Northwestern has its second consecutive Friday night game next week, when it hosts No. 13 Penn State for the first game in the New Ryan Field. The Oct. 2, 2026 matchup will be the 100th anniversary since the original Ryan Field, then called Dyche Stadium, opened. Kickoff is slated for 7 p.m. CT on FOX.
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. — Northwestern takes to the road for the first time in the 2026 season, traveling to Bloomington, Ind., to face the reigning national champions, No. 5 Indiana. Kickoff from Merchants Bank Field at Memorial Stadium for the Friday, Sept. 25, contest is set for 7 p.m. CT.
“You can give a long laundry list of reasons why this is challenging or come up with explanations or excuses,” Dan and Susan Jones Family Head Football Coach David Braun said. “All of that goes out the window. We’ve got to focus on taking it one moment at a time, one day at a time, and control what we can control — and that’s our preparation.”
The game will air on FOX, with Connor Onion doing play-by-play, Robert Griffin III as the analyst and Alexa Landestoy reporting on the sidelines. It can be heard on WGN Radio 720 or SiriusXM Channel 262, with The Voice of the Wildcats, Dave Eanet, in his 37th season calling Northwestern football, and 33-year analyst Ted Albrecht.
Stay tuned to Northwestern football's X and Instagram channels for live highlights, photos, and reactions throughout the Wildcats' first road test.
LAST TIME OUT
On Saturday (Sept. 19), Northwestern defeated Colorado 41-7 in the final game at Northwestern Medicine Field at Martin Stadium. The ‘Cats capped off their time on the lakefront with five straight victories, while the win moved Northwestern to 2-0 for the first time since 2020. The Wildcats’ +34 point differential marked their largest margin of victory against a power conference opponent since 2020.
Fourth-year quarterback Aidan Chiles earned Big Ten Offensive Player of the Week honors by completing 77.3% of his passes (17-of-22) for 241 passing yards and three passing touchdowns, while running for two scores. He’s the first Big Ten player to post those numbers in a game since Ohio State’s J.T. Barrett in 2017. Fifth-year running back Joseph Himon II hauled in three receiving touchdowns, tied for the second-most in program history, while totaling 128 all-purpose yards. Fourth-year running back Caleb Komolafe and fifth-year running back Gavin Sawchuk tallied 49 and 48 rushing yards, respectively, while fourth-year wide receiver Griffin Wilde led the team in receptions (5) and receiving yards (85).
Northwestern’s defense forced four turnovers, with fifth-year defensive back Robert Fitzgerald and fifth-year linebacker Braydon Brus recovering fumbles and sixth-year defensive back Ore Adeyi and fifth-year defensive back Braden Turner notching interceptions. Fitzgerald led the team in tackles with 11, and fourth-year defensive back Josh Fussell led the team with two pass breakups. In his season debut, fourth-year defensive lineman Michael Kilbane posted six tackles, a tackle for loss and a forced fumble.
NUMBERS TO KNOW
Challenging the Champs2
The Wildcats will be playing against the reigning national champion for the second time in the past three seasons, after facing 2023 national champions Michigan during the 2024 season.
Big Ten Openers4
It has been four seasons since Northwestern last won its Big Ten opener. The ‘Cats defeated Nebraska, 31-28 to open the 2022 season in Dublin, Ireland.
No Fly Zone5
Josh Fussell has totaled five pass breakups this season, which is tied for the most in the nation. He’s the only one of the six players tied for the national lead to have played in just two games.
AP Top-Five Wins67
Northwestern is seeking its first victory over an AP Top-5 team in 67 years, most recently defeating No. 5 Iowa, 14-10, in 1959.
Offensive Outburst75
The Wildcats have scored 75 points scored over the past two games, marking the program’s highest-scoring two-game stretch since November 2017 and its highest-scoring start to a season since 2013.
1. Aidan Chiles: Last week’s Big Ten Offensive Player of the Week, Chiles has thrown for 514 yards, four touchdowns and no interceptions, while rushing for three touchdowns through two games this season. In the contest against Colorado, the fourth-year quarterback became the first Northwestern quarterback to record 3+ passing touchdowns and 2+ rushing touchdowns in a single game since 2001, when Zak Kustok did so against Bowling Green.
2. Michael Kilbane: Kilbane made his season debut in Week 2, and his performance with a 91.9 PFF grade earned him a place on a PFF National Team of the Week. The fourth-year from Lakewood, Ohio, became the first Wildcat defensive lineman to have a game with 6+ tackles, 1+ tackle for loss and 1+ forced fumble since Adetomiwa Adebawore did so against Duke on Sep. 10, 2022.
