{"id":876914,"date":"2026-09-02T02:38:11","date_gmt":"2026-09-02T02:38:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/876914\/"},"modified":"2026-09-02T02:38:11","modified_gmt":"2026-09-02T02:38:11","slug":"northwestern-football-preview-and-predictions-for-the-wildcats-in-2026","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/876914\/","title":{"rendered":"Northwestern football: Preview and predictions for the Wildcats in 2026"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Why \"Why Why college football is all made up, & breaking down the Bears’ roster | Credential’d<\/a> <\/p>\n

FOX Chicago’s Sam Panayotovich and Chris Kwiecinski welcome you to Credential’d, your all-access pass to Chicago sports. The Bears have finalized their 53-man roster, the Cubs and Phillies are neck and neck in the NL Wild Card standings and the college football season is finally here. The guys share their favorite Big Ten sleepers this year. New Credential’d episodes drop every week on the FOX Chicago vYouTube page and wherever you get your podcasts.<\/p>\n

On Saturday night, the ‘Cats are back.<\/p>\n

Here\u2019s a preview of Northwestern football\u2019s upcoming 2026 season, where the Wildcats want to take another step forward under David Braun.<\/p>\n

Northwestern Football: Key information <\/p>\n

Head coach: David Braun (Fourth season, 19-19 overall record)<\/p>\n

Key additions: QB Aidan Chiles (transfer from Michigan State), LB Kobie McKinzie (transfer from Oklahoma), DL Jamaal Johnson (transfer from UCF), TE Alex Honig (transfer from UConn) and DB Montae Pate (transfer from Weber State), offensive coordinator Chip Kelly.<\/p>\n

Key departures: DL Anto Saka (transferred to Texas A&M), QB Preston Stone, DL Aidan Hubbard, OL Caleb Tiernan (NFL draft) and OL Evan Beerntsen (NFL draft)<\/p>\n

Northwestern Football 2026 Preview <\/p>\n

What we don’t know:<\/p>\n

The \u2018Cats ended the 2025 season on a high note in the Game Above Sports Bowl, trouncing Central Michigan. Going 7-6 was an improvement from 4-8 in 2024.<\/p>\n

There were questions if coach David Braun could be the guy going forward. He needed to regain some of the magic he found in 2023 when he led the Wildcats to an 8-4 record after Pat Fitzgerald was fired, and he did.<\/p>\n

Wins over Penn State on the road, Minnesota at Wrigley Field and a shutout of Purdue at home were examples of it all coming together for NU.<\/p>\n

In an effort to bring it to the next level, Braun recruited plenty of experience on the defensive side of the ball. He got first-year offensive coordinator Chip Kelly a mobile and experienced quarterback in Aidan Chiles. He retained key pieces of the offensive line and offense.<\/p>\n

The team\u2019s litany of offensive playmakers \u2013 by far the strength of the team \u2013 should lead the change for any success. Wide receivers Griffin Wilde, Hayden Eligon, Drew Wagner and Ricky Ahumaraeze all return as four of the five top receivers in 2025. Running back Caleb Komolafe leads a running back room that includes veteran Joseph Himon II and transfer Gavin Sawchuck.\u00a0<\/p>\n

That means NU\u2019s roster will comprise experience in an effort to push them over the top.<\/p>\n

What we don’t know:<\/p>\n

With every team that makes key additions in the transfer portal, it\u2019s fair to wonder how they\u2019ll all play together as a unit.<\/p>\n

Namely, offensive linemen Caleb Tiernan, Evan Beerntsen and Martes Lewis all departed this offseason. Replacing that much experience isn\u2019t easy for Northwestern, but they tried to fill those shoes with transfers Arkel Anugwom and Grant Seagren.<\/p>\n

Chiles takes over as the \u2018Cats\u2019 starting quarterback, and comes to Evanston after two up-and-down seasons at Michigan State.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Perhaps Kelly can unlock a new side of Chiles. But, it\u2019s not clear how high his ceiling is for NU this year.<\/p>\n

The same goes for NU. It\u2019s not clear how high the \u2018Cats ceiling is this year, especially with a schedule that includes road games against No. 6 Indiana, No. 2 Oregon and No. 1 Ohio State.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Big picture view:<\/p>\n

Like we mentioned, Northwestern did end the year on a high note.<\/p>\n

But, it could have been better.<\/p>\n

NU lost by one score to Illinois. Michigan and Nebraska. The \u2018Cats closed losing four of their last five. That would have given the \u2018Cats a chance at a 10-win season.<\/p>\n

It won\u2019t be easy. The three-week stretch from Oct. 31 to Nov. 14 starts with the Ducks, continues with No. 22 Iowa at home and ends with the Buckeyes. Stealing one of those games could be program-changing, but it\u2019s even more imperative NU takes care of business in its winnable games vs. South Dakota State, Colorado, Ball State, Rutgers, Michigan State and Minnesota.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Then, NU has to win a few of its final games vs. Penn State, Iowa, Illinois, Oregon, Ohio State or Indiana. Easier said than done, to be clear.<\/p>\n

This season should inch NU closer to that self-proclaimed goal of 10 wins and a Big Ten Championship. With experienced players on both sides of the ball, coordinators who can teach the type of play NU wants and a head coach that\u2019s growing into the role it\u2019s fair to assume NU takes its next step forward.<\/p>\n

How much of a step forward is to be determined.<\/p>\n

Northwestern Football 2026 Schedule <\/p>\n

Bold indicates games at New Ryan Field in Evanston.<\/p>\n

September 5 \u2013 vs. South Dakota State
September 19 \u2013 vs. Colorado
September 26 \u2013 at Indiana
October 3 \u2013 vs. Penn State
October 10 \u2013 vs. Ball State
October 17 \u2013 at Michigan State
October 24 \u2013 vs. Rutgers
October 31 \u2013 at Oregon
November 7 \u2013 vs. Iowa
November 14 \u2013 at Ohio State
November 21 \u2013 at Minnesota
November 28 \u2013 vs. Illinois<\/p>\n

2026 Season Prediction: 7-5<\/p>\n

Northwestern<\/a>College Football<\/a>Sports<\/a> <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Why college football is all made up, & breaking down the Bears’ roster | Credential’d FOX Chicago’s Sam…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":876915,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[563],"tags":[64,63,596,704,702,97836,85],"class_list":["post-876914","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-football","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-football","tag-ncaa","tag-ncaa-football","tag-northwestern","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/876914","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=876914"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/876914\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/876915"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=876914"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=876914"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=876914"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}