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The 2026 Football Schedule is a Murderer’s Row

CatManTrue

CatManTrue

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None of these games are guarantees… Woof! 🐶

———-

SATURDAY, SEP 12

South Dakota State​

Time TBA ET | TV TBA


Colorado Football Schedule


SATURDAY, SEP 19

Colorado​

Time TBA ET | TV TBA


SATURDAY, OCT 10

Ball State​

Time TBA ET | TV TBA


Indiana Football Schedule


DATE TBA

atIndiana​

Time TBA ET | TV TBA


Michigan State Football Schedule


DATE TBA

atMichigan State​

Time TBA ET | TV TBA


Minnesota Football Schedule


DATE TBA

atMinnesota​

Time TBA ET | TV TBA


Illinois Football Schedule


DATE TBA

Illinois​

Time TBA ET | TV TBA


Iowa Football Schedule


DATE TBA

Iowa​

Time TBA ET | TV TBA


Penn State Football Schedule


DATE TBA

Penn State​

Time TBA ET | TV TBA


Rutgers Football Schedule


DATE TBA

Rutgers​

Time TBA ET | TV TBA


Oregon Football Schedule


DATE TBA

atOregon​

Time TBA ET | TV TBA


Ohio State Football Schedule


DATE TBA

atOhio State​

Time TBA ET | TV TBA
 
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AdamOnFirst

AdamOnFirst

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All three of the best teams plus Iowa and Penn State. You do get Rutgers and MSU, but none of Wisconsin, UCLA, Purdue, Maryland stinks. Welcome to the Big Ten though.
 
CatManTrue

CatManTrue

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Baz = Heisman said:
Yes. But same was said this year and we got to 6 wins. I’m not disagreeing with you just saying let’s see how it plays out.
Click to expand...
We avoided O$U, Iowa, and Indiana in conference last season.

There were also two patsies on the 2025 schedule. On 2026’s, there are none.

Braun, Chip, and Timmy have their work cut out for them.
 
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Eurocat

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I see that as not an easy schedule but welcome to the Big Ten, you want ten weeks of Maryland and Rutgers back to back? It was said we would get clobbered now that big national programs like UCLA are joining the Big Ten, we should not be able to compete. And Penn State and Nebraska, heavens to Betsy!

I actually had a curse phrase here but edited so no ban from rivals. It rhymes with "write me" and begins with the letter "B".


SATURDAY, SEP 12
South Dakota State
The biggest mistake in the world would be to take them lightly I can easily see the upset here, but second biggest would be to expect a loss here. Hit em hard hit em low, go Northwestern go.

SATURDAY, SEP 19
Colorado
Sanders is talking to the Cleveland Browns about their job, being reported all over. I am sure that is motivational for the Buffs.

SATURDAY, OCT 10
Ball State
See above about not taking anyone lightly but we should win. Ball Sate won four games last year and lost to Purdue and Auburn by about 30 and 40.

Indiana
Time TBA ET | TV TBA
Are we just going to assume this is an unbeatable NFL team or something? Play the damn game. In fact I think our players would be the first to say "Bring it".

Michigan State
Time TBA ET | TV TBA
Fitz will want to win this one badly. So will we. I will always love Pat and wish he was still here but, strap it on now. Gonna luv ya and kill ya. Thank you Fitz for hiring coach Braun who wiil now kick your ***.

Minnesota
Time TBA ET | TV TBA
Didn't we beat them this year? We should be in a panic...why exactly? Like some of the games above (South Dakota, etc) don't sleep on them but we can beat them.

Illinois
Time TBA ET | TV TBA
Rivalry games go any way, Brett's teams have hugely up and down seasons for no explicable reason. Who knows what they will be like next year they could literally be in the playoffs or not win a single game, he is weird that way.

Iowa
Time TBA ET | TV TBA
I have not feared Iowa since Barnett go here. Of course we can lose to them. Of course we can beat them

Penn State
Time TBA ET | TV TBA
No-one expected us to win last year either

Rutgers
DATE TBA
We can beat them. Home game in our new stadium vs a fan base not known to travel. Homecoming?

Oregon
Time TBA ET | TV TBA
Tough one. Indiana was the underdog yesterday because Oregon was gonna be so good. Oops.

Ohio State
Last game? Can't wait. GO CATS.
 
