Tulane Day is only four days away.
On Saturday, ‘Cats fans will have many of their questions answered regarding Northwestern football in 2025. There’s plenty of hype surrounding transfer quarterback Preston Stone, and many positions on the roster appear to be improved, but many question marks still remain as well.
So what is the range of outcomes for the ‘Cats this year? Let’s take a look.
Floor: 3-9 (1-8 B1G)
What a disaster this would be. In this scenario, the Wildcats would likely have easy wins over Western Illinois
and Louisiana-Monroe along with either a single upset win or a victory over hapless Purdue.
If the ‘Cats finish 3-9 this year, it’d likely be due to a number of factors. First and foremost would be the question marks in the wide receiver room. Stone has a lot of potential, but he can only do so much to elevate his pass-catchers, and if he only has Griffin Wilde as a consistent option, NU will likely struggle mightily moving the ball down the field. Another ‘Cats weakness lies at tight end as well, where they lack notable experience and lost both Thomas Gordon and Marshall Lang, who made underrated contributions as blockers in 2024.
On defense, a hypothetical downfall would come due to a lack of leadership. The defensive line would probably play well nonetheless, but the losses of Jaylen Pate from the line, Xander Mueller from the linebackers and Theran Johnson and Devin Turner from the defensive backs could prove too much to bear for Northwestern.
The ‘Cats have some veteran leaders like Mac Uihlein at linebacker, but it’s still a question whether players like Braydon Brus (starting Will linebacker) and Fred Davis II (starting cornerback) can provide enough value for the team this season. Josh Fussell has loads of potential at corner, but he may not be able to match the production Johnson had a year ago. If everything goes wrong, a lack of high-end performances at linebacker and in the secondary would likely be the reason.
Ceiling: 9-3 (6-3 B1G)
A dream scenario for the ‘Cats.
In an absolute best-case outcome, Northwestern could theoretically win nine out of the 12 games on its schedule in 2025. I’m still chalking up Oregon and Penn State as losses, and Michigan and Illinois will likely be games the ‘Cats lose as well.
Still, in an ideal world, the ‘Cats will have a legitimate chance to beat their crosstown rival. In rivalry games, anything can happen, and if Northwestern enters the Illinois game with an 8-3 record, it’s very possible it could win. But how do they get to 8-3 first?
It’d start with the arm of Stone. After his benching last season, the graduate student from Dallas comes in with a chip on his shoulder, and he’s able to elevate the offense in a big road win over Tulane. The next huge victory would come against UCLA on the 27th, where a hypothetical Stone outduels Nico Iamaleava and boosts the ‘Cats to a win.
If Northwestern can win those two games, it would likely enter the Nebraska matchup with a 5-2 record. In that scenario, although its final five games are all very tough, the ‘Cats could win four of them if everything goes right. That would probably include a breakout from one or multiple receivers behind Wilde, a truly stellar season from an improved offensive line, some decent production from a tight end or two, big-time veteran leadership, depth defenders stepping up and All-Big Ten seasons from Stone, Wilde, offensive tackle Caleb Tiernan, Saka, Uihlein, Fussell and safety Damon Walters, among other things.
That’s quite the list. But in a hypothetical world where all of those items happen at once, the ‘Cats could finish 9-3 on the year.
Median Outcome: 5-7 (3-6 B1G)
It was tough to decide between 4-8 and 5-7 for this one, but I ultimately went with the latter due to the hype surrounding Stone and the legitimate potential that exists on defense. Realistically, Tulane will be a tough matchup to win, but UCLA, Nebraska, USC and Minnesota are all games the ‘Cats could hypothetically take home without too much of a stretch of the imagination. Add in a conference win over Purdue and wins over Western Illinois and Louisiana-Monroe and the ‘Cats would need to go 2-2 in those games (or 1-3 with a win over Tulane) to reach five victories on the year.
Northwestern will probably see some offensive improvement with Stone, and it’s even possible we see a couple of dominant performances where he force-feeds Wilde all game and gashes opposing secondaries. The ‘Cats don’t really have many liabilities defensively, so if Saka, Uihlein, Fussell and Walters — among others — are able to add significant value, the defense should be able to keep this team in games. 5-7 is a realistic scenario that projects improvement for the Wildcats while giving fair weight to the many questions this team still has entering 2025.
