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Northwestern football schedule 2026
12 regular-season games, 7 at home and 5 away, from Sep 5 to Nov 28. 9 in the Big Ten. Next up: at home against Ball State on Oct 10.
September 2026 3 games
| Date | Opponent | Time |
|---|---|---|
| Sep 5 | vs South Dakota State 34-18 | |
| Sep 19 | vs Colorado 41-7 | |
| Sep 25 | at Indiana 23-29 |
October 2026 5 games
| Date | Opponent | Time |
|---|---|---|
| Oct 2 | vs Penn State 34-13 | |
| Oct 10 | vs Ball State | |
| Oct 17 | at Michigan State | |
| Oct 24 | vs Rutgers | TBC |
| Oct 31 | at Oregon | TBC |
November 2026 4 games
| Date | Opponent | Time |
|---|---|---|
| Nov 7 | vs Iowa | TBC |
| Nov 14 | at Ohio State | TBC |
| Nov 21 | at Minnesota | TBC |
| Nov 28 | vs Illinois | TBC |
Northwestern's 2026 season
The season finishes at home against Illinois on Nov 28. The tightest turnaround is 2 games in seven days, from Sep 19 to Sep 25.
The non-conference games are against South Dakota State on Sep 5, Colorado on Sep 19, Ball State on Oct 10. Those opponents are not in the Big Ten, so they do not appear as rows on the conference grid — a cell naming one carries a dotted underline there to say so. They are part of this team's season all the same, which is why they are on the grid at all rather than left as blank weeks.
Kick-off times are shown in your own timezone rather than US Eastern time — detected automatically, and overridable in the “Times in” control above. A Saturday-evening game in the United States is the small hours of Sunday morning across Europe, and a game that crosses midnight carries a +1 so it cannot be mistaken for the same evening. 6 of these games have no confirmed kick-off time yet and show a “?” rather than a guess. To see how Northwestern's season compares with the rest of the conference — who has the harder stretch, and whose non-conference run is heaviest — the full Big Ten grid puts all 18 teams side by side.
Frequently asked questions
When does Northwestern play next?
Northwestern's next game is at home against Ball State on Oct 10. The list below shows every remaining game, with kick-off times in your own timezone.
How many games does Northwestern play in 2026?
12 regular-season games: 7 at home at Lanny and Sharon Martin Stadium and 5 away, from Sep 5 to Nov 28. 9 are against Big Ten opponents and 3 are not. Conference championship games, bowls and the College Football Playoff are not included.
Who does Northwestern play outside the Big Ten in 2026?
3 games: South Dakota State on Sep 5, Colorado on Sep 19, Ball State on Oct 10. Those opponents are not in the Big Ten, so they have no row of their own on the conference grid — they are marked there with a dotted underline, and named in full on this page.
Why do some of Northwestern's games have no kick-off time?
Because the networks have not chosen it yet. 6 of 12 games have a date but no confirmed time; college football kick-offs are fixed a week or two ahead, and a game can still move to a different day. Those carry a "?" instead of a time, because a placeholder you could not tell from a real time would be worse than none.
What time do Northwestern's games start in my timezone?
Every confirmed kick-off on this page is converted to the timezone your browser reports, with a manual override in the "Times in" control. College football is published in US Eastern time, so a Saturday-evening game there starts in the small hours of Sunday across Europe, and those carry a +1 mark.
Other Big Ten teams
Illinois Indiana Iowa Maryland Michigan Michigan State Minnesota Nebraska Ohio State Oregon Penn State Purdue Rutgers UCLA USC Washington Wisconsin