What’s at stake
While Northwestern did not appear in the College Football Playoff committee’s initial rankings, both the Wildcats and Hawkeyes are still alive for the 2026 12-team playoff. Iowa currently owns an 11.6% chance at the playoff according to ESPN’s College Football Power Index. Northwestern sits at a more modest 7.6% after a loss to Oregon last week.
Only one team (Alabama) made the playoff with three losses last year and the Crimson Tide earned that third loss in the SEC Championship game.
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Series history
Iowa leads the all-time series 55-28-3. The Hawkeyes have won the last four meetings, including a 40-14 beatdown in Iowa City in 2024.
Northwestern last beat Iowa in 2020, claiming a 21-20 win in Iowa City in the second game of the COVID-shortened season.
New Ryan Field
Built on the site of the program's former stadium of the same name, Ryan Field is the newest stadium in the Big Ten.
Opened on October 2, the project took just over two years and cost $875 million.
It seats 35,000, which is around 12,000 seats smaller than its predecessor. It is the smallest stadium of any team in the power conferences.
Saturday will be the fourth game the Wildcats have hosted at the new venue.
Forecast
It’ll be a chilly fall day in Evanston on Saturday. The forecast calls for temperatures that top out at 50 degrees late in the afternoon and dip to the mid to high 40s at kickoff. No precipitation is expected.
Wildcats to know
QUARTERBACK AIDAN CHILES
Chiles struggled to avoid turnovers during his first two years as a starter at Michigan State with 14 interceptions and seven lost fumbles. He’s turned things around at Northwestern with just one interception and zero fumbles lost. He’s broken out along the way with 1,898 passing yards and 13 touchdowns plus 274 rushing yards and 10 rushing touchdowns through eight games.
With the Spartans in 2024, Chiles threw for 256 yards and one touchdown and added 51 yards on the ground against the Hawkeyes.
He’s currently listed as questionable on the Wildcats availability report. Former West Virginia starter Nicco Marchiol is expected to take over under center if Chiles is unavailable.
WIDE RECEIVER GRIFFIN WILDE
A former top target of ex-Iowa quarterback Mark Gronowski at South Dakota State, Wilde is in the midst of another impressive season at Northwestern.
After racking up 880 yards and eight touchdowns last year, he’s up to 761 yards and five touchdowns this season. In his last year with Gronowski and the Jackrabbits, Wilde recorded 1,154 yards and 12 touchdowns.
LINEBACKER BRAYDON BRUS
In his second year as a starter at Northwestern, Brus is leading tackler for the Wildcats. He’s racked up 67 total tackles (34 solo) and has a team-high 12.5 tackles for loss, including four sacks. He’s also recorded one interception, one forced fumble, one fumble recovery and one pass defended.
Ethan Petrik is a University of Iowa beat writer for the Lee Enterprises network. Follow him on X or send him an email at ethan.petrik@wcfcourier.com.
