Updated on 8/21/2016
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2015 | 2016
Northwestern Wildcats (Big Ten West)
2015 Schedule & Results
| Record: 10-3 | Second-order wins (diff.): 7.2 (-2.8) | S&P+ Rk: 56 | |||||||||
| Date | Opponent | Opp. S&P+ Rk | Score | W-L | Win Expectancy |
Adj. Scoring Margin |
Percentile Performance |
Off. Percentile |
Def. Percentile |
| 5-Sep | Stanford | 10 | 16-6 | W | 71% | 4.4 | 97% | 28% | 99% |
| 12-Sep | Eastern Illinois | N/A | 41-0 | W | 100% | 38.9 | 79% | 32% | 97% |
| 19-Sep | at Duke | 75 | 19-10 | W | 30% | -4.2 | 75% | 32% | 91% |
| 26-Sep | Ball State | 111 | 24-19 | W | 63% | 2.7 | 68% | 25% | 35% |
| 3-Oct | Minnesota | 37 | 27-0 | W | 100% | 21.7 | 94% | 43% | 98% |
| 10-Oct | at Michigan | 6 | 0-38 | L | 0% | -37.3 | 14% | 21% | 30% |
| 17-Oct | Iowa | 47 | 10-40 | L | 0% | -24.6 | 12% | 15% | 41% |
| 24-Oct | at Nebraska | 48 | 30-28 | W | 73% | 5.0 | 59% | 52% | 80% |
| 7-Nov | Penn State | 30 | 23-21 | W | 43% | -1.5 | 39% | 50% | 61% |
| 14-Nov | Purdue | 86 | 21-14 | W | 63% | 2.6 | 21% | 17% | 56% |
| 21-Nov | at Wisconsin | 31 | 13-7 | W | 87% | 8.9 | 85% | 43% | 98% |
| 28-Nov | vs. Illinois | 61 | 24-14 | W | 88% | 9.3 | 59% | 60% | 69% |
| 1-Jan | vs. Tennessee | 22 | 6-45 | L | 0% | -29.9 | 15% | 10% | 44% |
| Category | Offense | Rk | Defense | Rk |
| S&P+ | 21.0 | 111 | 15.5 | 5 |
| Points Per Game | 19.5 | 114 | 18.6 | 12 |
Five Factors
| Offense | Defense | |||||
| Category | Avg. | Rk | Avg. | Rk | Nat'l Avg. | |
| EXPLOSIVENESS | IsoPPP | 1.21 | 93 | 1.14 | 15 | 1.27 |
| EFFICIENCY | Success Rate | 34.2% | 124 | 35.7% | 18 | 40.3% |
| FIELD POSITION | Avg. FP | 27.7 | 112 | 31.0 | 94 | 29.9 |
| FINISHING DRIVES | Pts. Per Trip in 40 | 3.97 | 116 | 3.67 | 6 | 4.67 |
| TURNOVER MARGIN | EXPECTED | 4.19 | 28 | Turnover Luck (PPG): -1.23 |
||
| ACTUAL | 1 | 58 | ||||
Rushing
| Offense | Defense | ||||
| Avg. | Rk | Avg. | Rk | Nat'l Avg. | |
| Rushing S&P+ | 94.7 | 99 | 116.3 | 22 | 100.0 |
| Rushing Success Rate | 35.4% | 120 | 38.4% | 36 | 42.3% |
| Rushing IsoPPP | 1.20 | 19 | 0.95 | 18 | 1.08 |
| Adj. Line Yards | 97.3 | 84 | 111.6 | 26 | 100.0 |
| Opportunity Rate | 35.2% | 106 | 34.0% | 23 | 38.9% |
| Power Success Rate | 58.7% | 110 | 78.0% | 116 | 66.3% |
| Stuff Rate | 21.1% | 89 | 20.6% | 53 | 19.6% |
Individual Rushing Stats
| Player | Pos. | Ht, Wt | Year | Rushes | Yards | TD | Yards/ Carry |
Hlt Yds/ Opp. |
Opp. Rate |
Fumbles (Lost) |
| Justin Jackson | RB | 5'11, 190 | SO | 313 | 1418 | 5 | 4.5 | 4.4 | 33.2% | 4 (2) |
| Clayton Thorson | QB | 6'4, 220 | FR | 79 | 542 | 5 | 6.9 | 7.6 | 44.3% | 9 (3) |
| Warren Long | RB | 6'0, 210 | JR | 60 | 329 | 5 | 5.5 | 7.7 | 31.7% | 0 (0) |
| Solomon Vault | RB | 5'10, 190 | SO | 56 | 159 | 0 | 2.8 | 2.6 | 30.4% | 1 (1) |
| Auston Anderson | RB | 5'9, 180 | FR | 13 | 56 | 0 | 4.3 | 6.4 | 30.8% | 1 (1) |
| Jelani Roberts | WR | 5'8, 160 | FR | 10 | 36 | 0 | 3.6 | 2.4 | 60.0% | 1 (0) |
