Pat Fitzgerald, in his second season at Northwestern, was the team's head coach.

The Wildcats played their homes games at Ryan Field in Evanston, Illinois.

Before the beginning of the 2007 season, Northwestern showed potential for improvement upon the previous year's record.

ESPN.com's Mark Schlabach stated that Northwestern has the seventh easiest schedule in college football,[2] and SI.com's Steve Megargee claimed that Indiana was the only Big Ten school with an easier schedule.

[4] The Wildcats began the season with their first shutout since 1997 in a 27–0 win against the Northeastern Huskies.