1989 Northwestern Wildcats football team

1989 Northwestern Wildcats football
1989 Northwestern Wildcats football
Conference	Big Ten Conference
Record	0–11 (0–8 Big Ten)
Head coach	Francis Peay (4th season);
Captains	Bob Griswold; Randy McClellan; Tim O'Brien; Derrill Vest;
Home stadium	Dyche Stadium
	Seasons ← 1988 1990 →

1989 Big Ten Conference football standings
v t e	Conf					Overall
Team	W		L		T	W		L		T
No. 7 Michigan $	8	–	0	–	0	10	–	2	–	0
No. 10 Illinois	7	–	1	–	0	10	–	2	–	0
No. 16 Michigan State	6	–	2	–	0	8	–	4	–	0
No. 24 Ohio State	6	–	2	–	0	8	–	4	–	0
Minnesota	4	–	4	–	0	6	–	5	–	0
Indiana	3	–	5	–	0	5	–	6	–	0
Iowa	3	–	5	–	0	5	–	6	–	0
Purdue	2	–	6	–	0	3	–	8	–	0
Wisconsin	1	–	7	–	0	2	–	9	–	0
Northwestern	0	–	8	–	0	0	–	11	–	0

$ – Conference champion Rankings from AP Poll

The 1989 Northwestern Wildcats team represented Northwestern University during the 1989 NCAA Division I-A football season. In their fourth year under head coach Francis Peay, the Wildcats compiled a 0–11 record (0–8 against Big Ten Conference opponents) and finished in last place in the Big Ten Conference.^[2]

The team's offensive leaders were quarterback Tim O'Brien with 2,218 passing yards, junior running back Bob Christian with 1,291 rushing yards, and Richard Buchanan with 1,115 receiving yards.^[3] Buchanan received first-team All-Big Ten honors from the Associated Press, and Christian received second-team honors.^[4]

Schedule

Date	Time	Opponent	Site	Result	Attendance	Source
September 9		at Duke*	Wallace Wade Stadium Durham, NC	L 31–41	15,220	^[5]
September 16		Air Force*	Dyche Stadium Evanston, IL	L 31–48	27,334
September 23		Rutgers*	Dyche Stadium Evanston, IL	L 27–38
October 7	1:00 p.m.	at Indiana	Memorial Stadium Bloomington, IN	L 11–43	47,845
October 14	1:00 p.m.	Minnesota	Dyche Stadium Evanston, IL	L 18–20	26,849
October 21		at Wisconsin	Camp Randall Stadium Madison, WI	L 31–35	44,978
October 28	1:00 p.m.	Iowa	Dyche Stadium Evanston, IL	L 22–35	36,312
November 4	1:00 p.m.	Ohio State	Dyche Stadium Evanston, IL	L 27–52	28,236
November 11		at Purdue	Ross–Ade Stadium West Lafayette, IN	L 15–46	31,470
November 18	1:05 p.m.	at Michigan State	Spartan Stadium East Lansing, MI	L 14–76	64,817
November 25	2:00 p.m.	No. 11 Illinois	Dyche Stadium Evanston, IL (rivalry)	L 14–63	31,017
*Non-conference game Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game All times are in Central time

Game summaries

At Duke

Air Force

Rutgers

At Indiana

Minnesota

At Wisconsin

Iowa

Ohio State

Ohio State Buckeyes (5–2) at Northwestern Wildcats (0–7)

Quarter	1	2	3	4	Total
Ohio St	7	21	7	17	52
Northwestern	7	0	6	14	27

at Dyche Stadium, Evanston, Illinois

Date: November 4
Game time: 1:00 p.m.
Game weather: Overcast, 45 °F (7 °C)
Game attendance: 28,236
Referee: John Nealon
TV announcers (WOSU-TV): Jack Kramer and Paul Warfield
Box Score

Game information

First quarter

OSU – Carlos Snow 25-yard run (Pat O'Morrow kick), 9:04. Ohio St 7–0. Drive: 13 plays, 85 yards, 5:56.
NW – Tim O'Brien 11-yard run (Ira Adler kick), 4:52. Tie 7–7. Drive: 9 plays, 61 yards, 4:12.

