Northwestern football returns to Illinois for its two-game home slate at Wrigley Field. On Saturday, it will play its first contest at the friendly confines this year against No. 18 Michigan. Here’s how
the Inside NU staff thinks the Wildcats will fare.
Charlie Jacobs: Northwestern 18, Michigan 23
This game feels like it’ll be close and messy. The weather does look great, but it’ll be a game won on the ground. Michigan gets the edge there. Also, while USC’s offense is better than Michigan’s, the USC game was telling of how the ‘Cats fare against tougher offenses. I’m taking the more proven team that can run the ball with the best of them in the country despite who it is with the rock.
Ascher Levin: Michigan 24, Northwestern 21
After a loss to USC last Friday, the ’Cats look to bounce back and secure their sixth win against a strong Michigan team at Wrigley Field. Northwestern’s biggest challenge will be slowing down Michigan’s rushing attack, which ranks ninth nationally even without leading rusher Justice Haynes. The Wolverines will rely heavily on Jordan Marshall and dual-threat quarterback Bryce Underwood to control the ground game. For the ’Cats, the key will be sustaining drives and controlling time of possession behind a dominant offensive line and the steady play of Caleb Komolafe. Limiting turnovers and making aggressive in-game decisions will also be crucial after some costly miscommunication last week. Northwestern has shown resilience all season and should keep it close, but Michigan’s physicality and depth may be too much to overcome late. The Wolverines pull out a tight one at Wrigley.
Calvin Kaplan: Northwestern 16, Michigan 14
If you had asked me before the Michigan-Purdue game about Northwestern’s chances against the Wolverines, I would have been a lot more pessimistic. But after the Maize and Blue barely escaped the Boilermakers two weeks ago, I have legitimate belief that the ‘Cats can win this game. Expect a Jordan Marshall versus Caleb Komolafe battle for the ages, as both Michigan and Northwestern have inconsistent passing games and will likely look to grind the contest out and win the time of possession battle on the ground. Yes, NU got exposed against USC last week, but it matches up much better against a run-heavy team like Michigan, where it can stay in the game and continue to establish the run well into the second half. It’ll take a lot of grit to win this game, but in the past few weeks, Northwestern has shown enough flashes to make me believe the ‘Cats have what it takes to finally pull off a ranked upset.
Adam Sutro: Michigan 21, Northwestern 16. After being the No. 1 ranked quarterback in the class of 2025, Underwood has underwhelmed, wowing with his athleticism at times, but being awfully inconsistent as a passer. I think Northwestern picks of Underwood once, maybe twice, but ultimately fails to convert on red zone opportunities. The Wolverines stack the box inside the 20-yard line, and Stone can’t get them off of the line with a throw downfield. This one is tight for four quarters, but Michigan holds onto a narrow lead.
Bryan Boanoh Michigan 24 Northwestern 10
I said this in the Will/Won’t article earlier this week, but I just think this is a nightmare matchup for the Wildcats. Michigan has shown before that it is completely willing to abandon the pass game and just run the ball nearly every down if the opponent can’t stop it, and I don’t think Northwestern has shown it has the ability to stop it so far this season. On the flipside, Michigan ranks top 15 in yards allowed per game and yards allowed per carry. The Wolverines have held Jonah Coleman and Emmett Johnson to quiet outings, Komolafe could very well suffer the same fate, and if that happens I don’t think the passing game can pick up the slack. I think NU scores first, before Michigan slowly but surely turn it around.
Miguel Muñoz: Michigan 23, Northwestern 14
The ‘Cats play their first game of the year at Wrigley Field, welcoming in the 18th-ranked Wolverines, who have fluctuated between a playoff contender and outside the Top 25 entirely. I see this one being closer than many might expect, with NU’s underdog mentality fueling it in the first half and keeping things close. But it’ll be hard to contain Bryce Underwood and the UM offense for too long, as I expect them to eventually go ahead two scores in the fourth and seal the game. If the Wildcats want to win this one, the run game — keeping it going on offense and shutting it down on defense — is going to be the key in a matchup of two teams who love to pound the rock.
Yanyan Li: Michigan 17, Northwestern 7
I don’t expect this match to be a disasterclass for the Wildcats like it was in Ann Arbor last season, but I still think Michigan comes out on top at Wrigley. Despite David Braun wanting to treat it as a home game, Northwestern just historically hasn’t done well at the friendly confines. And to add onto that, Michigan is an objectively stronger team with Bryce Underwood and co, ranked the morning the Big Ten for total rushing yards. Given the struggles that the ‘Cats had with missing tackles against Nebraska and USC, those mistakes cannot show up against the Wolverines or else things will get really ugly.
Season standings:
8-1: Charlie Jacobs
7-2: Yanyan Li, Miguel Munoz, Calvin Kaplan
6-3: Ascher Levin
4-0: Sai Trivedi
4-1: Adam Sutro, Patrick Winograd
3-1: Pierson Strandquist, Matt Campbell
1-0: Charlie Perlman, Donovan West
2-2: Bryan Boanoh
1-2: Drew Christmann