| Corey Acker | WR | 5'9, 170 | SO | 8 | 82 | 0 | 10.3 | 8.3 | 62.5% | 0 (0) |
| Tom Hruby | LB | 6'3, 240 | JR | 8 | 25 | 0 | 3.1 | 1.3 | 37.5% | 1 (0) |
| Miles Shuler | WR | 5'10, 180 | SR | 2 | 30 | 0 | 15.0 | 18.5 | 50.0% | 1 (0) |
| NOTE: Quarterback run totals above do not include sacks (which are counted toward pass averages below) or kneeldowns. | ||||||||||
Passing
| Offense | Defense | ||||
| Avg. | Rk | Avg. | Rk | Nat'l Avg. | |
| Passing S&P+ | 79.0 | 113 | 124.7 | 9 | 100.0 |
| Passing Success Rate | 32.2% | 118 | 33.6% | 13 | 40.3% |
| Passing IsoPPP | 1.22 | 124 | 1.33 | 23 | 1.49 |
| Adj. Sack Rate | 77.1 | 102 | 111.2 | 45 | 100 |
Individual Passing Stats
| Player | Ht, Wt | Year | Comp | Att | Yards | TD | INT | Comp Rate |
Sacks | Sack Rate | Yards/ Att. |
| Clayton Thorson | 6'4, 220 | FR | 150 | 295 | 1522 | 7 | 9 | 50.8% | 22 | 6.9% | 4.3 |
| Zack Oliver | 6'4, 230 | SR | 23 | 53 | 267 | 1 | 4 | 43.4% | 6 | 10.2% | 4.0 |
| Matt Alviti | 6'0, 200 | SO | 1 | 3 | 12 | 0 | 0 | 33.3% | 1 | 25.0% | 1.3 |
Individual Receiving Stats
| Player | Pos. | Ht, Wt | Year | Targets | Catches | Yards | TD | Yds/ Catch |
Yds/ Target |
Catch Rate | Success Rate | Target Rate |
| Dan Vitale | SB | 6'2, 235 | SR | 64 | 33 | 355 | 4 | 10.8 | 5.6 | 51.6% | 39.1% | 19.4% |
| Christian Jones | WR | 6'3, 235 | SR | 49 | 23 | 234 | 2 | 10.2 | 4.8 | 46.9% | 44.9% | 14.8% |
| Mike McHugh | WR | 6'3, 195 | JR | 32 | 16 | 160 | 0 | 10.0 | 5.0 | 50.0% | 31.2% | 9.7% |
| Miles Shuler | WR | 5'10, 180 | SR | 31 | 15 | 149 | 0 | 9.9 | 4.8 | 48.4% | 32.3% | 9.4% |
| Justin Jackson | RB | 5'11, 190 | SO | 28 | 21 | 162 | 0 | 7.7 | 5.8 | 75.0% | 32.1% | 8.5% |
| Austin Carr | WR | 6'1, 195 | JR | 25 | 16 | 302 | 2 | 18.9 | 12.1 | 64.0% | 56.0% | 7.6% |
| Garrett Dickerson | SB | 6'3, 245 | SO | 21 | 12 | 124 | 0 | 10.3 | 5.9 | 57.1% | 52.4% | 6.4% |
| Solomon Vault | RB | 5'10, 190 | SO | 21 | 11 | 95 | 0 | 8.6 | 4.5 | 52.4% | 28.6% | 6.4% |
| Cameron Dickerson | WR | 6'3, 225 | SR | 15 | 5 | 38 | 0 | 7.6 | 2.5 | 33.3% | 20.0% | 4.5% |
| Jelani Roberts | WR | 5'8, 160 | FR | 10 | 8 | 48 | 0 | 6.0 | 4.8 | 80.0% | 40.0% | 3.0% |
| Flynn Nagel | WR | 5'11, 190 | FR | 8 | 4 | 47 | 0 | 11.8 | 5.9 | 50.0% | 37.5% | 2.4% |
| Warren Long | RB | 6'0, 210 | JR | 5 | 3 | 27 | 0 | 9.0 | 5.4 | 60.0% | 40.0% | 1.5% |
| Stephen Buckley | WR | 6'0, 185 | JR | 5 | 2 | 12 | 0 | 6.0 | 2.4 | 40.0% | 20.0% | 1.5% |
| Pierre Youngblood-Ary | WR | 6'3, 190 | SR | 4 | 2 | 33 | 0 | 16.5 | 8.3 | 50.0% | 50.0% | 1.2% |
| Garrett Kidd | WR | 6'2, 195 | SR | 4 | 2 | 15 | 0 | 7.5 | 3.8 | 50.0% | 50.0% | 1.2% |
| Macan Wilson | WR | 6'0, 180 | SO | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0% | 0.0% | 0.6% |
Standard Downs
| Offense | Defense | ||||
| Avg. | Rk | Avg. | Rk | Nat'l Avg. | |
| Standard Downs S&P+ | 86.5 | 115 | 113.9 | 21 | 100.0 |
