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First Look: Northwestern

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Northwestern football
Northwestern celebrates a touchdown in a shocking upset of Penn State (Matthew O'Haren / USA Today Sports)

Here’s an early look at Purdue’s seventh opponent of the 2025 season, the Northwestern Wildcats:

Date/Time: Saturday, October 18, 3 p.m. EDT

Location: Martin Stadium

Surface: Natural Grass

Capacity: 12,023 (tickets)

Weather: The early forecast shows a high of 72 degrees with a chance of showers

2025 schedules/rosters: Purdue schedule | Purdue roster | Northwestern schedule | Northwestern roster

Series notes: Purdue holds a sizable 55-29-1 advantage in the all-time series, but the recent history favors the Wildcats. Northwestern enters on a two-game win streak in the series. In 2023, in the final game at the old Ryan Field, the Wildcats won a low-scoring 23-15 affair with Purdue missing its starting quarterback. Last season, Northwestern walked it off on a 25-yard touchdown pass in overtime. Since the Big Ten split to the East/West division structure in 2014, the two programs have met each season, with Northwestern victorious in eight of the 11 contests.

TV: BTN

Early line: Northwestern -3, O/U 48.5

STORYLINES TO WATCH

How does Purdue respond?

Purdue let one slip away on Saturday night. The Boilermakers out-gained Minnesota by nearly 200 yards, but they wound up on the wrong side of the scoreboard, falling 27-20. Purdue led for the vast majority of the game, but a “pick six” with less than eight minutes to go wound up making the difference.

Barry Odom didn’t shy away in his postgame press conference, acknowledging that Purdue missed a golden opportunity to win its first Big Ten game since 2023. Purdue’s losing skid now sits at four games, and it’s lost 14 straight games against Power Four competition. No one can deny that Purdue looks the part of an improved, more cohesive football team, but it must find a way to get off the mat and compete in what should be another winnable contest.

Handling success

While Purdue sat in misery on the flight home from Minneapolis, the Northwestern plane flew back to Chicago with smiles everywhere. The Wildcats took down Penn State as a three-touchdown underdog in Beaver Stadium, shocking the college football world as the Nittany Lions continue a downward spiral.

After a 20-point loss at Tulane opened the season on a sour note, Northwestern rallied, and it enters Saturday’s game with a 4-2 record and bowl eligibility on its mind. Many pundits questioned the long-term outlook for David Braun as the head man in Evanston, but he looks secure as he looks to reach his second bowl game in three seasons.

Turnover margin

The turnover margin continues to kill Purdue. Although Purdue picked off its first pass of the season, it finished minus three in the turnover column in the loss to Minnesota. Through six games, the Boilermakers have turned the ball over 12 times and forced just two takeaways. Purdue must clean up on the offensive end, as starting quarterback Ryan Browne now sits with seven interceptions on the year, but the defense needs to find a way to create more havoc.

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