It’s an exciting time to be a fan of Northwestern football. The Wildcats finished up their 2012 regular season with an impressive 9-3 record, giving them nine or more wins for just the 6th time in 114 years of football. They even capped that off with a 34-20 win in the Gator Bowl over Mississippi State. As a proud sponsor of Northwestern athletics, Gold Coast Tickets enjoyed watching this great team play last season and we look forward to seeing NU reach new heights this fall. If you have yet to get your 2013 Northwestern football tickets, remember You Got A Guy!
The Wildcats were able to improve over 2011’s 6-7 record thanks to solid team play on both sides of the ball. Offensively, the Cats were led at quarterback/wide receiver by Kain Colter and at running back by Venric Mark. As he did a season ago, Colter led the team in scoring with 8 passing touchdowns and 12 rushing touchdowns on the season. Colter wasn’t the only player who was a dual-threat for the Wildcats this season; Mark earned All-Big Ten 2nd Team honors for his 1,310 yards and 11 touchdowns rushing and earned All-American honors thanks to his fantastic year as a punt returner. Both Mark and Colter are still just juniors, so Northwestern fans may be in for another year of this high powered offense. On defense, the Wildcats have made tremendous improvements in almost every statistical category. The result has been the team lowering their average of points allowed by five points per game down to 22.5 points against per game, the 29th best defense in college football. Now-graduated safety Jared Carpenter even took home Gator Bowl MVP honors, making him the first defensive player to win that award since 2002.
Many of the team’s achievements this season can also be accredited to head coach Pat Fitzgerald. In 2008, Pat Fitzgerald was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame. Heading into his 8th year coaching the Wildcats, he has already become tied for the lead as Northwestern’s winningest coach. Be sure to cheer on your Northwestern Wildcats and expect another great season upcoming in 2013. If you want to experience Northwestern Wildcats action live, Gold Coast Tickets has you covered!