| Standard Downs Success Rate | 38.4% | 124 | 43.1% | 38 | 46.5% |
| Standard Downs IsoPPP | 1.08 | 74 | 0.92 | 2 | 1.11 |
| SD Line Yards per Carry | 2.74 | 90 | 2.45 | 12 | 2.90 |
| SD Sack Rate | 8.2% | 116 | 5.6% | 46 | 5.0% |
Passing Downs
| Offense | Defense | ||||
| Avg. | Rk | Avg. | Rk | Nat'l Avg. | |
| Passing Downs S&P+ | 87.4 | 98 | 130.7 | 10 | 100.0 |
| Passing Downs Success Rate | 25.9% | 105 | 23.0% | 7 | 30.7% |
| Passing Downs IsoPPP | 1.57 | 109 | 1.86 | 93 | 1.77 |
| PD Line Yards per Carry | 3.02 | 85 | 3.50 | 93 | 3.20 |
| PD Sack Rate | 7.1% | 59 | 5.5% | 98 | 7.5% |
Situational
| Offense | Defense | |||
| Avg. | Rk | Avg. | Rk | |
| Q1 S&P+ | 86.4 | 110 | 113.1 | 34 |
| Q2 S&P+ | 86.3 | 111 | 137.6 | 4 |
| Q3 S&P+ | 94.1 | 92 | 117.3 | 23 |
| Q4 S&P+ | 83.5 | 119 | 107.3 | 42 |
| 1st Down S&P+ | 80.9 | 119 | 116.2 | 21 |
| 2nd Down S&P+ | 81.2 | 118 | 122.8 | 14 |
| 3rd Down S&P+ | 111.7 | 39 | 116.5 | 23 |
Offensive Footprint
| Team | Rk | Nat'l Average | |
| Std. Downs Run Rate | 69.5% | 17 | 60.4% |
| Pass Downs Run Rate | 45.8% | 13 | 34.0% |
| Adj. Pace | +3.3 | 31 | +0.0 |
| % of Solo Tackles | 73.0% | 82 | 74.9% |
Defensive Footprint
| Team | Rk | Nat'l Average | |
| Std. Downs Run Rate | 56.7% | 104 | 60.3% |
| Pass. Downs Run Rate | 24.4% | 125 | 33.9% |
| Overall Havoc Rate | 18.8% | 21 | 16.0% |
| DL Havoc Rate | 6.3% | 35 | 5.1% |
| LB Havoc Rate | 5.3% | 38 | 4.5% |
| DB Havoc Rate | 6.9% | 39 | 6.3% |
| PD to INC | 35.1% | 42 | 32.8% |
Individual Defensive Stats
| Name | Pos | Ht, Wt | Year | Tackles | % of Team | TFL | Sacks | Int | PBU | FF | FR |
| Anthony Walker | LB | 6'1, 235 | SO | 91.5 | 13.2% | 20.5 | 4.0 | 1 | 4 | 1 | 2 |
| Godwin Igwebuike | S | 6'0, 200 | SO | 69.0 | 10.0% | 4.5 | 0.0 | 0 | 5 | 1 | 0 |
| Traveon Henry | S | 6'1, 215 | SR | 61.0 | 8.8% | 3.0 | 1.0 | 2 | 4 | 0 | 0 |
| Drew Smith | LB | 6'1, 230 | SR | 47.0 | 6.8% | 10.5 | 2.0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| Dean Lowry | DL | 6'6, 290 | SR | 41.5 | 6.0% | 13.5 | 3.0 | 1 | 6 | 0 | 1 |
| Nate Hall | LB | 6'2, 230 | FR | 41.5 | 6.0% | 2.5 | 0.0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| Matthew Harris | CB | 5'11, 180 | JR | 39.0 | 5.6% | 1.0 | 0.0 | 4 | 13 | 1 | 0 |
| Jaylen Prater | LB | 6'0, 230 | JR | 35.5 | 5.1% | 1.0 | 1.0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Keith Watkins II | CB | 5'11, 180 | SO | 35.0 | 5.1% | 1.0 | 0.0 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 0 |
| Nick VanHoose | CB | 6'0, 190 | SR | 34.5 | 5.0% | 1.0 | 0.0 | 3 | 12 | 1 | 0 |
| Deonte Gibson | DL | 6'3, 265 | SR | 29.0 | 4.2% | 12.5 | 9.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Tyler Lancaster | DL | 6'3, 300 | SO | 25.5 | 3.7% | 5.5 | 1.5 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 0 |
