No. 20 Northwestern Visits Oregon for First Time in Program History

EUGENE, Ore. — Winners of four consecutive games, No. 20 Northwestern football is headed West to Eugene, Ore., for a Saturday, Oct. 31, matchup against Oregon. Kickoff for Northwestern’s first trip to Autzen Stadium is set for 2:30 p.m. CT on Peacock.

“Excited to be back in the facility, back to work with this team,” Dan and Susan Jones Family Head Football Coach David Braun said. “[We] had a chance to review Rutgers, and now, our full focus is on an incredible challenge — going out to Oregon against an outstanding football team in a really hostile environment.”

The game will air on Peacock, with Paul Burmeister doing play-by-play, Yogi Roth as analyst and Caroline Pineda reporting on the sidelines. It can also be heard on WGN Radio 720 and SiriusXM Channel 81, 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 game.

The Wildcats (6-1, 3-1 Big Ten) dominated Rutgers, 42-14, in Evanston on Saturday, Oct. 24. Northwestern’s +28 point differential marked its best against a Big Ten team since 2020. The Wildcats were fueled by a 21-point first quarter, the program’s most points in a first quarter of a conference game since 2011. The result moved Northwestern to 5-0 at home for the first time since 1996.

Big Ten Offensive Player of the Week Aidan Chiles led the Wildcat offense to its third 40-point game of the season and second 500-yard display. The fourth-year quarterback completed 76.0% of his passes (19-of-25) for 219 passing yards and three passing touchdowns. On the ground, he rushed for a career-high 83 yards and two touchdowns. His most lucrative target for the day was fourth-year wide receiver Griffin Wilde, who had nine catches, 133 receiving yards and a receiving touchdown, becoming the first Northwestern player to post those numbers in a conference game since 2023. Fourth-year running back Caleb Komolafe took 13 carries for 150 yards and a touchdown, becoming the first Wildcat to have two games of 150+ rushing yards in a single season since Isaiah Bower in 2018.

Northwestern’s defense suffocated the Scarlet Knight offense. Its four sacks marked its most in a Big Ten game since having six against Maryland in 2023. In addition, the unit allowed just 100 passing yards, the fewest by a Wildcat opponent since the 2023 campaign. Northwestern held Rutgers’ quarterbacks to a 33.3% completion rate (9-of-27), the lowest completion percentage by an opponent since 2020. The Wildcats tallied three takeaways, with interceptions from fifth-year defensive back Montae Pate and fourth-year defensive back Jalen Lewis and a forced fumble by fourth-year defensive lineman Michael Kilbane. Fifth-year linebacker Braydon Brus notched a game-high 10 tackles.

1. Aidan Chiles: On Monday, Chiles became the first Wildcat to win Big Ten Offensive Player of the Week twice in a season since Kain Colter in 2012. This season, the fourth-year quarterback has posted a Big Ten-best 71.3-percent completion percentage, with 1,617 passing yards, 12 passing touchdowns, 181 rushing yards and nine rushing touchdowns. He is just the second Big Ten player to reach these figures in a season since 1995, joining Northwestern’s very own Dan Persa (2010).
2. Michael Kilbane: Kilbane has notched a strip-sack in each of the Wildcats’ past two games. He is the first Northwestern player to register 1+ sack and 1+ forced fumble in consecutive games since Joe Gaziano in 2017. This season, the fourth-year defensive lineman has 25 tackles, 4.5 tackles for loss, 3 forced fumbles and 2.5 sacks, making him the first Wildcat to reach these numbers in a season since Gaziano in 2019.
3. Griffin Wilde: Against the Scarlet Knights, Wilde moved into a tie for 10th in career touchdowns in Northwestern program history (12). Over the past three games, the fourth-year wide receiver has 334 receiving yards, the most yards over a three-game span by a Wildcat since Flynn Nagel in 2018. Wilde, who ranks fifth in the conference in receiving yards (615), is the first Northwestern player to reach 600+ receiving yards in consecutive seasons since Jeremy Ebert in 2010-11.
4. Braydon Brus: Brus has compiled 62 tackles this season, which is tied for the most in the Big Ten, and 10.5 tackles for loss, tied for the second-most in the conference. He’s the first Big Ten player to register 60+ tackles and 10+ tackles for loss across the first seven games of a season since Rutgers’ Olakunle Fatukasi in 2020. The fifth-year linebacker is only one of two Power Four linebackers to record a tackle for loss in every game this season, alongside Wake Forest’s Langston Hardy.
5. Montae Pate: Pate notched his first interception as a Wildcat this past weekend, while also allowing just two receptions for 21 yards on his nine targets faced. On the season, the fifth-year defensive back has stepped up due to injuries and tallied 32 tackles and three pass breakups. His 32 tackles lead all Northwestern cornerbacks this season.

