Rutgers Football 2026 Opponent Preview: Northwestern

Next up on our list of preseason opponent previews is the team that officially sent former Penn State head coach James Franklin packing last year, as the Nittany Lions’ 22-21 loss to the Northwestern Wildcats was the last game Franklin coached in Happy Valley.

The Wildcats earned a reputation last season for being “scrappy good.” They posted a 7-6 record overall and a 4-5 record in conference play; however, 4 of their six losses came against teams either ranked inside the top 20 at the time or at the end of the season.

Northwestern was able to poach former Michigan State starting quarterback Aiden Chiles in the transfer portal this offseason, and he is expected to be the starter this year, according to Ourlads.com. Last season, Chiles threw for 1, 392 yards, 10 touchdowns, 3 interceptions, while completing 63.1 percent of his passes. However, a combination of injuries and poor play led to Chiles being benched after the team’s game against Michigan last year, and he did not record a stat for the last month of the season. He would move to the Wildcats in the off-season in the hopes of finding a better fit.

The team’s wide receiver corps is full of in-house talent that was on the team last season. Griffin Wilde, who led the team in catches, receiving yards, and touchdowns with 71, 880, and eight, is set to return for his senior season. Northwestern’s No.2 receiver from last season, Hayden Eligon II, is set to return for his junior year after recording 37 catches for 521 yards and three touchdowns. Finally, Drew Wagner is set to return as the No.3 receiver after recording 22 catches for 172 yards and 2 touchdowns. In the tight end room, UConn transfer Alex Honig is expected to start. He recorded 13 catches for 162 yards and three touchdowns last season.

As for their running backs, Caleb Komolafe is expected to remain as No.1 after last season, when he ran the ball 190 times for 941 yards and 11 touchdowns. He also added 11 catches for 60 yards and 1 touchdown.

On defense, Northwestern is losing last season’s sack leader, Aidan Hubbard, and interceptions leader Mac Uihlein. They are, however, retaining last season’s tackles leader Robert Fitzgerald, who totaled 111 tackles last season. They also retained linebacker Braydon Brus who totaled 81 tackles and 2.5 sacks last year.

With Rutgers game against Northwestern being a road game at the new Ryan field, the Knights will likely be slight underdogs. With the Wildcats changes on the defensive side of the ball, Rutgers might have an opportunity to take advantage, depending on who they have as replacements for Hubbard and Uihlein. Expect a close, one score fight to the finish between these two squads that have a very similar level of talent on paper.