The Wildcats have a loaded 2026 slate.
Northwestern finished 7-6 last season against one of the hardest schedules in the nation, but 2026 does not project to be any easier.
The Wildcats learned their 2026 Big Ten schedule on Tuesday night, which features road games against the three best teams in the conference. Here's every opponent Northwestern will face this fall:
Week 1: Saturday, Sep. 5 vs. South Dakota State
Evanston, Ill. | 2025 South Dakota State Jackrabbits: 9-5 (4-4 Missouri Valley)
The Wildcats are set to open the 2026 college football season at home against the Jackrabbits. South Dakota State won the FCS National Championship in 2023 and 2024 before head coach Jimmy Rogers left to coach Washington State (now at Iowa State). The big question is whether or not the New Ryan Field will be ready for Week 1.
Week 2: BYE WEEK
Northwestern has a rare Week 2 bye, which could prove to be incredibly challenging during the home stretch of the season.
Week 3: Saturday, Sep. 19 vs. Colorado
Evanston, Ill. | 2025 Colorado Buffaloes: 3-9 (1-8 Big 12)
Colorado had a rough season in its first campaign without Travis Hunter and Shedeur Sanders, who led a strong 2024 Buffaloes team. This will be the second matchup in history between these two programs, with Colorado earning the lone win in 1978.
Week 4: Saturday, Sep. 26 at Indiana
Bloomington, Ind. | 2025 Indiana Hoosiers: 16-0 (9-0 B1G)
Northwestern will head to Bloomington for a Week 4 contest against the National Champion Indiana Hoosiers, who are coming off a perfect 16-0 season. The 'Cats most recently played the Hoosiers during Curt Cignetti's first season with the team. Indiana won, 41-27, though Northwestern trailed by three at one point in the fourth quarter.
Week 5: Saturday, Oct. 3 vs. Penn State
Evanston, Ill. | 2025 Penn State Nittany Lions: 7-6 (3-6 B1G)
The Wildcats' Big Ten home opener is a rematch against Penn State. Northwestern derailed the Nittany Lions' season a year ago and led to the firing of head coach James Franklin, thanks to a 22-21 upset win on the road. Matt Campbell now leads the program after spending a decade at Iowa State.
Week 6: Saturday, Oct. 10 vs. Ball State
Evanston, Ill. | 2025 Ball State Cardinals: 4-8 (3-5 MAC)
Ball State finished 10th in the MAC last season, its first with Mike Uremovich at the helm. Northwestern won the only other meeting between these two teams in 2015, 24-19.
Week 7: Saturday, Oct. 17 at Michigan State
East Lansing, Mich. | 2025 Michigan State Spartans: 4-8 (1-8 B1G)
Pat Fitzgerald will host his former school in Week 7, midway through his first season with the Spartans. Michigan State's new head coach led Northwestern for 17 seasons and is the all-time winningest coach at his alma mater. Fitzgerald originally hired NU head coach David Braun, who is 19-19 over three seasons, as the Wildcats' defensive coordinator.
Week 8: Saturday, Oct. 24 vs. Rutgers
Evanston, Ill. | 2025 Rutgers Scarlet Knights: 5-7 (2-7 B1G)
David Braun coached his first game against the Scarlet Knights back in 2023, when he was Northwestern's interim head coach. Rutgers and the Wildcats are set to face off for the first time since then. This Week 8 matchup is NU's final game against a team that finished below .500 last season.
Week 9: Saturday, Oct. 31 at Oregon
Eugene, Ore. | 2025 Oregon Ducks: 13-2 (8-1 B1G)
The Ducks mark the start of a brutal stretch for Northwestern, beginning on Halloween. Oregon's only two losses last season came against the Hoosiers, though it was initially sluggish in Evanston before pulling away. This will be Northwestern's first trip to Eugene in program history.
Week 10: Saturday, Nov. 7 vs. Iowa
Evanston, Ill. | 2025 Iowa Hawkeyes: 9-4 (6-3 B1G)
Iowa turned heads in 2025, and all four of the Hawkeyes' losses came against ranked opponents. Northwestern and Iowa battled throughout the days of the Big Ten West, but the Wildcats are winless in their last four meetings. Northwestern last won on Halloween of 2020.
Week 11: Saturday, Nov. 14 at Ohio State
Columbus, Ohio | 2025 Ohio State Buckeyes: 12-2 (9-0 B1G)
The Buckeyes went undefeated during the regular season before falling to Indiana in the Big Ten Championship and Miami in the College Football Playoff. Northwestern has lost 11 consecutive games to Ohio State, with the last four coming via a combined score of 126-27. New offensive coordinator Chip Kelly served in the same role during OSU's National Championship season in 2024.
Week 12: Saturday, Nov. 21 at Minnesota
Minneapolis, Minn. | 2025 Minnesota Golden Gophers: 8-5 (5-4 B1G)
Northwestern clinched a postseason berth with a thrilling 38-35 victory last fall, and the Wildcats will head to Minnesota this time around. David Braun is 2-0 against Gophers head coach P.J. Fleck, who just wrapped up his seventh consecutive bowl victory.
Week 13: Saturday, Nov. 28 vs. Illinois
Evanston, Ill. | 2025 Illinois Fighting Illini: 9-4 (5-4 B1G)
As usual, Northwestern will end its season against its rival, Illinois. The two schools will battle for the Land of Lincoln Trophy (a.k.a The Hat), which the Fighting Illini have won in each of the last two seasons. The finale marks the Wildcats' fifth game in a row against an opponent with a winning 2025 record to close the year.