On Oregon having a new offensive coordinator this game…

• “It’s unique for sure. How much change is there going to be? Who’s going to be calling it? You can start to go down a rabbit hole of questions with no tangible answers to go off the film. It's a great opportunity for us defensively to just put our focus back on being the best version of ourselves and prepare for what we know and what we’ve seen on film, then be in a position to adjust well and thoroughly throughout the game. That certainly does put a unique twist on this week’s preparation.”

On Jon Jon Stevens’ level of play at both safeties positions…

• “[It’s] really difficult, like really difficult. For him to step in at Penn State at field safety and perform at that level, then losing [Robert Fitzgerald] and Ball State, and now so he’s preparing, getting reps at both. For him to step in and play at the level he has been at both positions, but specifically more recently at boundary safety, it’s a reflection of Tim McGarigle, Drew Gray, our safeties coach, and really Jon Jon. I tell guys all the time, ‘Don’t wait to become an All-Big Ten player to start preparing like an All-Big Ten player. Prepare like an All-Big Ten player, and you’ll give [yourself a] chance to turn yourself into an All-Big Ten player.’ Jon Jon Stevens, from the day that he stepped on campus, prepared at a really, really high level, and he’s continued to learn from Fitz and learn from Damon [Walters] and tweak that preparation. When you see his preparation, it doesn’t surprise you the way he plays on Saturdays.”

On Aidan Chiles’ growth since 2025…

• “I see someone that is operating in this really special balance of humility and confidence. He wants to be coached hard. He knows he needs to continue to improve. There’s this level of confidence that he knows he’s ready and prepared for all these opportunities. His decisiveness is something that continues to show up. I think that’s a reflection of his preparation but also the coaching. I think he’s also someone that really trusts the 10 other guys around him. If there’s one thing tangibly on the film, not just using words like humility and confidence, but tangibly showing up on the field, you can see he’s trusting the 10 other guys around him to protect him. He’s trusting his receivers to get to spots on time, and he’s distributing the ball to all those weapons really well.”

The Ducks (4-3, 2-2 Big Ten) have lost two of their last three games, including falling to Illinois, 21-10, on the road last weekend.

Three different quarterbacks have taken the field for Oregon this season, while the team ranks 25th nationally with 277.7 passing yards per game. Running backs Jordon Davison and Dierre Hill Jr. rank 12th and 15th in the Big Ten in rushing yards per game, with 422 and 378 yards, respectively. The Ducks have come away with a score on 93.9 percent of its red zone trips, the 17th-best mark nationally.

Oregon has recorded nine interceptions this season, tied for the 10th-most nationally. Outside linebacker Matayo Uiagalelei ranks second in the Big Ten with 6.0 sacks on the season, while fellow outside linebacker Teitum Tuioti has 4.5 sacks, coming in as the seventh-most in the conference.

Braun expressed high praise for Ducks’ Head Coach Dan Lanning, who has led Oregon to the College Football Playoffs in the past two seasons as well. Lanning has never had fewer than 10 wins in his four years leading the program.

“Dan Lanning is a flat-out ball coach and a master motivator,” Braun said. “He’s one of the best in the country and has been for a long time.”

The Wildcats and Ducks have faced off just two prior times in program history, but Saturday’s matchup will be the first meeting in Eugene, Ore. The first meeting between programs, coming in 1974, was a 14-10 Northwestern victory. When the teams faced off last season, No. 4 Oregon prevailed 34-14. The weekend’s contest will be the first time that the Wildcats have been ranked when facing the Ducks. Northwestern is seeking its first victory in the state of Oregon since 1966.

Northwestern will return to Evanston to host Iowa at Ryan Field on Saturday, Nov. 7. Kickoff time and television information will be announced at a later date.