| Year: | 2016 |
| Team: | Northwestern Wildcats |
| Sport: | football |
| Conference: | Big Ten Conference |
| Division: | West Division |
| Short Conf: | Big Ten |
| Record: | 7–6 |
| Conf Record: | 5–4 |
| Hc Year: | 11th |
| Off Coach: | Mick McCall |
| Oc Year: | 9th |
| Dc Year: | 9th |
| Captain: | Austin Carr Matthew Harris Connor Mahoney Anthony Walker |
| Champion: | Pinstripe Bowl champion |
| Bowl Result: | W 31–24 vs. Pittsburgh |
The 2016 Northwestern Wildcats football team represented Northwestern University during the 2016 NCAA Division I FBS football season. They were led by Pat Fitzgerald who is in his 11th season as the team's head coach. The Wildcats home games were played at Ryan Field in Evanston, Illinois. They were members of the West Division of the Big Ten Conference.
Northwestern announced its 2016 football schedule on July 11, 2013. The 2016 schedule consists of 7 home and 5 away games in the regular season. The Wildcats will host Big Ten foes Illinois, Indiana, Nebraska, and Wisconsin, and will travel to Iowa, Michigan State, Minnesota, Ohio State, and Purdue.[1]
The team will host all three non–conference games which are against the Duke Blue Devils from the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC), Illinois State Redbirds from the Missouri Valley Conference, and the Western Michigan Broncos from the Mid-American Conference (MAC).
Schedule Source:[2]
See also: 2016 Western Michigan Broncos football team.
See also: 2016 Illinois State Redbirds football team.
See also: 2016 Duke Blue Devils football team.
See also: 2016 Nebraska Cornhuskers football team.
See also: 2016 Iowa Hawkeyes football team.
See also: 2016 Michigan State Spartans football team.
See also: 2016 Indiana Hoosiers football team.
See also: 2016 Ohio State Buckeyes football team.
See also: 2016 Wisconsin Badgers football team.
See also: 2016 Purdue Boilermakers football team.
See also: 2016 Minnesota Golden Gophers football team.
See also: 2016 Illinois Fighting Illini football team and Illinois–Northwestern football rivalry.
See also: 2016 Pittsburgh Panthers football team and 2016 Pinstripe Bowl.
| Player | Award | Date Awarded | Ref. | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ifeadi Odenigbo | Co-Big Ten Defensive Player of the Week | October 3, 2016 | [3] | |
| Justin Jackson | Big Ten Co-Offensive Player of the Week | October 17, 2016 | [4] | |
| Solomon Vault | Big Ten Special Teams Player of the Week | October 17, 2016 | ||
| John Moten IV | Co-Big Ten Freshman of the Week | November 12, 2016 | [5] | |
| John Moten IV | Big Ten Freshman of the Week | November 29, 2016 | [6] | |
| Austin Carr | Richter-Howard Receiver of the Year | November 30, 2016 | [7] |