Throughout the 2025 season, Nittany Sports Now will give you a profile of each opponent.
Opponent: Northwestern
History: Penn State leads the all-time series 16-5. The Nittany Lions have won three consecutive matchups, with Northwestern last defeating Penn State 23-21 in 2015.
Conference: Big Ten
Head Coach: David Braun (third season with a 12-13 record)
Home Field: Lanny & Sharon Martin Field
Ryan Field was the home of Northwestern football since 1926, but efforts to build a state of the art took shape and Ryan Field was demolished prior to the 2024 season.
The new Ryan Field is expected to be ready in 2026.
The temporary home has been for Northwestern at their soccer facility that was opened in 1997. The venue also serves as a home for the Chicago Stars FC of the NWSL.
Notable Football Alumni and Moments:
The dubious distinction for Northwestern football is they are the first major college football program to achieve 700 losses.
While the highlights are few and far between for the Wildcats, there are some key football luminaries who played and coached for Northwestern.
On the sidelines, prior to becoming an icon at Notre Dame, Ara Parseghian coached Northwestern from 1956-1963. Parseghian guided Northwestern to four consecutive defeats of Notre Dame.
The most iconic Northwestern team in their program history came in 1995 under the tutelage of Gary Barnett.
After 23 consecutive losing seasons, that included seven double digit loss seasons and four winless seasons, behind the efforts of two-time Bronko Nagurski winner at linebacker Pat Fitzgerald, the program’s winningest coach, they came out of nowhere to make the program’s second ever bowl game making it to the Rose Bowl.
“The Cardiac Cats” upset three Top 12 teams in 1995 that included Penn State.
Prior to Tom Brady, who won seven Super Bowls, quarterback Otto Graham won seven professional championships with the Cleveland Browns and got his start at Northwestern.
Other notable football alumni that have had an impact on sports have been former tight end Irv Cross, who was the first African American sports analyst that pioneered his work on The NFL Today on CBS, Mike Adamle, who was the host of American Gladiators played running back at Northwestern, Steve Tasker, who is considered one of the greatest special teams players of all time, and running back Darnell Autry who finished fourth in Heisman voting in 1995.
Key Current Players:
Preston Stone (Quarterback)
The former SMU quarterback is trying to make a go of it at Northwestern to mixed results. While Stone has completed 61.5% of his passes and is averaging over 11 yards per completion, he leads the Big Ten with six interceptions thrown, something an opportunistic Nittany Lion secondary will try to take advantage of.
Griffin Wilde (Wide Receiver)
Wilde is Stone’s favorite target that has the ability to stretch the defense with 72% of his receptions have gone for first downs while averaging over 15 yards per reception in 2025.
One of Wilde’s best attributes is his hands, the Wildcats receiver has zero drops in 2025 and has an 87.7 DROP grade by PFF.
Wilde’s best game came against UCLA where he caught all seven passes that were targeted to him, for 98 yards receiving, and a touchdown.
Aidan Hubbard, Michael Kilbane, Anto Saka (Defensive Ends)
The Wildcat defense has been one of the underrated units in the nation ranking just outside of the Top 25 in scoring defense allowing only 17 points per game. Fueling the charge are a trio of defensive ends that love to get to the quarterback each having three sacks on the season.
Hubbard has been a relentless pursuer of the quarterback leading all Wildcat defenders with 12 quarterback hurries.
Kilbane leads the team with 16 quarterback pressures and has an 80.9 tackle grade by PFF.
Saka has the highest pass rush grade of the trio with a 77.3. While Saka has the ability to be a disruptor, at times he overpursues the ball carrier.
According to PFF, Saka misses nearly 25% of the time and was graded 17.5 tackle grade against Oregon.
They Said It.
“Along with the talent that they have on the field, we’re going into a hostile environment, and this team specifically in 2025 has not experienced an environment like we’ll experience at Penn State.”
Northwestern head coach David Braun explaining the challenge his team faces against Penn State.
