Bowl season is upon us, and purple rain is back on the forecast after the world of college football experienced a drought a season ago. With a 6-6 record, Northwestern sits around patiently, waiting for its name
to be called on Sunday to find out who and where they’ll be playing primetime football this month.
However, it’s never too early to speculate where the ‘Cats will end up when the time arrives. So let’s do exactly that.
Here are a couple landing spots for Northwestern football – some realistic, some reaches, but all spots that’ll speak to the hearts of ‘Cats faithful.
GameAbove Sports Bowl (Ford Field, Detroit, MI) vs. Miami (OH)
This bowl game makes the list, purely out of chance. If ‘Cats faithful had a choice at which Big Ten bowl they’d want, the GameAbove Sports Bowl might be landing at the bottom of their wish lists. But, because of the way the season shook itself out, the likelihood of NU ending up in Detroit in two weeks is still entirely possible, as one of two six-win bowl eligible teams in the conference, with the other being Penn State.
However, this game would be a pretty cool full-circle moment for David Braun, as it’d be a test to see how much he and his staff have grown over the past two years. When the ‘Cats and the Redhawks faced off in the 2024 season opener, Northwestern wasn’t pretty by any means despite pulling out the win. A resounding victory in 2025 to end the year against the same team would mean more than what the average fan might think. Not only does it show the improvement of the program, but it’ll turn recruits’ heads to what Braun is building at NU, potentially generating stronger fanfare heading into the inaugural year of the new Ryan Field.
Rate Bowl (Chase Field, Phoenix, AZ) vs. Cincinnati
If the committee does the right thing and takes the Northwestern’s win over Penn State into account, that’ll mean the ‘Cats play in Phoenix against a Big 12 opponent, who’s most likely to be Cincinnati.
Despite their recent struggles, the Bearcats can be considered one of the best teams in the nation. This year’s Big 12 is loaded with teams like Texas Tech, BYU, Arizona, Arizona State, and Utah all sitting in the Top 25 currently. It has been a juggernaut of a conference that’s right up there with the Big Ten and SEC in terms of competitiveness and potential NFL talent. A game against one of its better teams would be a great opportunity for NU to pull off a potential upset.
The Wildcats have only beaten two opponents who’ve been ranked by the Associated Press this year: the aforementioned Nittany Lions and Minnesota. However, the difference here with Cincinnati is that this squad is hungry to prove that it remains a force in the FBS with a statement in its bowl game. NU would have a chance to silence that effort.
Bad Boy Mowers Pinstripe Bowl (Yankee Stadium, The Bronx, NY) vs. Duke
This lands on the list as one of those “reaches” I was talking about.
The Pinstripe Bowl is historically for a seven-win Big Ten team, but in the off chance that NU’s win over Minnesota has some weight in swaying bowl assignments, then the Wildcats might find themselves back in New York City for the first time in a decade.
Duke as a seven win ACC team, who’s never played inside Yankee Stadium before, is a viable candidate to get the invitation if it were to drop the ACC Championship game to No. 17 Virginia.
The Blue Devils have made noise in the college football world this season, running a high-scoring, exciting offense led by Darian Mensah. However, Jonathan Patke has had his struggles with scheming the defense, especially against then-No. 11 Illinois and Tulane early on in the year and against Clemson in conference play.
With the ‘Cats being one of the best running offenses in the Big Ten at 167 rushing yards per game, it’d be a great opportunity for Caleb Komolafe and Joe Himon to strike the Duke defense and put the NU run game on the national map.
ReliaQuest Bowl (Raymond James Stadium, Tampa, FL) vs. LSU
Northwestern hasn’t faced an SEC opponent since the 2020 Citrus Bowl, and with this year’s conference being arguably the best in the nation, it would be fun to see how the ‘Cats stack up.
Another caveat to this worth mentioning is the heated B1G vs. SEC conversation that’s intensified over the past couple years, with Ohio State and Oregon at the top of the AP poll the past two seasons but many SEC teams not far behind. NU isn’t a team that’s thought about much in the conference, but can certainly help sway the public opinion.
Of course, LSU hasn’t been the LSU we’ve been acclimated to in years past, especially after Brian Kelly was given the boot following three straight losses. But the Tigers have finished the year quite strong, winning two before narrowly dropping a rivalry week matchup to No. 8 Oklahoma on the road. Heading into this kind of matchup, the ‘Cats would be a heavy underdog.
However, the last time they were in that position, they snuck out with a one-point win in Happy Valley. Doing the same against a storied program might launch Northwestern football into another stratosphere — similar to what was seen under Pat Fitzgerald, when the squad was ranked as high as No. 10 in the nation.
