www.sportsline.com/collegefootball/gamecenter/recap/NCAAF_20060831_NW@MIAOH Miami (Ohio) RedHawks, NCAA Football, Northwestern Wildcats - CBSSports.com However, the season went downhill from there. The second game was a blowout loss to I-AA New Hampshire. The low point of the season came on October 21 with a home loss to Michigan State in which the Spartans staged the largest comeback in Division I-A history. A win against Illinois in the final game gave the Wildcats a 4–8 record for the year and saved them from finishing last in the Big Ten. The high point of the season, despite coming in defeat, was Northwestern's close and competitive play against undefeated and #3 ranked Michigan. Despite being held to -13 rushing yards, the Wildcats came within one-possession of tying the game early in the third quarter and prevented the Wolverines from scoring in the fourth quarter en route to a 17–3 final. Schedule 2006 AP Central August 31 6:30 pm w y y Miami (Ohio) Yager Stadium Oxford, OH ESPNU 21–3 20,476 September 9 1:00 pm l y New Hampshire Ryan Field Evanston, IL 17–34 20,108 September 16 1:00 pm w y Eastern Michigan Ryan Field Evanston, IL 14–6 21,935 September 22 7:00 pm l y y Nevada Mackay Stadium Reno, NV ESPN2 21–31 16,176 September 30 2:30 pm l y Penn State Beaver Stadium University Park, PA ABC 7–33 108,837 October 7 11:00 am l y Wisconsin Camp Randall Stadium Madison, WI ESPN+ 9–41 81,704 Mission complete: Dominating win avenges embarrassing loss last year Wisconsin State Journal Tom Mulhern October 8, 2006 E1 https://www.newspapers.com/article/wisconsin-state-journal-mission-complete/175389329/ Newspapers.com October 14 11:00 am l Purdue Ryan Field Evanston, IL ESPN+ 10–31 27,171 October 21 11:00 am l y Michigan State Ryan Field Evanston, IL ESPN+ 38–41 29,387 October 28 11:00 am l y Michigan 2 rivalry Michigan Stadium Ann Arbor, MI ESPN 3–17 109,114 November 4 11:00 am w y Iowa Kinnick Stadium Iowa City, IA ESPN+ 21–7 70,585 November 11 2:30 pm l Ohio State 1 Ryan Field Evanston, IL ABC 10–54 47,130 November 18 12:00 pm w Illinois Sweet Sioux Tomahawk Ryan Field Evanston, IL ESPN360 27–16 22,242 Roster 2006 Northwestern Wildcats f 13 Fr Mike Kafka QB y y 10 So Eric Peterman WR y 19 So Tyrell Sutton RB y 89 Fr Corbin Bryant DT y 20 Sr Marquice Cole CB y 70 So John Gill John Gill (American football) DT y 24 Fr Sherrick McManis CB y 38 Sr Nick Roach LB y 99 So Corey Wootton DE y https://web.archive.org/web/20051215095124/http://nusports.collegesports.com/sports/m-footbl/mtt/nw-m-footbl-mtt.html *Pat Fitzgerald References Northwestern Category:Northwestern Wildcats football seasons Northwestern Wildcats football