| Year: | 2010 |
| Team: | Northwestern Wildcats |
| Conference: | Big Ten Conference |
| Short Conf: | Big Ten |
| Record: | 7–6 |
| Conf Record: | 3–5 |
| Hc Year: | 5th |
| Off Coach: | Mick McCall |
| Oc Year: | 3rd |
| Dc Year: | 3rd |
| Captain2: | Al Netter |
| Captain3: | Quentin Davie |
| Captain4: | Corbin Bryant |
| Stadium: | Ryan Field (Capacity: 47,130) |
| Bowl Result: | L 38–45 vs. Texas Tech |
The 2010 Northwestern Wildcats football team represented Northwestern University in the Big Ten during the 2010 NCAA Division I FBS football season. Pat Fitzgerald, in his fifth season at Northwestern, was the team's head coach. The Wildcats home games were played at Ryan Field in Evanston, Illinois. The annual rivalry game against the University of Illinois was played at Wrigley Field on November 20.
The Wildcats finished the season 7–6, 3–5 in Big Ten play and was invited to the inaugural TicketCity Bowl where they were defeated by Texas Tech 38–45.
See also: 2010 Vanderbilt Commodores football team.
See also: 2010 Illinois State Redbirds football team.
See also: 2010 Rice Owls football team.
See also: 2010 Central Michigan Chippewas football team.
See also: 2010 Minnesota Golden Gophers football team.
See also: 2010 Purdue Boilermakers football team.
See also: 2010 Michigan State Spartans football team.
See also: 2010 Indiana Hoosiers football team.
See also: 2010 Penn State Nittany Lions football team.
See also: 2010 Iowa Hawkeyes football team.
Northwestern won a thriller by scoring two touchdowns in the fourth quarter. The Wildcats led in the first two periods, but the Hawkeyes scored twice to take the lead in the third quarter.
See also: 2010 Illinois Fighting Illini football team and Illinois–Northwestern football rivalry.
The Wildcats, one week after upsetting a ranked Iowa team, fell flat in Wrigley Field, losing 48-27 to the Fighting Illini. Illinois RB Mikel LeShoure ran wild on Northwestern's defense for 330 yards on 33 carries (for an average of 10.0 yards per carry), with a pair of touchdowns. The loss snapped a two game Northwestern winning streak over Illinois and sealed a bowl berth for Illinois, regardless of the outcome of their season finale against Fresno State next week. Northwestern falls to 3-4 in Big Ten play and 7-4 overall. The Wildcats face the 10-1 Wisconsin Badgers next week in Camp Randall Stadium, where they have not won since the 2000 season.
See also: 2010 Wisconsin Badgers football team.
See also: 2010 Texas Tech Red Raiders football team and 2011 TicketCity Bowl.
See also: 2010 NCAA Division I FBS football rankings.