2000 Northwestern Wildcats football team

2000 Northwestern Wildcats football
Big Ten co-champion
Alamo Bowl, L 17–66 vs. Nebraska
Conference	Big Ten Conference
Record	8–4 (6–2 Big Ten)
Head coach	Randy Walker (2nd season)
Offensive scheme	Spread
Base defense	4–3
Captains	Harold Blackmon Conrad Emmerich
Home stadium	Ryan Field

2000 Big Ten Conference football standings

	Conf							Overall
Team		W		L					W		L
No. 13 Purdue $+		6	–	2					8	–	4
Northwestern +		6	–	2					8	–	4
No. 11 Michigan +		6	–	2					9	–	3
Ohio State		5	–	3					8	–	4
No. 23 Wisconsin		4	–	4					9	–	4
Minnesota		4	–	4					6	–	6
Penn State		4	–	4					5	–	7
Iowa		3	–	5					3	–	9
Illinois		2	–	6					5	–	6
Michigan State		2	–	6					5	–	6
Indiana		2	–	6					3	–	8
$ – BCS representative as conference champion + – Conference co-champions Rankings from AP Poll

The 2000 Northwestern Wildcats football team represented Northwestern University during the 2000 NCAA Division I-A football season. They played their home games at Ryan Field and participated as members of the Big Ten Conference. They were coached by Randy Walker.

Schedule

Date	Time	Opponent	Rank	Site	TV	Result	Attendance
August 31	7:00 pm	Northern Illinois*		Ryan Field Evanston, IL		W 35–17	23,352
September 9	12:00 pm	Duke*		Ryan Field Evanston, IL		W 38–5	23,209
September 16	11:00 am	at No. 20 TCU*		Amon G. Carter Stadium Fort Worth, TX	FSN	L 14–41	30,796
September 23	11:00 am	at No. 7 Wisconsin		Camp Randall Stadium Madison, WI	ESPN+	W 47–44 2OT	78,597
September 30	11:00 am	at No. 18 Michigan State		Spartan Stadium East Lansing, MI	ESPN+	W 37–17	73,128
October 7	11:00 am	Indiana	No. 22	Ryan Field Evanston, IL	ESPN+	W 52–33	30,201
October 14	11:00 am	No. 21 Purdue	No. 17	Ryan Field Evanston, IL	ESPN	L 28–41	41,503
October 28	11:00 am	at Minnesota	No. 23	Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome Minneapolis, MN	ESPN2	W 41–35	59,004
November 4	2:30 pm	No. 12 Michigan	No. 21	Ryan Field Evanston, IL (rivalry)	ABC	W 54–51	47,130
November 11	11:00 am	at Iowa	No. 12	Kinnick Stadium Iowa City, IA	ESPN+	L 17–27	54,345
November 18	11:00 am	Illinois	No. 23	Ryan Field Evanston, IL (Sweet Sioux Tomahawk)	ESPN2	W 61–23	40,658
December 30	7:00 pm	vs. No. 9 Nebraska*	No. 18	Alamodome San Antonio, TX (Alamo Bowl)	ESPN	L 17–66	60,028
*Non-conference game Homecoming Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game All times are in Central time

Personnel

2000 Northwestern Wildcats football team roster
Players			Coaches
Offense Pos. # Name Class RB 20 Damien Anderson Sr WR 34 Louis Ayeni So OL 67 Leon Brockmeier Sr OL 77 Lance Clelland Sr QB 19 Matt Danielson So TE 15 David Farman Jr WR 85 Ronnie Foster So WR Teddy Johnson Sr WR Roger Jordan Fr C 62 Austin King So QB 10 Zak Kustok Sr RB Kevin Lawrence Jr RB Gilles Lezi Fr OL 66 Steve Natali Fr WR 86 El Da’Sheon Nix Fr WR 17 Steve Parker Jr WR 80 Kunle Patrick So OT 73 Jeff Roehl So WR Jon Schweighardt So WR 32 Sam Simmons Jr OL Mike Souza RB Torri Stuckey Fr WR Derrick Thompson Sr TE Eric Worley So RB Jason Wright Fr	Defense Pos. # Name Class LB 2 Kevin Bentley Jr CB 6 Harold Blackmon (C) Sr DE 7 Ray Bogenrief Fr DB 25 Marvin Brown Sr LB 5 Vincent Cartava So DL 98 Pete Chapman So DT 92 Javiar Collins Sr DB 27 Raheem Covington Jr LB 3 Pat Durr So DL Conrad Emmerich LB 8 Napoleon Harris Sr DE 95 Dwayne Missouri Sr DB Rashad Morton LB Billy Silva Jr DL Salem Simon DB Rashidi Wheeler DB Sean Wieber Jr	Special teams Pos. # Name Class K Brian Huffman Fr K 39 Tim Long Sr P J.J. Standring Sr	Head coach Randy Walker Coordinators/assistant coaches Legend (C) Team captain (S) Suspended (I) Ineligible Injured Redshirt Roster Last update: 2001-03-05

Rankings

See also: 2000 NCAA Division I-A football rankings

Ranking movements
Legend: ██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking
— = Not ranked

	Week
Poll	Pre	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	Final
AP	—	—	—	—	—	—	22	17	25	23	21	12	23	20	19	18	—
Coaches Poll	—	—	—	—	—	—	24	18	—	—	23	18	24	21	20	19	—
BCS	Not released									—	—	15	—	—	—	—	Not released

Season summary

At Minnesota

See also: 2000 Minnesota Golden Gophers football team