Folsom Field will have competition for best view at a Colorado football game this fall.

The banks of Lake Michigan will host the Buffaloes’ road game at Northwestern that will conclude this year’s nonconference schedule. 

The game will be the final one at Northwestern Medicine Field at Martin Stadium, the lacrosse and soccer stadium that has been the temporary home for the football program during the construction of a brand-new Ryan Field, which is set to open the first weekend of October.

This will be the third meeting between the Buffs and Wildcats and the first in Evanston, Ill., since 1951. CU won the other one, 55-7, in 1978 in Boulder. 

Here’s everything you need to know about the team from the Big Ten:

Offseason storylines

After starting the season with a 5-2 record, including a road win at Penn State that prompted the firing of James Franklin, the Wildcats scored just one victory in their last five games to finish with a 6-6 regular season record before beating Central Michigan in the GameAbove Sports Bowl.

Northwestern did what it could to try and build off a second bowl game in three seasons under coach David Braun, retaining over two dozen players who played at least 100 snaps last season. The ‘Cats also brought in a solid portal class thanks to an increased NIL budget that is a direct result of the massive media rights payouts going to every school in the Big Ten.

The Wildcats also made arguably their biggest coaching hire, bringing in Chip Kelly to be the offensive coordinator after he was fired just 11 games into his tenure in the same position with the Las Vegas Raiders. He’s still less than two years removed from winning a national championship with Ohio State, capping a two-season stint in the same role for the Buckeyes.

The 62-year-old offensive innovator has plenty of history against CU, most recently going 4-2 against the Buffs during his tenure as the head coach at UCLA. 

Jerry Neuheisel, son of former CU coach Rick Neuheisel, was hired to be the quarterbacks coach under Kelly.

On offense

The Kelly offense coming to Evanston will be a sight to see and Northwestern added a pair of dynamic quarterbacks that could both see time this season.

Former Michigan State starter Aidan Chiles, who began his career at Oregon State, was the headliner of the Wildcats’ portal class and is the favorite to start at quarterback. He’s a good athlete with plenty of experience and someone who has the profile of a player that can have success under Kelly, if he can stay healthy and limit turnovers that have plagued him at times.

Northwestern also returns its top two wide receiver targets from last season in Griffin Wilde, a third-team All-Big selection who racked up nearly 900 receiving yards and nine touchdowns last season, and Hayden Eligon II, who had over 500 yards and three touchdowns.

The Wildcats also added a talented transfer at tight end in Luke Dehnicke, who starred at Division-II Minnesota Duluth  in 2025 with over 1,100 receiving yards and 14 touchdowns.

The run game is always key to a Kelly offense and Northwestern brought back leading rusher Caleb Komolafe, a junior who rushed for nearly 1,000 yards to go with 11 touchdowns. He’ll be joined in the backfield by Florida State transfer and Colorado native Gavin Sawchuk, a former Valor Christian star.

On defense

The Wildcats ranked in the top third in the Big Ten in points per game last season and return a good amount of production from last year’s unit.

Leading tackler and all-conference safety Robert Fitzgerald projects to be one of the best secondary players in the Big Ten this season, while defensive lineman Michael Kilbane is coming off a season in which he had 3.5 sacks and appears set to step into the role as the team’s top edge rusher after Aidan Hubbard signed with the Seahawks as an undrafted free agent.

Northwestern also did well to replace its depleted linebacker core that performed well in 2025, adding Oklahoma transfer Kobie McKinzie to lead that unit, while Central Michigan transfer Brenden Deasfernandes should contribute right away at cornerback. 

The Northwestern Wildcats file

2025 record: 7-6 (4-5 Big Ten)

Head coach: David Braun (4th season, 19-19 record)

Offensive coordinator: Chip Kelly (1st season)

Defensive coordinator: Tim McGarigle (9th season at NW, 3rd as DC)

Key returners: RB Caleb Komolafe, WR Griffin Wilde, WR Hayden Eligon II, OL Ezomo Oratokhai, DL, Michael Kilbane, DB Robert Fitzgerald, DB Josh Fussell

Key newcomers: QB Aidan Chiles, QB Nicco Marchiol, RB Gavin Sawchuk, TE Luke Dehnicke, OT Grant Seagren, DL Dominic Kirks, LB Kobie McKinzie, CB Brenden Deasfernandes