Northwestern Wildcats · Record book
Northwestern Football Records
All-time career leaders for Northwestern Wildcats football across 21 statistical categories. Each list below shows the top five; open a record for the full leaderboard.
Northwestern Wildcats team pageUpdated Oct 6, 2026
Passing records
Career Passing Yards
Top 13- 1Clayton Thorson2015–201810,731
- 2Brett Basanez2002–200510,580
- 3Len Williams1990–19937,487
- 4C.J. Bachér2005–20087,319
- 5Trevor Siemian2011–20145,931
- 1Clayton Thorson2015–201861
- 2Brett Basanez2002–200544
- 2Len Williams1990–199344
- 4C.J. Bachér2005–200843
- 5Zak Kustok1999–200142
Career Completions
Top 10- 1Clayton Thorson2015–2018991
- 2Brett Basanez2002–2005913
- 3C.J. Bachér2005–2008664
- 4Len Williams1990–1993644
- 5Trevor Siemian2011–2014550
Career Pass Attempts
Top 10- 1Clayton Thorson2015–20181,696
- 2Brett Basanez2002–20051,584
- 3Len Williams1990–19931,076
- 4C.J. Bachér2005–20081,005
- 5Sandy Schwab1982–1985975
Rushing records
Career Rushing Yards
Top 11- 1Justin Jackson2014–20175,440
- 2Damien Anderson1998–20014,485
- 3Tyrell Sutton2005–20083,886
- 4Darnell Autry1994–19963,793
- 5Dennis Lundy1991–19943,062
- 1Justin Jackson2014–201741
- 2Damien Anderson1998–200138
- 3Darnell Autry1994–199635
- 4Jason Wright2000–200332
- 5Tyrell Sutton2005–200831
Receiving records
Career Receptions
Top 10- 1D'Wayne Bates1995–1998210
- 2Richard Buchanan1987–1990197
- 3Jeremy Ebert2008–2011173
- 4Kunle Patrick2000–2003171
- 5Shaun Herbert2003–2006168
Career Receiving Yards
Top 10- 1D'Wayne Bates1995–19983,370
- 2Richard Buchanan1987–19902,474
- 3Jeremy Ebert2008–20112,400
- 4Ross Lane2005–20082,068
- 5Eric Peterman2005–20082,011
- 1D'Wayne Bates1995–199826
- 2Richard Buchanan1987–199022
- 3Jeremy Ebert2008–201121
- 4Austin Carr2013–201614
- 4Drake Dunsmore2007–201114
Total Offense & Scoring records
Career Total Offense
Top 10- 1Brett Basanez2002–200511,576
- 2Clayton Thorson2015–201811,139
- 3Len Williams1990–19938,029
- 4C.J. Bachér2005–20087,571
- 5Zak Kustok1999–20017,116
Career All-Purpose Yards
Top 10- 1Justin Jackson2014–20176,298
- 2Damien Anderson1998–20015,271
- 3Tyrell Sutton2005–20085,138
- 4Darnell Autry1994–19964,609
- 5Venric Mark2010–20134,271
Career Points
Top 10- 1Jeff Budzien2010–2013280
- 2Charlie Kuhbander2017–2021265
- 3Brian Gowins1995–1998262
- 4Justin Jackson2014–2017252
- 5Damien Anderson1998–2001228
Defense records
Career Tackles
Top 10- 1Tim McGarigle2002–2005545
- 2Chuck Kern1977–1980503
- 3Barry Gardner1995–1998468
- 4Ed Sutter1988–1991429
- 5William Bennett1992–1995418
Career Sacks
Top 10- 1Joe Gaziano2016–201930
- 2Casey Dailey1994–199728
- 3Ifeadi Odenigbo2013–201623.5
- 4Steve Shine1990–199321
- 5Aidan Hubbard2021–202520.5
Career Interceptions
Top 11- 1Brett Whitley1984–198715
- 2Tom Worthington1946–194914
- 3Brian Peter2008–201111
- 3Malcolm Hunter1974–197711
- 5Eric Hutchinson1969–197110
Career Tackles for Loss
Top 11- 1Casey Dailey1994–199753
- 2Joe Gaziano2016–201948.5
- 3Dwayne Missouri1997–200045
- 4Matt Rice1993–199642
- 5Anthony Walker, Jr.2014–201638
Career Pass Breakups
Top 11- 1Harold Blackmon1997–200048
- 1Nick VanHoose2011–201548
- 3Marvin Ward2001–200440
- 4Matthew Harris2013–201631
- 5Sherrick McManis2006–200930
Career Forced Fumbles
Top 16- 1Paddy Fisher2017–202011
- 2Joe Gaziano2016–201910
- 3Anthony Walker, Jr.2014–20168
- 3Brad Phillips2006–20098
- 5Brian Peters2008–20116
Kicking records
Career Field Goals Made
Top 10- 1Brian Gowins1995–199858
- 2Jeff Budzien2010–201348
- 3John Duvic1983–198646
- 4Charlie Kuhbander2017–202143
- 5Jack Mitchell2014–201640
Career Punting Average
Top 10- 1Luke Akers2022–202543
- 2John Kidd1980–198341.8
- 3Derek Adams2020–202141.6
- 4J.J. Standring1998–200141.4
- 4Paul Burton1993–199641.4
Returns records
Career Kick Return Yards
Top 10- 1Stephen Simmons2007–20101,995
- 2Venric Mark2010–20131,909
- 3Solomon Vault2014–20181,518
- 4Ricky Edwards1979–19831,499
- 5Todd Sheets1976–19801,423
Looking for today’s roster? See Northwestern player ratings in College Football 27.
Sources & notes
- CFB Clipboard — Career leaderboards researched and compiled by CFB Clipboard.
Last updated Oct 6, 2026.