3. Joseph Himon II: The fifth-year running back ranks second on the team with 176 scrimmage yards through two games, and he ranks 26th nationally with 123.0 all-purpose yards per game. After registering three receiving touchdowns against the Buffaloes — the most by a Northwestern running back in a single game since at least 1995, Himon needs just one more receiving touchdown to set the program record for receiving touchdowns in a single season by a running back.
4. Robert Fitzgerald: The fifth-year defensive back sits atop the nation in tackles per game with 12.5. Furthermore, Fitzgerald currently leads the Big Ten in assisted tackles (19) after leading the conference in solo tackles last season (70). Fitzgerald is the first Big Ten player since 2009 to record 25+ tackles and 1+ fumble recovery in the first two games of a season.
5. Griffin Wilde: Named All-Big Ten Third Team and the GameAbove Sports Bowl MVP last season, Wilde’s 2026 season has picked up where he left off. The fourth-year wide receiver — who is the fastest Wildcat to reach 1,000 receiving yards since D’Wayne Bates in 1995-96 — is the first Northwestern player to tally over 75 receiving yards in each of the first two games of a season since Mark Philmore in 2004.
WHAT BRAUN'S SAYING
On having a short week due to a Friday night game…
- “It’s this week that’s unique, especially with coming off a night game. I’m just really grateful to our entire staff and strength staff and collaboration of really identifying, ‘How do we do it well on this short week?’ We’ve done it before, but what does this team need now? Also, just a great deal of appreciation for our players. They understand that their bodies don’t feel great coming off a game, but there’s work to be done in really just leaning into that, being smart about how you move towards game day, but understanding [we’re] playing the best team in the country on the road. There’s preparation that needs to be done. I’ve been really impressed with the way the guys are operating so far.”
On Damon Walters’ development and level of play after struggling with injuries last season…
- “It’s really neat. So much of the work that he’s done over the course of the last 12 months has been in the dark. We see it, but the outside world doesn’t see. We’ve seen him grow physically and put on weight and become stronger and do all those things to become someone that can achieve at the highest levels of the Big Ten. Where I’ve seen the most growth out of Damon — and it stems originally from confidence — [is] his communication. He’s always been someone that’s incredibly confident in the scheme personally, but to see him make those out there on the field with him better because of his communication and confidence, that’s the sign of a true, high-caliber, elite safety.”
On the Wildcat offense’s increased number of explosive plays this season…
- “It’s our guys just being really focused on execution. What’s been called? We’re going to execute this at a high level and trusting that with execution, explosiveness is going to show up. Some of those plays, yeah, they’re designed to be super aggressive, but there’s also explosive plays all over the place where it’s like a checkdown to [Caleb Komolafe] in open field, and he’s making someone miss. It’s just doing the little things right. When you start to chase explosives on offense, I firmly believe that’s when it can become problematic, and you can get yourself behind the chains. The way that Coach Kelly, the offensive staff, and our offense attacks it, yes, there’s creativity, but I appreciate the fact that our focus is on the execution and trusting that that’s going to lead to explosive plays.”
SCOUTING INDIANA
Indiana is coming off a 16-0 season and has not lost a game since Dec. 20, 2024. The Hoosiers have started the season 3-0, defeating North Texas (52-16), Howard (55-0) and Western Kentucky (38-0).
Their 48.3 points per game rank sixth nationally, and quarterback Josh Hoover has 10 touchdowns already, which is tied for the fourth-most nationally. Wide receiver Charlie Becker has six receiving touchdowns, tied for the second-most in the country, and averages 90.7 receiving yards per game.
Defensively, Indiana’s 5.3 points allowed per game is the second-best mark in the country, and they allow the sixth-fewest yards per game (203.3) in the country. The unit is averaging 8.7 tackles for loss per game, ranking sixth in the country.
The Hoosiers are averaging 26.0 penalty yards per game, the best mark in the nation.
“The job that Coach Cignetti has done at Indiana, that staff, that group of players, I would argue it’s probably the most remarkable turnaround in all of college football history for them to go and win a national championship last year,” Braun said. “It shows up tangibly on tape. These guys are well-coached. They are very talented, and I’m not just referring to last year’s team. I’m referring to the tape that Indiana’s put out there the first three weeks.”
SERIES HISTORY
Northwestern is 47-36-1 all-time against the Hoosiers, its best winning percentage (.565) in program history against a Big Ten school. Since 2000, the Wildcats have won 10 of the 14 matchups.
Northwestern enters the contest searching for its first victory over Indiana since Oct. 22, 2016, a 24-14 win at Ryan Field. The Wildcats, which have not played a game in Bloomington in the Braun era, are seeking their first win against Indiana on the road since Oct. 29, 2011, a 59-38 triumph.
Friday’s contest will be Northwestern’s third-ever game against a ranked Indiana team. The Wildcats’ previous two tests versus ranked Hoosier squads came in 1944 (No. 20), a 14-7 loss, and 2024 (No. 23), a 41-24 defeat.
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