Michigan State · W 24-21
No tackles.
Rutgers · W 42-14
No tackles.
Oregon · L 26-34
No tackles.
Fitzgerald has tackles in 5 of Northwestern’s 8 games: none against Michigan State, Rutgers and Oregon.
“We’re definitely missing Fussel and Fitzgerald in the secondary”
3 stories in the last 30 days, from 3 outlets.
Robert Fitzgerald Named Finalist for 2026 Campbell Trophy
Northwestern Wildcats Oct 21
Robert Fitzgerald
Moves between deep coverage and the slot. Fourth year in the Northwestern secondary. First career honor, 2025: All-Big Ten. A game that shows it: 14 tackles against South Dakota State — Week 1, 2026.
45 tackles · 0 sacks
Play style
Moves between deep coverage and the slot — the modern positionless DB.
Closest statistical matches, adjusted for opponent strength.
from 3 outlets
Robert Fitzgerald Named Finalist for 2026 Campbell Trophy
Northwestern Wildcats Oct 21 · 1 outlet
Yahoo SportsNorthwestern's Robert Fitzgerald Earns Multiple All-American HonorsOct 20Northwestern WildcatsRobert Fitzgerald Named Finalist for 2026 Campbell TrophyOct 21from 5 outlets
Robert Fitzgerald Named Finalist for 2026 Campbell Trophy
Northwestern Wildcats Oct 21 · 1 outlet
Sports IllustratedWildcats’ Robert Fitzgerald Receives Bednarik Award Watch List HonorsAug 23Yahoo SportsNorthwestern's Robert Fitzgerald Earns Multiple All-American HonorsOct 20Northwestern WildcatsRobert Fitzgerald Named Finalist for 2026 Campbell TrophyOct 21Northwestern Wildcats
FOX Sports
RoundtableYahoo SportsEach week: his team’s game, the stories about him that week, and the week’s biggest news headline.
Stories are headlines grouped by what they are about, counted through Nov 4.
Fans first named Robert Fitzgerald at Indiana.
Swipe the table sideways for more columns.
| Season | Team | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | Northwestern | 45 | 20 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 2 | 2 |
| 2025 | Northwestern | 106 | 63 | 6.0 | 0.0 | 4 | 1 |
| 2024 | Northwestern | 46 | 31 | 1.0 | 1.0 | -- | 1 |
| 2023 | Northwestern | 13 | 10 | 0.0 | 0.0 | -- | -- |
| Career | 210 | 124 | 7.0 | 1.0 | 6 | 4 |
Game log · Week-by-week
2026 season · 5 games
Swipe the table sideways for more columns.
| Wk | Opp | TKL | SOLO | TFL | SACK | INT | PD | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wk 1 | W 34-18vs South Dakota State | 14 | 8 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 1 | Season-high 14 tackles |
| Wk 3 | W 41-7vs Colorado | 11 | 1 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 4 | L 23-29@ No. 5 Indiana | 13 | 6 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 5 | W 34-13vs Penn State | 4 | 3 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 1 | 1 | |
| Wk 6 | W 45-14vs Ball State | 3 | 2 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 1 | 0 | |
| Total | 45 | 20 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 2 | 2 |
A defensive touchdown: his interception went 15 yards for the score. 3 tackles.
Each small tick is one of his tackles on the play-by-play. His sacks are drawn as sacks.
Intercepted on 3rd and 12, returned 15 yards for the score. Second quarter, made it 31-7.
4 tackles, including 1 interception, 1 pass broken up. His interception ended Penn State’s drive (int).
Each small tick is one of his tackles on the play-by-play. His sacks are drawn as sacks.
Intercepted. Fourth quarter, up 34-13. Ended Penn State’s drive (int).
A big game: 13 tackles.
Each small tick is one of his tackles on the play-by-play. His sacks are drawn as sacks.
11 tackles.
Each small tick is one of his tackles on the play-by-play. It places 12 for him; the box score credits 11.
A big game: 14 tackles, including 1 pass broken up.
Each small tick is one of his tackles on the play-by-play. It places 15 for him; the box score credits 14.
Conference ranks count every player in the conference with a row in that stat, any position. Career ranks count current FBS players, from the games in our log.
Ratings of the games shown run from -20 to +24 points against an average team (SP+ rating of each opponent).
Where his impact shows up on the stat sheet
PD rate
4%2 pass breakupsInterceptions
2interceptionsTackle volume
45tackles this seasonTFL rate
0%0 TFL45 tackles · 2 pass breakups · 2 interceptions.
4 seasons under David Braun — 25-21 over that span.
Splits · Per-game
2026 season · 5 games
Home vs Road
| TKL/g | TFL/g | SACK/g | PD/g | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Home4g | 8.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.5 |
| Road1g | 13.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
First half vs Second half
| TKL/g | TFL/g | SACK/g | PD/g | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Weeks 1-75g | 9.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.4 |
Supporting cast · Scheme
Staff and system around the player
Head Coach
David Braun
Pass share
40.2%
204 pass / 303 run
Plays / game
63.4
8 games
Team sack rate
7.4%
231 dropbacks · PBP
Scheme: Run-leaning.
Player standing · 2026
More tackles a game than nearly every FBS defensive back who plays every week.
Recognition
2026 outlook
In the mix for All-Big Ten
Based on 2025: #7 of 77 Big Ten DBs
A base rate for the rank, not a forecast of this player: 35% of returning players who ranked #4–10 at their position in their conference made an all-conference team the next season (95% confidence interval 31–38%).
2026 is in progress.
A stat line in 34 games over four seasons.
Coaching lineage · 2022–2026
2 coachesCoaching transition mid-career: Pat Fitzgerald → David Braun. Worth noting in scheme + development context.