Second quarter

OSU – Scottie Graham 20-yard run (Pat O'Morrow kick), 5:05. Ohio St 14–7. Drive: 11 plays, 75 yards, 4:16.
OSU – James Bryant 63-yard run (Pat O'Morrow kick), 2:04. Ohio St 21–7. Drive: 2 plays, 77 yards, 0:17.
OSU – James Bryant 46-yard pass from Greg Frey (Pat O'Morrow kick), 0:59. Ohio St 28–7. Drive: 2 plays, 46 yards, 0:16.

Third quarter

OSU – Dante Lee 5-yard run (Pat O'Morrow kick), 5:20. Ohio St 35–7. Drive: 16 plays, 80 yards, 9:40.
NW – Bob Christian 3-yard run (run failed), 2:46. Ohio St 35–13. Drive: 9 plays, 51 yards, 2:34.

Fourth quarter

OSU – Pat O'Morrow 19-yard field goal, 14:13. Ohio St 38–13. Drive: 9 plays, 80 yards, 3:33.
OSU – Dante Lee 8-yard run (Pat O'Morrow kick), 10:49. Ohio St 45–13. Drive: 4 plays, 29 yards, 1:48.
NW – Richard Buchanan 14-yard pass from Tim O'Brien (pass failed), 8:14. Ohio St 45–20. Drive: 9 plays, 78 yards, 2:35.
OSU – Dante Lee 6-yard run (Pat O'Morrow kick), 1:15. Ohio St 52–20. Drive: 13 plays, 80 yards, 6:59.
NW – Mark Benson 21-yard pass from Kevin Krebs (run good), 0:00. Ohio St 52–28. Drive: 8 plays, 73 yards, 1:15.

Top passers

OSU – Greg Frey – 8/10, 106 yards, TD
NW – Tim O'Brien – 15/21, 172 yards, TD, INT

Top rushers

OSU – Dante Lee – 24 rushes, 157 yards, 3 TD
NW – Bob Christian – 27 rushes, 144 yards, TD

Top receivers

OSU – James Bryant – 1 reception, 46 yards, TD
NW – Richard Buchanan – 8 receptions, 101 yards, TD

At Purdue

Northwestern Wildcats (0–8) at Purdue Boilermakers (1–7)

Quarter	1	2	3	4	Total
Northwestern	0	7	8	0	15
Purdue	32	0	0	14	46

at Ross–Ade Stadium, West Lafayette, Indiana

Date: November 11, 1989
Game attendance: 31,470
^[6]

Purdue snapped a streak of 10 straight games without a first quarter point.^[7]

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
Northwestern	Passing	Tim O'Brien	15/40, 213 Yds, 2 TD
	Rushing	Bob Christian	21 Rush, 59 Yds
	Receiving
Purdue	Passing	Eric Hunter	11/24, 263 Yds, 3 TD
	Rushing	Eric Hunter	9 Rush, 55 Yds
	Receiving	Rod Dennis	4 Rec, 146 Yds, 3 TD

Scoring summary

Quarter	Time	Drive			Team	Scoring information	Score
Quarter	Time	Plays	Yards	TOP	Team	Scoring information	NW	PUR
1	13:25				Purdue	Blocked punt returned 35 yards for touchdown by Rick Smith, Larry Sullivan kick good	0	7
1			2:02		Purdue	37-yard field goal by Larry Sullivan	0	10
1					Purdue	Rod Dennis 39-yard touchdown reception from Eric Hunter, Larry Sullivan kick good	0	17
1		2			Purdue	Larry Coleman 6-yard touchdown run, 2-point run good	0	25
1			1:02		Purdue	Rod Dennis 46-yard touchdown reception from Eric Hunter, Larry Sullivan kick good	0	32
2	7:38				Northwestern	Richard Buchanan 13-yard touchdown reception from Tim O'Brien, kick good	7	32
3	6:32				Northwestern	Greg Fischer 6-yard touchdown reception from Tim O'Brien, 2-point pass good	15	32
4	11:23				Purdue	Calvin Williams 44-yard touchdown reception from Eric Hunter, Larry Sullivan kick good	15	39
4	1:51				Purdue	Rod Dennis 57-yard touchdown reception from Jeff Lesniewicz, Larry Sullivan kick good	15	46
"TOP" = time of possession. For other American football terms, see Glossary of American football.							15	46