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Fanaticat98

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Eurocat said:
I see that as not an easy schedule but welcome to the Big Ten, you want ten weeks of Maryland and Rutgers back to back?

SATURDAY, SEP 12
South Dakota State
The biggest mistake in the world would be to take them lightly I can easily see the upset here, but second biggest would be to expect a loss here. Hit em hard hit em low, go Northwestern go.

SATURDAY, SEP 19
Colorado
Sanders is talking to Cleveland about their job.

SATURDAY, OCT 10
Ball State
See above about not taking anyone lightly but we should win. Ball Sate won four games last year and lost to Purdue and Auburn by about 30 and 40.

Indiana
Time TBA ET | TV TBA
Are we just going to assume this is an unbeatable NFL team or something? Play the damn game. In fact I think our players would be the first to say "Bring it".

atMichigan State
Time TBA ET | TV TBA
Fitz will want to win this one badly. So will we

Minnesota
Time TBA ET | TV TBA
Didn't we beat them this year?

Illinois
Time TBA ET | TV TBA
Rivalry games go any way,

Iowa
Time TBA ET | TV TBA
I have not feared Iowa since Barnett go here. Of course we can lose to them. Of course we can beat them

Penn State
Time TBA ET | TV TBA
No-one expected us to win last year either

Rutgers
DATE TBA
We can beat them. Home game in our new stadium vs a fan base not know to trravel. Homecoming?

atOregon
Time TBA ET | TV TBA
Tough one. Indiana was the underdog yesterday because Oregon was gonna be so good. Oops.

atOhio State
Last game? Can't wait. GO CATS.
Click to expand...
I like it. It’s possible if we have our stuff together and coalesce as a team and coaches before game 1, we could avoid the slow starts that have plagued NU for years. That would be an advantage since our first 4 games are at home.

If so, we could be 3-0 heading into Indiana which is a home game and hopefully in New Ryan Field. One could imagine IF we got to 3-0 and Indy is also 3-0, if that’s the opening game for NRF then it would at least be Big Noon Kickoff or maybe College Gameday.
 
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CatManTrue

CatManTrue

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Fanaticat98 said:
I like it. It’s possible if we have our stuff together and coalesce as a team and coaches before game 1, we could avoid the slow starts that have plagued NU for years. That would be an advantage since our first 4 games are at home.

If so, we could be 3-0 heading into Indiana which is a home game and hopefully in New Ryan Field. One could imagine IF we got to 3-0 and Indy is also 3-0, if that’s the opening game for NRF then it would at least be Big Noon Kickoff or maybe College Gameday.
Click to expand...
We play at Indiana… aside from that?

I won’t stop you; you’re on a roll.

with GIF
 
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Fanaticat98

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CatManTrue said:
We play at Indiana… aside from that?

I won’t stop you; you’re on a roll.

with GIF
Click to expand...
Whoops well I missed the “at” Indiana. But seeing how difficult our schedule is it’ll be hard to become bowl eligible if we start out slow. We do not have B1G West schedules anymore where we can make a November run, when that now means PSU, Oregon and OSU.
 
C

Catmandoo78

Sophomore
Nov 12, 2025
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Eurocat said:
I see that as not an easy schedule but welcome to the Big Ten, you want ten weeks of Maryland and Rutgers back to back? It was said we would get clobbered now that big national programs like UCLA are joining the Big Ten, we should not be able to compete. And Penn State and Nebraska, heavens to Betsy!

I actually had a curse phrase here but edited so no ban from rivals. It rhymes with "write me" and begins with the letter "B".


SATURDAY, SEP 12
South Dakota State
The biggest mistake in the world would be to take them lightly I can easily see the upset here, but second biggest would be to expect a loss here. Hit em hard hit em low, go Northwestern go.

SATURDAY, SEP 19
Colorado
Sanders is talking to the Cleveland Browns about their job, being reported all over. I am sure that is motivational for the Buffs.

SATURDAY, OCT 10
Ball State
See above about not taking anyone lightly but we should win. Ball Sate won four games last year and lost to Purdue and Auburn by about 30 and 40.

Indiana
Time TBA ET | TV TBA
Are we just going to assume this is an unbeatable NFL team or something? Play the damn game. In fact I think our players would be the first to say "Bring it".

Michigan State
Time TBA ET | TV TBA
Fitz will want to win this one badly. So will we. I will always love Pat and wish he was still here but, strap it on now. Gonna luv ya and kill ya. Thank you Fitz for hiring coach Braun who wiil now kick your ***.

