Play ball! The Michigan Wolverines take the diamond at Wrigley Field this weekend to take on Chicago’s college football team, the Northwestern Wildcats.
In all honestly, it’s probably a really good thing
this game was taken off campus for Michigan. Northwestern has played well at home, winning four of their five games played in Evanston (the only loss was to Oregon). Playing this game in Chicago and making it a destination game for Wolverines’ fans will likely make this much more of a neutral playing field.
Here’s everything you need to know about how to watch Saturday’s game:
No. 19 Michigan Wolverines vs Northwestern Wildcats
- Day: Saturday, Nov. 15 2025
- TV: FOX
- Time: 12:10 p.m. ET
- Location: Chicago, IL
- Weather: 60 degrees, partly cloudy
- Odds: MICH -11.5, O/U: 41.5
Northwestern is a good team. The Wildcats (5-4) hung with USC for a half last week, were within one score of Nebraska in Lincoln, and beat a Penn State team when Drew Allar was still healthy. If you get caught napping, they’ll lull you all the way to sleep with their style of play.
That’s the philosophy under third-year head coach David Braun — control time of possession and make things uncomfortable with a good defense. This year, Northwestern is 13th in the country, averaging 32:43 of possession per game. This team plays clean football with the third-fewest penalty yards per game, and boasts a Top-25 passing and scoring defense. Essentially, they play really similar to the Wolverines.
The biggest difference between the two sides is turnovers. Michigan is +8 in turnover margin compared to Northwestern’s -5. That comes in part to senior quarterback Preston Stone, as the former SMU starter has nine interceptions has still completed less than 60 percent of his passes.
Keeping him upright in passing downs is a priority for the Wildcats. They have a veteran, disciplined unit up front led by left tackle Caleb Tiernan, who has more than 2,000 career snaps and hasn’t allowed sack this season. That’s a matchup to watch this weekend for the Wolverines, as they try to bring the heat and get Stone uncomfortable with Derrick Moore and others.
While Northwestern’s pass defense has been strong, it hasn’t been much as good defending the run. The Wildcats are average (63rd) in that category, allowing roughly 143 yards per game on the ground. The four teams they lost to have gotten over that mark, with Tulane, Oregon, Nebraska and USC averaging 193 yards on the ground in those games.
That’s Michigan’s style and its path to victory. The Wolverines must win at the line of scrimmage on the offensive side to control this game. They cannot have quick three-and-outs where they get behind the sticks early in the drive. That’s how Northwestern keeps this close and maybe evens wins.
It may not be the most sexy, but the Wolverines need to lean on Jordan Marshall. I see it playing out similarly to the Michigan State game where he could get 25-plus carries. With a bye week to prepare, the Wolverines should win this one. But I think it takes a bit for them to figure things out, allowing Northwestern to keep it close. Give me the Wolverines to win and cover, but just barely in a game that goes into halftime really close.
The play: MICH -11.5 (-110)
Season Total: 24-24 (-.14 units)
Noon ET (ABC) – No. 10 Texas Longhorns vs No. 5 Georgia Bulldogs
- The play: Texas +6 (-110)
3:30 p.m. ET (ABC) – No. 11 Oklahoma Sooners vs No. 4 Alabama Crimson Tide
- The play: ALA -5.5 (-110)
