Blake Gallagher: LB · Northwestern · #51.
Closest statistical matches, adjusted for opponent strength.
Blake Gallagher
Is steady in every phase without a signature trait. Fourth year in the Northwestern linebacker corps. The first one came in 2020: All-Big Ten. One game to point at: 14 tackles and 1 sack against Wisconsin — Week 12, 2020.
Play style
Solid in every phase without a signature dimension.
Activity vs finishing · season enumeration
What the box score actually says
74 tackles. 2 passes defended. 1 interception. 9.5 TFL.
Counts only, never a rate — splash-event sample sizes this small (interceptions, pass breakups, TFL) are noise as a rate and signal only as a tally.
No outlet on our list has written about this player by name this season.
OregonLive Oct 29Swipe the table sideways for more columns.
| Season | Team | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | Northwestern | 84 | 44 | 9.5 | 2.0 | 2 | 1 |
| 2019 | Northwestern | 88 | 46 | 4.5 | 0.0 | 1 | 3 |
| 2018 | Northwestern | 120 | 68 | 6.5 | 0.0 | -- | 1 |
| 2017 | Northwestern | 33 | 16 | 1.0 | 0.0 | -- | -- |
| Career | 325 | 174 | 21.5 | 2.0 | 3 | 5 |
Game log · Week-by-week
2020 season · 8 games
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| Wk | Opp | TKL | SOLO | TFL | SACK | INT | PD | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wk 8 | W 43-3vs Maryland | 4 | 1 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 1 | |
| Wk 9 | W 21-20@ Iowa | 11 | 4 | 1.5 | 0.0 | 1 | 0 | |
| Wk 10 | W 21-13vs Nebraska | 14 | 8 | 2.0 | 0.0 | — | 1 | Season-high 14 tackles |
| Wk 11 | W 27-20@ Purdue | 5 | 4 | 1.0 | 1.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 12 | W 17-7vs No. 10 Wisconsin | 14 | 7 | 1.0 | 1.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 13 | L 20-29@ Michigan State | 11 | 5 | 3.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | 3.0 TFL |
| Wk 15 | W 28-10vs Illinois | 6 | 4 | 1.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 16 | L 10-22vs No. 3 Ohio State | 9 | 5 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Total | 74 | 38 | 9.5 | 2.0 | 1 | 2 |
Where his impact shows up on the stat sheet
Tackle volume
84tackles this seasonTFL rate
11%10 TFLSack rate
2%2 sacksPD rate
2%2 pass breakups84 tackles · 9.5 for loss · 2 sacks · 1 interception.
4 seasons under Pat Fitzgerald — 29-19 over that span.
Splits · Per-game
2020 season · 8 games
Home vs Road
| TKL/g | TFL/g | SACK/g | PD/g | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Home4g | 9.5 | 1.0 | 0.2 | 0.5 |
| Road3g | 9.0 | 1.8 | 0.3 | 0.0 |
First half vs Second half
| TKL/g | TFL/g | SACK/g | PD/g | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Weeks 8+8g | 9.2 | 1.2 | 0.2 | 0.2 |
Supporting cast · Scheme
Staff and system around the player
Head Coach
Pat Fitzgerald
Pass share
42.4%
283 pass / 384 run
Plays / game
83.4
8 games
Team sack rate
4.3%
303 dropbacks · PBP
Scheme: Run-leaning, fast tempo.
Player standing · 2020
More tackles a game than nearly every FBS linebacker who plays every week.
How it ended
Four seasons at Northwestern, 325 tackles — the college career is complete.
A stat line in 45 games over four seasons.
Coaching lineage · 2017–2020
1 coachPlayed every college season under Pat Fitzgerald.