Minnesota
Time TBA ET | TV TBA
Didn't we beat them this year? We should be in a panic...why exactly? Like some of the games above (South Dakota, etc) don't sleep on them but we can beat them.

Illinois
Time TBA ET | TV TBA
Rivalry games go any way, Brett's teams have hugely up and down seasons for no explicable reason. Who knows what they will be like next year they could literally be in the playoffs or not win a single game, he is weird that way.

Iowa
Time TBA ET | TV TBA
I have not feared Iowa since Barnett go here. Of course we can lose to them. Of course we can beat them

Penn State
Time TBA ET | TV TBA
No-one expected us to win last year either

Rutgers
DATE TBA
We can beat them. Home game in our new stadium vs a fan base not known to travel. Homecoming?

Oregon
Time TBA ET | TV TBA
Tough one. Indiana was the underdog yesterday because Oregon was gonna be so good. Oops.

Ohio State
Last game? Can't wait. GO CATS.
Click to expand...
Under Bulemia, Illinois has won 5, 8, 5, 10, and 9 games. That’s not really that up and down, is it?

That said, Altmeyer has graduated and they’ve lost a ton of transfers and it doesn’t look like they’ve brought in a lot of highly rated transfers so maybe they will take a step back. He’s had our number, but we will be playing them late in the year (if they’re thin, lack of depth will be hurting them then) and we get to host them at NRF.
 
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JustGary

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Oct 7, 2025
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CatManTrue said:
We play at Indiana… aside from that?

I won’t stop you; you’re on a roll.

with GIF
Click to expand...
The order of Big Ten games have not been announced, so Indiana may not be our first Big Ten opponent.

I did see that there is a rumor that we might open Week One and the NRF against Rutgers. The biggest issue is whether the stadium will be ready by then. The rumor says the Big Ten is seeking a “waiver“ to have Rutgers play Week Zero against UMass. It appears that Rutgers and UMass has agreed to this arrangement. The Big Ten is using the fact that UMass must travel to Hawaii this year because it is one of the official reasons for a team to schedule a Week Zero game. Rutgers incentive is to have a nationally televised game for Week Zero and an extra bye during the season. As far as I can tell, it is just a rumor but it seems plausible.
 
E

Eurocat

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Catmandoo78 said:
Under Bulemia, Illinois has won 5, 8, 5, 10, and 9 games. That’s not really that up and down, is it?
Click to expand...
Well, I kinda think it is. 5 and 5 and 10 and 9...seems like the definition of up and down.

But I am not here to argue semantics, fact is you never know with the boys downstate. I fear them not.

Go Cats!
 
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Eurocat

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JustGary said:
The order of Big Ten games have not been announced, so Indiana may not be our first Big Ten opponent.

I did see that there is a rumor that we might open Week One and the NRF against Rutgers. The biggest issue is whether the stadium will be ready by then.
Click to expand...
I had not read about that and it is not implausible, but could we not play that one game at Soldier Field if we are in the "almost there but the paint is still drying" stage? I can see the Cubs saying not a chance for us doing another Wrigley game (completely understandable their season will be in full steam) and I can see us not wanting that either but there are plenty of stadiums that do college on Saturday on NFL on Sunday it's not a herculean flip. Philly. Miami. Pitt, UNLV and I am sure I am forgetting a few. Earlier we had ASU/Cardinals, USC and the Rams, Vikings and Golden Gophers, etc. But for all I care let Rutgers fly to Hawaii. I still have nightmares about the officiating we experienced there. Cost us a bowl game.
 
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NU'06er

NU'06er

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I see three uphill battles (Indiana, Ohio State, Oregon).

I see two heavy lifts that at least feel more possible (Iowa, Penn State). Can maybe argue Penn State is down, but they'll bounce back with Campbell and will have us circled next year. Can maybe argue Iowa is just its usual rock fight, but they do stubbornly win 7-8 a year doing that.

I see four "should" wins (SDSU, Colorado, Ball State, Rutgers). Full respect for what SDSU has done at their level of football, and Colorado in theory could be good (see: 2024) but Coach Prime's schtick seems to be wearing thin there.

Tend to think the other three swing games will tell us how we feel about '26. We go 4-8, people will be calling for Braun's head. We sweep Illinois, Michigan State, Minnesota and we're going bowling at a minimum and probably on New Year's if we can steal one of the heavy lift/uphill battle games, too.