At Michigan State

Illinois

Roster

1989 Northwestern Wildcats football team roster

Players

Coaches

Offense

Pos.	#	Name	Class
TE	`82`	Mike Allaway
WR	`13`	Mark Benson
WR	`1`	Richard Buchanan	Jr
G	`66`	Tobin Buckner
WR	`6`	Lester Carney
RB	`34`	Bob Christian	Jr
TE	`84`	David Cross
RB	`22`	Eric Dixon
WR	`45`	Greg Fischer
TE	`86`	Bob Griswold
OT	`77`	Stan Holsen
QB	`4`	Kip Kelly
QB	`15`	Kevin Krebs
WR	`7`	Randy McClellan
G	`65`	Todd McClish
C	`61`	Kurt Minko
WR	`81`	Chip Morris
WR	`25`	Pat New
FB	`30`	Butch Newhouse
QB	`11`	Tim O'Brien
RB	`28`	Steve Rosholt
RB	`5`	Terry Smith
G	`62`	Brian Tichy
OT	`76`	Derrill Vest
RB	`46`	Curt Zipfel

Defense

Pos.	#	Name
DT	`96`	Darryl Ashmore
DE	`85`	Frank Boudreaux
DE	`75`	John Broeker
DB	`20`	David Eaton
DL	`57`	Ed Feaster
DL	`44`	Dan Freveletti
DB	`24`	Greg Gill
LB	`60`	Thomas Homco
DB	`41`	John Ivlow
DB	`36`	Dwight James
DL	`91`	Mike Lowe
LB	`9`	David Sanderson
LB, P	`54`	Ed Sutter
DB	`47`	Terry Thomas
DB	`49`	Sheridan Wilks
LB	`33`	Matt Witt

Special teams

Pos.	#	Name	Class
K	`17`	Ira Adler
P	`14`	Matt Dzierwa

Head coach

Francis Peay

Coordinators/assistant coaches

Legend

(C) Team captain
(S) Suspended
(I) Ineligible

Injured
Redshirt

References

^ "Year-by-Year Results" (PDF). 2007. p. 149. Archived (PDF) from the original on March 16, 2019. Retrieved March 14, 2019.
^ "1989 Northwestern Wildcats Schedule and Results". SR/College Football. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved February 22, 2016.
^ "1989 Northwestern Wildcats Stats". SR/College Football. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved February 22, 2016.
^ "Indiana's Thompson heads All-Big Ten team". The Daily Reporter (AP story). November 30, 1989. p. 5.
^ "Northwestern falls one rally short to Duke". Northwest Herald. September 10, 1989. Retrieved February 3, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
^ Tatlock, David (November 13, 1989). "Purdue Collects First Big Ten Win, 46-15". Purdue University Archives & Special Editions. The Purdue Exponent. Retrieved December 22, 2022.
^ Cook, Bob (November 11, 1989). "Purdue 46, Northwestern 15". UPI Archives. Retrieved December 22, 2022.

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[1] "Year-by-Year Results" (PDF). 2007. p. 149. Archived (PDF) from the original on March 16, 2019. Retrieved March 14, 2019.

[2] "1989 Northwestern Wildcats Schedule and Results". SR/College Football. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved February 22, 2016.

[3] "1989 Northwestern Wildcats Stats". SR/College Football. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved February 22, 2016.

[4] "Indiana's Thompson heads All-Big Ten team". The Daily Reporter (AP story). November 30, 1989. p. 5.

[5] "Northwestern falls one rally short to Duke". Northwest Herald. September 10, 1989. Retrieved February 3, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.

[6] Tatlock, David (November 13, 1989). "Purdue Collects First Big Ten Win, 46-15". Purdue University Archives & Special Editions. The Purdue Exponent. Retrieved December 22, 2022.

[7] Cook, Bob (November 11, 1989). "Purdue 46, Northwestern 15". UPI Archives. Retrieved December 22, 2022.

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