Northwestern Kicks Off 2026 Season against South Dakota State

EVANSTON, Ill. —  Northwestern’s 139th season of football and 150th anniversary of its first football game begins at home, with the Wildcats taking on South Dakota State at Northwestern Medicine Field at Martin Stadium on Saturday, September 5 at 7 p.m. CT.

“Our program is thrilled to officially be in game week,” Dan and Susan Jones Family Head Football Coach David Braun said. “Our group felt like we had a really good camp. Last week was a great opportunity for us to really define roles on this football team and to get into a routine, but to officially be in game week is something that I know our players, our staff, our entire program [is] really chomping at the bit to get going with.”

The game will air on Big Ten Network with Northwestern alum Lisa Byington doing play-by-play, Tanner Morgan as analyst and Natalie Kerwin on the sidelines. It can be heard on WGN Radio 720 or SiriusXM Channel 83 with The Voice of the Wildcats, Dave Eanet, who is entering his 37th season calling Northwestern football, and 33rd-year analyst Ted Albrecht.

Stay tuned to Northwestern football's X and Instagram channels for live highlights, photos, and reactions throughout the Wildcats' season opener.

LAST SEASON

The Wildcats finished the 2025 season with a 7-6 record, capped off by a victory in the GameAbove Sports Bowl. Northwestern’s 34-7 win over Central Michigan marked the program’s largest margin of victory in a bowl game. The Wildcats have won six consecutive bowl games dating back to 2016.

Braun became the first head coach in program history to start his career 2-0 in bowl games. He also joined Pat Fitzgerald (2006-2022) as the only head coaches in program history to win multiple bowl games.

Braun’s start with Northwestern has him etched into program record books. The 2023 Big Ten Coach of the Year totaled 19 wins in his first three seasons at the helm, which ranks tied for second most in Northwestern history by a head coach over his first three seasons, trailing only Walter McCornack. 1903-05, (26). Braun’s 11 Big Ten wins over his first three seasons are tied for the most by a Wildcat head coach in program history.

Fifteen Northwestern players were named All-Big Ten for the 2025 season, including seven on the defensive side of the ball, the program’s most since 2017. The Wildcats’ strong defense was a staple of their success, holding opponents to an average of 19.8 points per game allowed, their sixth-best mark for a season since 1970.

CATS IN SEASON OPENERS

Northwestern owns a 84-50-4 record all-time in season openers, last winning a season debut in 2024 against Miami (OH), 13-6. The game against the RedHawks was the first game played at Northwestern Medicine Field at Martin Stadium following construction beginning on Ryan Field.

Braun is 3-0 in home openers, defeating UTEP, Miami (OH), and Western Illinois. He is looking to become the sixth head coach in program history, and the first since Pappy Waldorf (1935-1946), to win his first four career home openers. The Wildcats have won five of their last seven home openers.

This contest against the Jackrabbits will be the first time the Wildcats open the season against an FCS team since 2009, when they defeated Towson, 47-14.

WHAT BRAUN’S SAYING

On what makes Robert Fitzgerald deserving of being named “The Wildcat”…

•  “Gosh, this is a cop-out answer, but everything. It’s the teammate that he is. It’s the friend that he is. It’s the way he’s willing to step into discomfort and hold everyone within this program accountable. It’s the way that he works, not only when people are watching, but when people aren’t watching. It’s his willingness to take constructive feedback. We challenged him post-2024 like, ‘Hey, you got to become a better space tackler for us to put you in a position to be the starting boundary safety.’ And my gosh, did he ever answer on that challenge. It’s the way that he’s led, specifically since January coming off last season. When he addresses his team, he’s got everyone’s full attention, including our coaching staff. There’s just so much respect for how he goes about his day-to-day and his assertive leadership. I’ve said this about other guys in our program, and it doesn’t just apply to Fitz, but I’m a better person and a better coach because I get to spend time with Robert Fitzgerald.”

On new Offensive Coordinator Chip Kelly maximizing players, specifically Aidan Chiles…

• “Something that has stood out to me since day one of having an opportunity to sit in on offensive staff meetings, unit meetings with the offense, and just observing how Chip, [Quarterbacks Coach] Jerry [Neuheisel], the rest of that staff views football, [makes me] really impressed with Chip’s ability to identify the strengths of his players and play to those strengths. I think that’s a sign of a great teacher and a great coach. You don’t have to have that figured out in spring ball, and you’re still working through that. But as we’ve gotten into fall camp, you can start to see the formula coming together of, ‘Okay, yeah, that makes a lot of sense we’re doing that with Aidan because that’s right up his alley. That is his strong point.’ I think there’s a lot of trust between those three right now, just in terms of putting him in a position to thrive.

On Aidan Chiles being named a captain as a transfer…

• “It speaks to [General Manager] Christian Sarkisian, our entire scouting and recruiting department, and our coaching staff of really understanding the non-negotiables in terms of the quality of young men that we’re looking to bring into our program — not just great football players but great men. I think both Preston [Stone] and Aidan both embody that to the fullest degree. When we talk with our leadership council, we talk about the three roles of leadership: being a mentor, being a coach and being a commander. I think our program does an incredible job of when guys first get here, whether it’s first-years or transfers, of using those first couple months to mentor new guys of, ‘Hey, this is what it means to be a Northwestern Wildcat.’ You got a guy like Aidan that just latches onto that, comes with a lot of gratitude and appreciation for the guys that he gets to play with. [He] did an incredible job of building relationships and then built a ton of credibility and trust within our locker room and earned that captain.”

SCOUTING SOUTH DAKOTA STATE

One of the most dominant FCS programs year-to-year, the Jackrabbits are coming off a 9-5 season, where they reached the FCS postseason and fell in the second round. Dan Jackson is entering his second season for the program that won back-to-back national championships in 2022 and 2023.

Last week, South Dakota State, which is ranked No. 2 in the AFCA FCA Coaches Poll, got its season off to a hot start with a 70-7 victory over Stetson at home. The team finished with 628 yards of total offense, rushing for 393 yards and throwing for 235 yards.

The Jackrabbits’ defense was particularly strong last season, totaling the seventh most interceptions in the FCS last year with 15. They also allowed just 125.5 rushing yards per game, the 20th-best mark in the FCS.

“They’re definitely going to challenge us at the line of scrimmage,” Braun said. “They are a physical operation, whether it’s their o-line, their tight ends, their defensive line, their linebacker play, their box play, and their wide receivers are getting in on that party too. Everything that they do comes with a ton of physicality and violence. They’re well-coached. They’re going to challenge you on special teams. I’ve been really impressed with the skill on both sides of the football, and then it starts to show up on special teams.”

SERIES HISTORY

Saturday’s contest against South Dakota State will be Northwestern’s first-ever matchup with the Jackrabbits. Braun is 3-0 against FCS opponents in his tenure at Northwestern (Howard, Eastern Illinois, Western Illinois).

The Jackrabbits are 2-11 against FBS competition, most recently losing 44-20 to Oklahoma State in 2024. When facing Big Ten competition, South Dakota State is 0-5, most recently facing Iowa in 2022. 

UP NEXT

The Wildcats have a bye week next weekend ahead of their second nonconference game. On Saturday, September 19, Northwestern will host Colorado at 6:30 p.m. CT for the final game at Northwestern Medicine Field at Martin Stadium.