2026 Northwestern Wildcats football team

2026 Northwestern Wildcats football
ConferenceBig Ten Conference
Record0–0 (0–0 Big Ten)
Head coach
Offensive coordinatorChip Kelly (1st season)
Defensive coordinatorTim McGarigle (3rd season)
Home stadiumMartin Stadium
Ryan Field
2026 Big Ten Conference football standings
Conf. Overall
Team   W   L     W   L  
Illinois   0 – 0     0 – 0  
Indiana   0 – 0     0 – 0  
Iowa   0 – 0     0 – 0  
Maryland   0 – 0     0 – 0  
Michigan   0 – 0     0 – 0  
Michigan State   0 – 0     0 – 0  
Minnesota   0 – 0     0 – 0  
Nebraska   0 – 0     0 – 0  
Northwestern   0 – 0     0 – 0  
Ohio State   0 – 0     0 – 0  
Oregon   0 – 0     0 – 0  
Penn State   0 – 0     0 – 0  
Purdue   0 – 0     0 – 0  
Rutgers   0 – 0     0 – 0  
UCLA   0 – 0     0 – 0  
USC   0 – 0     0 – 0  
Washington   0 – 0     0 – 0  
Wisconsin   0 – 0     0 – 0  
Championship: December 5, 2026
As of March 21, 2026
Rankings from AP poll

The 2026 Northwestern Wildcats football team will represent Northwestern University as a member of the Big Ten Conference during the 2026 NCAA Division I FBS football season. They are led by fourth-year head coach David Braun. The team will play its first two home games at a temporary facility constructed at the university's Martin Stadium, while playing their final five home games at Ryan Field after construction is finished, debuting on October 2.[1]

Schedule

DateOpponentSiteResult
September 5South Dakota State*
September 19Colorado*
  • Martin Stadium
  • Evanston, IL
September 26at Indiana
October 2Penn State
October 10Ball State*
  • Ryan Field
  • Evanston, IL
October 17at Michigan State
October 24Rutgers
  • Ryan Field
  • Evanston, IL
October 31at Oregon
November 7Iowa
  • Ryan Field
  • Evanston, IL
November 14at Ohio State
November 21at Minnesota
November 28Illinois
  • *Non-conference game

[2][3]

Game summaries

vs South Dakota State

South Dakota State Jackrabbits (0–0) at Northwestern Wildcats (0–0) – Game summary
Quarter 1 2 Total
Jackrabbits 0
Wildcats 0

at Martin Stadium • Evanston, Illinois

  • Date: September 5
Statistics SDST NU
First downs
Plays–yards
Rushes–yards
Passing yards
Passing: comp–att–int
Time of possession
Team Category Player Statistics
South Dakota State Passing
Rushing
Receiving
Northwestern Passing
Rushing
Receiving

vs Colorado

See also: 2026 Colorado Buffaloes football team
Colorado Buffaloes (0–0) at Northwestern Wildcats (0–0) – Game summary
Quarter 1 2 Total
Buffaloes 0
Wildcats 0

at Martin Stadium • Evanston, Illinois

  • Date: September 19
Statistics COLO NU
First downs
Plays–yards
Rushes–yards
Passing yards
Passing: comp–att–int
Time of possession
Team Category Player Statistics
Colorado Passing
Rushing
Receiving
Northwestern Passing
Rushing
Receiving

at Indiana

See also: 2026 Indiana Hoosiers football team
Northwestern Wildcats (0–0) at Indiana Hoosiers (0–0) – Game summary
Quarter 1 2 Total
Wildcats 0
Hoosiers 0

at Memorial Stadium • Bloomington, Indiana

  • Date: September 26
Statistics NU IU
First downs
Plays–yards
Rushes–yards
Passing yards
Passing: comp–att–int
Time of possession
Team Category Player Statistics
Northwestern Passing
Rushing
Receiving
Indiana Passing
Rushing
Receiving

vs Penn State

See also: 2026 Penn State Nittany Lions football team
Penn State Nittany Lions (0–0) at Northwestern Wildcats (0–0) – Game summary
Quarter 1 2 Total
Nittany Lions 0
Wildcats 0

at Ryan Field • Evanston, Illinois

  • Date: October 2
Statistics PSU NU
First downs
Plays–yards
Rushes–yards
Passing yards
Passing: comp–att–int
Time of possession
Team Category Player Statistics
Penn State Passing
Rushing
Receiving
Northwestern Passing
Rushing
Receiving

vs Ball State

Ball State Cardinals (0–0) at Northwestern Wildcats (0–0) – Game summary
Quarter 1 2 Total
Cardinals 0
Wildcats 0