Hopefully the Chip Kelly era means more life in our offense to accomplish such things...
 
J

JustGary

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Oct 7, 2025
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Eurocat said:
I had not read about that and it is not implausible, but could we not play that one game at Soldier Field if we are in the "almost there but the paint is still drying" stage? I can see the Cubs saying not a chance for us doing another Wrigley game (completely understandable their season will be in full steam) and I can see us not wanting that either but there are plenty of stadiums that do college on Saturday on NFL on Sunday it's not a herculean flip. Philly. Miami. Pitt, UNLV and I am sure I am forgetting a few. Earlier we had ASU/Cardinals, USC and the Rams, Vikings and Golden Gophers, etc. But for all I care let Rutgers fly to Hawaii. I still have nightmares about the officiating we experienced there. Cost us a bowl game.
Click to expand...
UMass has a game in Hawaii not Rutgers. The Big Ten wants to use the “Hawaii Rule” to obtain a waiver on behalf of UMass as the reason to allow Rutgers to move their meeting with UMass to week zero. This is to allow Northwestern a Big Ten opponent to open NRF.
 
C

Catreporter

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There's a reason we are going all-in on the portal and it's the new reality of the Big Ten. There won't be any more EASY schedules. Interestingly, I see Nebraska is playing two MAC teams and an FCS in their non-conference this portion this year. No POwer4 on there! NU has future games with Colorado and UCF going forward so we aren't going in that direction. If we go 4-8 this year but play an entertaining, competitive, and exciting brand of ball throughout, I won't be that disappointed. The 2024 4-8 was NOT that (especially the way the season ended with blowout losses.).
 
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Jaguar 88

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Eurocat said:
I see that as not an easy schedule but welcome to the Big Ten, you want ten weeks of Maryland and Rutgers back to back? It was said we would get clobbered now that big national programs like UCLA are joining the Big Ten, we should not be able to compete. And Penn State and Nebraska, heavens to Betsy!

I actually had a curse phrase here but edited so no ban from rivals. It rhymes with "write me" and begins with the letter "B".


SATURDAY, SEP 12
South Dakota State
The biggest mistake in the world would be to take them lightly I can easily see the upset here, but second biggest would be to expect a loss here. Hit em hard hit em low, go Northwestern go.

SATURDAY, SEP 19
Colorado
Sanders is talking to the Cleveland Browns about their job, being reported all over. I am sure that is motivational for the Buffs.

SATURDAY, OCT 10
Ball State
See above about not taking anyone lightly but we should win. Ball Sate won four games last year and lost to Purdue and Auburn by about 30 and 40.

Indiana
Time TBA ET | TV TBA
Are we just going to assume this is an unbeatable NFL team or something? Play the damn game. In fact I think our players would be the first to say "Bring it".

Michigan State
Time TBA ET | TV TBA
Fitz will want to win this one badly. So will we. I will always love Pat and wish he was still here but, strap it on now. Gonna luv ya and kill ya. Thank you Fitz for hiring coach Braun who wiil now kick your ***.

Minnesota
Time TBA ET | TV TBA
Didn't we beat them this year? We should be in a panic...why exactly? Like some of the games above (South Dakota, etc) don't sleep on them but we can beat them.

Illinois
Time TBA ET | TV TBA
Rivalry games go any way, Brett's teams have hugely up and down seasons for no explicable reason. Who knows what they will be like next year they could literally be in the playoffs or not win a single game, he is weird that way.

Iowa
Time TBA ET | TV TBA
I have not feared Iowa since Barnett go here. Of course we can lose to them. Of course we can beat them

Penn State
Time TBA ET | TV TBA
No-one expected us to win last year either

Rutgers
DATE TBA
We can beat them. Home game in our new stadium vs a fan base not known to travel. Homecoming?

Oregon
Time TBA ET | TV TBA
Tough one. Indiana was the underdog yesterday because Oregon was gonna be so good. Oops.

Ohio State
Last game? Can't wait. GO CATS.
Click to expand...
The MAC has seen better days, as Ball State should be used as a tune up game, and to let the 2nd string guys get real game time experience.
 
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CatManTrue

CatManTrue

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Dante Moore is returning to Oregon to avoid being drafted by the Raiders or Jets.