| Joseph Jones | LB | 6'1, 225 | JR | 16.0 | 2.3% | 2.0 | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Ifeadi Odenigbo | DL | 6'3, 250 | JR | 15.5 | 2.2% | 5.0 | 5.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Xavier Washington | DL | 6'1, 235 | SO | 12.0 | 1.7% | 3.5 | 1.0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Jordan Thompson | DL | 6'3, 275 | FR | 11.0 | 1.6% | 0.5 | 0.0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| C.J. Robbins | DL | 6'5, 300 | SR | 11.0 | 1.6% | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Marcus McShepard | CB | 5'11, 200 | SO | 11.0 | 1.6% | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Greg Kuhar | DL | 6'3, 305 | JR | 8.0 | 1.2% | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Cameron Queiro | LB | 6'1, 225 | FR | 6.5 | 0.9% | 1.0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Terrance Brown | S | 6'1, 210 | JR | 6.5 | 0.9% | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Kyle Queiro | S | 6'3, 200 | SO | 6.5 | 0.9% | 0.0 | 0.0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Jared McGee | S | 6'1, 215 | FR | 4.0 | 0.6% | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Warren Long | RB | 6'0, 210 | JR | 3.5 | 0.5% | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Montre Hartage | DB | 6'0, 180 | FR | 3.5 | 0.5% | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Note: It appears "Fumble Returns" are getting pulled instead of "Fumble Recoveries." My apologies. Will try to get that corrected. | |||||||||||
Special Teams
| Rating | Rank | |
| Special Teams S&P+ | -1.5 | 127 |
| Category | Rate | Rank |
| FG Value (per kick) | -0.27 | 108 |
| Punt Success Rate | 48.8% | 102 |
| Kickoff Success Rate | 61.0% | 104 |
| Punt Return Success Rate | 30.8% | 116 |
| Kick Return Success Rate | 43.8% | 70 |
| Place-Kicker | Ht, Wt | Year | PAT | FG | Pct |
| Jack Mitchell | 6'3, 210 | JR | 25-28 | 18-27 | 66.7% |
| Punter | Ht, Wt | Year | Punts | Avg | TB | FC | I20 | FC/I20 Ratio |
| Hunter Niswander | 6'5, 235 | SO | 85 | 38.0 | 2 | 30 | 21 | 60.0% |
| Kicker | Ht, Wt | Year | Kickoffs | Avg | TB | TB% | OOB | Fair Catches |
Onside Att |
Onside Success |
| Matt Micucci | 5'11, 185 | JR | 32 | 57.5 | 7 | 21.9% | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Jack Mitchell | 6'3, 210 | JR | 26 | 61.3 | 13 | 50.0% | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Arthur Omilian | 5'11, 180 | SR | 1 | 45.0 | 0 | 0.0% | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Punt Returner | Ht, Wt | Year | Returns | Avg. | TD | Fair Catch | Fumbles (Lost) |
| Miles Shuler | 5'10, 180 | SR | 11 | 10.0 | 0 | 20 | 1 (0) |
| Flynn Nagel | 5'11, 190 | FR | 2 | -1.0 | 0 | 1 | 0 (0) |
| Kick Returner | Ht, Wt | Year | Returns | Avg. | TD | Fair Catch | Fumbles (Lost) |
| Solomon Vault | 5'10, 190 | SO | 25 | 26.3 | 2 | 0 | 0 (0) |
| Miles Shuler | 5'10, 180 | SR | 4 | 23.3 | 0 | 0 | 0 (0) |
| Dan Vitale | 6'2, 235 | SR | 1 | 16.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 (0) |
Stats via SportSource Analytics