Northwestern·Big Ten

2015 — The Ten-Win Year

Northwestern's 2015 season (10-3) is a middle chapter: table-stakes progress, no crown in the ledger, the program still writing the book.

Record 10-3
Final result 10-win season Lost the Outback Bowl
AP final #12 post-bowls
SP+ +0.4 last-week
Era —
The shape of the season · week by week, cumulative W-L below
W vs Stanford 16-6 W vs East Ill 41-0 W @ Duke 19-10 W vs Ball Sta 24-19 W vs Minnes 27-0 L @ Michigan 0-38 L vs Iowa 10-40 W @ Nebraska 30-28 W vs Penn St 23-21 W vs Purdue 21-14 W @ Wiscon 13-7 W @ Illinois 24-14 L @ Tennes 6-45 Bowl

Who carried it

Season leaders, 2015.

Defining moments
The statement

The 2015 season's largest margin: Northwestern 41, Eastern Illinois 0. A 41-point win — the year's high-water mark.

The setback

The season's deepest loss: Northwestern 6, Tennessee 45. A 39-point margin the season is remembered by.

The postseason

The season's last act: Northwestern fell to Tennessee 6-45 in the postseason.

"Go Cats"
— Northwestern fanbase voice · 2015· synthesized
What it meant

2015 is a middle chapter for Northwestern — neither a crown year nor a crisis. It is the kind of season that fills the ledger between the named ones and gives the arc its shape.