Game preview: IU football opens conference play against Northwestern

• Ian Plaskoff

• 44m ago

 

The “exhibition season” is over. It is finally time for Big Ten play.

Indiana made easy work of its non-conference schedule, as expected. The Hoosiers went 3-0 with two shutouts and two 50-plus point performances. The Hoosiers did what they set out to do. They settled in, got players comfortable, tested schemes and fits and fine-tuned.

Now, the playbook opens up. The games become more meaningful. The margin for error becomes smaller. It all starts against Northwestern on Friday night under the lights.

Game information

Who: No. 5 Indiana (3-0, 0-0 Big Ten) vs. Northwestern (2-0, 0-0 Big Ten)
Where: Merchants Bank Field at Memorial Stadium
When: Friday, September 25, 2026. 8 p.m. EST
TV: FOX, Connor Onion (Play-By-Play), Robert Griffin III (Analyst), Alexa Landestoy (Sideline)
Radio: Don Fischer (Play-By-Play), Buck Suhr (Analyst)
The line: Indiana -20.5 (DraftKings)
SP+ prediction: Indiana 35, Northwestern 14 (90 percent chance of an IU win)

Welcome the Wildcats

This is not your average Northwestern team.

The Wildcats have a revamped team, staff and stadium and have all the makings of being a program on the rise. David Braun is in his fourth season at the helm in Evanston. He led Northwestern to a 7-6 record with a win in the GameAbove Sports Bowl in 2025.

Perhaps the biggest boost is the hiring of offensive coordinator Chip Kelly – one of the best offensive minds in the game. Aidan Chiles is the perfect quarterback for Kelly and has looked the part through two games. Chiles has completed 67 percent of his passes for 514 yards and four touchdowns with no interceptions. Kelly has operated with a run-heavy scheme through the first two games of the season. Northwestern has averaged 203 rushing yards per game and runs about two-thirds of the time.

Defensively, the Wildcats have stars at all three levels and are a turnover-forcing machine. Northwestern gave up 18 points to South Dakota State, but only seven to Colorado. Across those two games, the Wildcats have forced three interceptions and recovered two fumbles.

Will Northwestern continue its offensive success and defensive prowess in conference play, especially against Indiana? We will soon find out.

Injury update

Now in conference play, teams are required to release an availability report. That has made this section much easier to write.

Cornerback AJ Harris is doubtful, yet Cignetti has made it seem as though that is not a big loss. Kicker Nico Radicic is questionable after missing the last two weeks.

Backup wideout Lebron Bond and backup cornerback Carson Williams have been dealing with nagging injuries and are out. Running back Khobie Martin also remains out as he recovers from his fractured wrist.

Northwestern has 14 players listed as out on the latest Big Ten injury report. Three players are doubtful. Offensive lineman Ezomo Oratokhai and defensive linemen Migo Jackson and Callen Campbell are the most notable players listed as out. Wideout Hayden Eligon II and starting nickel Braden Turner are key names to follow on the doubtful list.

Storylines

A first impression and a new version of a familiar face

The quarterback battle provides quite an interesting scenario.

On one side, Josh Hoover has a first impression to make. This is his first chance to showcase the abilities Indiana brought him for in a game that matters. The pressure is higher. The margin for error is lower. The impact of mistakes has grown significantly. Hoover has looked solid in the games where he is supposed to. Now, what does he look like in a high-pressure conference game?

On the other hand, Chiles will be playing against Curt Cignetti for the third time. In the first two, he played fairly well for Michigan State in two Indiana wins. His mobility and elusiveness really stood out in those games. He completed 75 percent of his passes with two touchdowns and two interceptions across both games. He also ran for 48 yards in the 2025 meeting with the Hoosiers. Now in the Kelly offense at Northwestern, Chiles will be schemed differently. He has shown flashes against Indiana in green and white. He will provide a different look in purple and white.

How legit are both teams?

The Big Ten opener tends to give a decent idea of a team’s makeup. No matter what non-conference games teams play, the Big Ten opener is the first look at how they stack up against the rest of the league.

Indiana has dominated both Big Ten openers under Cignetti with a 42-13 win against UCLA on the road in 2024 and the famous 63-10 drubbing of then-No.9 Illinois at home in 2025. What were the first reactions after those wins? Likely something about how those two teams looked legit and could make some noise.

The 2026 Indiana squad has only matched up with the teams it was supposed to dominate. The playbook was dry and the crowd had an incentive to leave in the second half due to the heat. Now, with an expanded playbook and a primetime atmosphere against a good opponent, we can see how good Indiana could be.

The same goes for Northwestern, of course.

It may not be a determination of how the season will go, but it will certainly give a better idea of the makeup of both teams.

Positive news from the courts

Indiana defensive ends Stephen Daley and Kellan Wyatt are deemed eligible for the game and were removed from the ‘questionable’ tab on the Big Ten availability report.

Amid an ongoing roller coaster of rulings and court drama, Indiana got a ruling that went its way. With Daley and Wyatt back, Indiana has another wave of defensive line depth it can throw out.

Outlook

This should be a fun one. It is the latest kickoff time (8 p.m. ET) in over four years in Bloomington. With some encouragement from Cignetti and his leaders, the incentive for fans to stay the entire game is much higher.

Northwestern is a solid team, as is Indiana. They will have to prove how solid they really are in both of their first true tests this season.

Indiana is still favored by a sizable amount. The expectation is for the Hoosiers to win by multiple scores. Do not be surprised if Northwestern puts up a good fight.

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