EVANSTON, Ill. — Northwestern closed its 2026 non-conference slate with a 45-14 Homecoming win over Ball State on Saturday in Ryan Field.
“We were able to start fast as a football team, and Ball State did a great job of battling back,” Dan and Susan Jones Family Head Football Coach David Braun said. “We challenged the team all week. The mission was to control the controllables, and I thought our team did a great job of that this week.”
The Wildcats (4-1, 1-1 Big Ten) scored on five of their first six drives to accelerate beyond the Cardinals (1-5). With the win, Northwestern went undefeated in non-conference play for the first time since the 2015 season.
“This is a special group that we get to coach,” Braun said. “You walk in that locker room and there’s almost a sense of ‘We need to do better.’ But winning college football games is hard… There’s a unique ability to enjoy that and then also be really objective and constructive where we need to be better.”
Aidan Chiles continued the flying start to his Wildcat career, completing 17-of-23 passes for 272 yards and three touchdowns. He added 32 rushing yards and a rushing score.
Chiles is the first NU quarterback to tally 15 total touchdowns before throwing an interception since at least 1995.
Griffin Wilde posted a game-high 144 receiving yards and a touchdown on eight catches. Wilde’s yardage total marked the most by a Wildcat since Bryce Kirtz registered 215 yards against Minnesota on Sept. 23, 2023.
“That guy prepares as well as anyone in the country,” Braun said of Wilde. “It’s not about the individual. It’s about the collective group and taking what defenses are giving us. There were a lot of opportunities for Griff to capitalize on today.”
Drew Wagner caught four passes for 61 yards and a touchdown, while Alex Honig notched 48 yards and a touchdown on a pair of receptions.
Northwestern outrushed Ball State 164 to 90 yards. Caleb Komolafe led the effort with 44 yards and a touchdown on eight carries.
The Wildcat defense recorded nine tackles for loss, the program’s most in a game since logging 9.0 TFLs at Maryland on Oct. 11, 2024.
Braydon Brus registered a team-high eight tackles, including four tackles for loss. Robert Fitzgerald posted his first career defensive touchdown on his second interception of the season. Jack Trautmann recorded his first career sack in the win.
Less than four minutes into the game, Chiles capped off a seven-play, 75-yard drive with a rushing touchdown. The ’Cats piled on scores in their next two drives, jumping out to a 21-0 lead with 10:52 remaining in the first half.
After Ball State cut the lead to 14 midway through the second quarter, Jackson Kleather answered with a 52-yard field goal—his second 50-plus-yard make in the past two games. Kleather’s kick marked the second-longest field goal in program history.