at Ryan Field • Evanston, Illinois

  • Date: October 10
Statistics BALL NU
First downs
Plays–yards
Rushes–yards
Passing yards
Passing: comp–att–int
Time of possession
Team Category Player Statistics
Ball State Passing
Rushing
Receiving
Northwestern Passing
Rushing
Receiving

at Michigan State

See also: 2026 Michigan State Spartans football team
Northwestern Wildcats (0–0) at Michigan State Spartans (0–0) – Game summary
Quarter 1 2 Total
Wildcats 0
Spartans 0

at Spartan Stadium • East Lansing, Michigan

  • Date: October 17
Statistics NU MSU
First downs
Plays–yards
Rushes–yards
Passing yards
Passing: comp–att–int
Time of possession
Team Category Player Statistics
Northwestern Passing
Rushing
Receiving
Michigan State Passing
Rushing
Receiving

vs Rutgers

See also: 2026 Rutgers Scarlet Knights football team
Rutgers Scarlet Knights (0–0) at Northwestern Wildcats (0–0) – Game summary
Quarter 1 2 Total
Scarlet Knights 0
Wildcats 0

at Ryan Field • Evanston, Illinois

  • Date: October 24
Statistics RUTG NU
First downs
Plays–yards
Rushes–yards
Passing yards
Passing: comp–att–int
Time of possession
Team Category Player Statistics
Rutgers Passing
Rushing
Receiving
Northwestern Passing
Rushing
Receiving

at Oregon

See also: 2026 Oregon Ducks football team
Northwestern Wildcats (0–0) at Oregon Ducks (0–0) – Game summary
Quarter 1 2 Total
Wildcats 0
Ducks 0

at Autzen Stadium • Eugene, Oregon

  • Date: October 31
Statistics NU ORE
First downs
Plays–yards
Rushes–yards
Passing yards
Passing: comp–att–int
Time of possession
Team Category Player Statistics
Northwestern Passing
Rushing
Receiving
Oregon Passing
Rushing
Receiving

vs Iowa

See also: 2026 Iowa Hawkeyes football team
Iowa Hawkeyes (0–0) at Northwestern Wildcats (0–0) – Game summary
Quarter 1 2 Total
Hawkeyes 0
Wildcats 0

at Ryan Field • Evanston, Illinois

  • Date: November 7
Statistics IOWA NU
First downs
Plays–yards
Rushes–yards
Passing yards
Passing: comp–att–int
Time of possession
Team Category Player Statistics
Iowa Passing
Rushing
Receiving
Northwestern Passing
Rushing
Receiving

at Ohio State

See also: 2026 Ohio State Buckeyes football team
Northwestern Wildcats (0–0) at Ohio State Buckeyes (0–0) – Game summary
Quarter 1 2 Total
Wildcats 0
Buckeyes 0

at Ohio Stadium • Columbus, Ohio

  • Date: November 14
Statistics NU OSU
First downs
Plays–yards
Rushes–yards
Passing yards
Passing: comp–att–int
Time of possession
Team Category Player Statistics
Northwestern Passing
Rushing
Receiving
Ohio State Passing
Rushing
Receiving

at Minnesota

See also: 2026 Minnesota Golden Gophers football team
Northwestern Wildcats (0–0) at Minnesota Golden Gophers (0–0) – Game summary
Quarter 1 2 Total
Wildcats 0
Golden Gophers 0

at Huntington Bank Stadium • Minneapolis, Minnesota

  • Date: November 21
Statistics NU MINN
First downs
Plays–yards
Rushes–yards
Passing yards
Passing: comp–att–int
Time of possession
Team Category Player Statistics
Northwestern Passing
Rushing
Receiving
Minnesota Passing
Rushing
Receiving

vs Illinois

See also: 2026 Illinois Fighting Illini football team and Illinois–Northwestern football rivalry
Illinois Fighting Illini (0–0) at Northwestern Wildcats (0–0) – Game summary
Quarter 1 2 Total
Fighting Illini 0
Wildcats 0

at Ryan Field • Evanston, Illinois

  • Date: November 28
Statistics ILL NU
First downs
Plays–yards
Rushes–yards
Passing yards
Passing: comp–att–int
Time of possession
Team Category Player Statistics
Illinois Passing
Rushing
Receiving
Northwestern Passing
Rushing
Receiving

References

  1. ^ Bando, Zain. "Northwestern opens 'greatest college football stadium' with iconic Big Ten opponent". Yahoo Sports. Retrieved 21 February 2026.
  2. ^ Zacks, Yoni. "Football: Northwestern's 2026 schedule revealed, home venue to be announced Feb. 3". The Daily Northwestern. Retrieved 21 February 2026.
  3. ^ "2026 Northwestern Football Schedule". FBSchedules.com. Retrieved 21 February 2026.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is available under Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 unless otherwise noted. Additional terms may apply for the media files.