Wise move as long as he stays healthy and has another great season.

But, yes, that game will be even harder to win now.
 
AdamOnFirst

AdamOnFirst

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CatManTrue said:
Dante Moore is returning to Oregon to avoid being drafted by the Raiders or Jets.

Wise move as long as he stays healthy and has another great season.

But, yes, that game will be even harder to win now.
Click to expand...
Riaola sitting is just wow wow wow. Big money to high school QBs is super stupid, bring in more developed guys every year or two forever!
 
C

Catmandoo78

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Nov 12, 2025
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AdamOnFirst said:
Riaola sitting is just wow wow wow. Big money to high school QBs is super stupid, bring in more developed guys every year or two forever!
Click to expand...
I’m assuming he’s hurt anyway, so maybe the expectation was always that he might have to sit next year anyway.
 
AdamOnFirst

AdamOnFirst

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Catmandoo78 said:
I’m assuming he’s hurt anyway, so maybe the expectation was always that he might have to sit next year anyway.
Click to expand...
He just broke a fibula, he didn't tear a ligament or something. Speculation exists he was sort of resigned to/willing to redshirt for the year anyway.
 
AdamOnFirst

AdamOnFirst

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CatManTrue said:
Is he stuck at Oregon for a year as a backup or can he transfer again?
Click to expand...
I don’t know if you can double enter the portal or not and it depends what his NIL deal says. Again though, lots of rumors he was okay sitting a year if necessary like Moore himself did. Odd situation.
 
I

iubaseball

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Fanaticat98 said:
I like it. It’s possible if we have our stuff together and coalesce as a team and coaches before game 1, we could avoid the slow starts that have plagued NU for years. That would be an advantage since our first 4 games are at home.

If so, we could be 3-0 heading into Indiana which is a home game and hopefully in New Ryan Field. One could imagine IF we got to 3-0 and Indy is also 3-0, if that’s the opening game for NRF then it would at least be Big Noon Kickoff or maybe College Gameday.
Click to expand...
Wrong, you are at IU
 
CatManTrue

CatManTrue

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AdamOnFirst said:
I don’t know if you can double enter the portal or not and it depends what his NIL deal says. Again though, lots of rumors he was okay sitting a year if necessary like Moore himself did. Odd situation.
Click to expand...
His goal is to redshirt which Oregon is fine with. If he plays in four games or less, then he’ll be able to while making millions in NIL cash.

Talk about an embarrassment of riches 😂

Good for them and Phil Knight. He can’t take his Nike billions with him and watching his local college win a title would be worth every penny to him and Oregon.

Looking at the schedule in a new lens: the away games are BRUTAL, but the home ones are all winnable. I’m torn which one to fly back for.

Colorado is too tempting… but beating Iowa is always a pleasure. Rutgers should be a W, Schiano’s washed.
 
CatManTrue

CatManTrue

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katatonic2 said:
Schedule was worthy of a Pate short...

Click to expand...

Wow, never heard of this guy but he nailed it on the head.

NU will get jobbed regularly with scheduling in the Big Ten now.

Maybe, one day, a newly formed Super Ivy League will save us…
 
CatManTrue

CatManTrue

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I asked ChatGPT to rank our toughest regular season schedules of the past 50 years. No surprise: 2026 comes in at #1. The 2005 team is clearly underrated.

1. 2026 (projected)

This is the best case for toughest ever because of the road concentration at the top: at Ohio State, at Oregon, at Indiana, plus Penn State and Iowa. I’m still treating it as a projection, but structurally it’s the nastiest Northwestern slate in modern memory if those teams perform near expectation.

2. 2005

This one has the strongest documented historical case among completed seasons: Sports-Reference lists Northwestern’s 2005 SOS as 8.44, 3rd nationally, and that schedule included major powers like Ohio State, Penn State, and Michigan.

3. 1995

This is the one I should have elevated instead of 1996. Northwestern’s 1995 team had an SOS of 9.27, 5th nationally, which is an extremely strong signal of schedule difficulty

4. 1978

Not a glamorous season, but the schedule was harder than I gave it credit for. Sports-Reference lists 1978 with an SOS of 7.31, which is strong by national standards.

5. 2017

A tough modern slate with ranked Wisconsin, Penn State, and Michigan State, but the schedule looks less overwhelming than 2005 or 1995. The Sports-Reference page shows those ranked opponents directly on the schedule.
 
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