George Kittle, Jake Ferguson Reveal Why They Hated Playing at Northwestern

Northwestern may not immediately come to mind when thinking about the toughest places to play in college football, but two NFL star tight ends have a much different perspective.

San Francisco 49ers tight end George Kittle and Dallas Cowboys tight end Jake Ferguson recently discussed playing at Northwestern during an episode of “The Kittle Things” podcast, and neither had many positive things to say about the experience.

Ferguson, who played his college football at Wisconsin, made his feelings especially clear.

“Atmosphere and just overall vibe, I despise Northwestern,” Ferguson said. “Never won a game there. The grass is this long. No fans are there, so you got to make your own energy.”

Ferguson then brought up the visiting locker room before Kittle explained another challenge of playing in Evanston: those cold late-season Big Ten games.

“Northwestern at 11:00 a.m. on a Saturday, like right before winter, is one of the hardest places, because you have to do so much to get up for it,” Kittle said.

Ferguson agreed, joking that even the teammate normally responsible for bringing energy could have trouble getting excited to play in that environment.

The former Wisconsin tight end has good reason to remember his trips to Evanston.

Ferguson played twice at Northwestern during his Wisconsin career, and the Badgers lost both games. That included a 17-7 Northwestern victory in 2020 when Ferguson finished with seven receptions for 58 yards.

Kittle, who played at Iowa from 2013-16, had a different experience with the Wildcats. Iowa defeated Northwestern 40-10 at Ryan Field in 2015 during Kittle’s junior season.

Still, Kittle understood Ferguson’s point about what made playing at Northwestern unusual.

Kittle joked that the environment could almost work as a home-field advantage because visiting teams had to create their own energy. He also brought up the small student section and the Wildcat sound played over the speakers after Northwestern first downs.

Ferguson eventually summed up his feelings one more time.

“Yeah, I hate that place so bad,” Ferguson said.

The conversation is especially interesting now because that version of the Northwestern game-day experience is officially in the past.

The Wildcats played their final game at the temporary Northwestern Medicine Field at Martin Stadium earlier this season and will open the new Ryan Field against Penn State on Friday.

The new stadium is expected to provide a much different atmosphere than the old Ryan Field that Kittle and Ferguson remember.

But their comments also show that Northwestern’s old home had its own unusual advantage.

It was not necessarily about overwhelming crowd noise or tens of thousands of fans creating an intimidating environment. Instead, cold weather, early kickoffs, long grass and the challenge of creating your own energy made November trips to Evanston something opposing players did not always enjoy.

Ferguson certainly didn’t.

Years after playing his final college game, the Cowboys tight end still remembers his trips to Northwestern and not particularly fondly.