Northwestern head coach David Braun speaks during a press conference Feb. 4 in Evanston, Ill.
IOWA CITY — Northwestern head coach David Braun did everything in his power to set up the Wildcats for success in 2026.
Now Iowa football has to see if it can spoil it in November.
Much of Northwestern’s offseason has been — and will continue to be — surrounded by change. The Wildcats brought in Chip Kelly (former UCLA, Oregon and NFL 49ers head coach) as the new offensive coordinator, with Michigan State transfer Aidan Chiles expected to take over duties as the starting quarterback.
UCLA’s Jerry Neuheisel was also hired as the new quarterbacks coach, plus the program’s 16 transfers are considered the program’s highest-ranked transfer class.
Michigan State quarterback Aidan Chiles (2) signs an autograph for a fan last season in Detroit. Chiles is now a member of the Northwestern football team.
Northwestern will have its eighth-straight season with a transfer starting at quarterback with Chiles. The senior signal caller started in 20 games the last two seasons at Michigan State, throwing 23 touchdowns and 14 interceptions from 3,810 passing yards. Chiles wasn’t a very mobile quarterback for the Spartans, recording 512 rushing yards and nine touchdowns over those two seasons.
Then there’s Ryan Field, the multimillion-dollar stadium renovation that will finally be completed this fall. Iowa will be the fourth team to play in the new stadium. It’s expected to hold 35,000 fans.
Northwestern will have a redshirt freshman punter, Niki Dugandzic, who was considered the No. 1 punter in the country for the 2025 class. He’s a local product from the Chicago suburbs, and is expected to take full-time responsibilities after managing a few kickoffs last year.
The Wildcats did keep running backs Caleb Komolafe and Joe Himon and added Florida state transfer Gavin Sawchuk to the mix for a potential three-man rotation on the ground.
Defensively, the Wildcats lost edge Anto Saka, who recorded double-digit sacks and tackles-for-loss last season. Northwestern’s defense was the bright spot in last season’s team — particularly along the line of scrimmage. The team does, however, have cornerbacks Josh Fussell and Robert Fitzgerald back after both players earned All-Big Ten honors.
Northwestern fans have room to be optimistic this season, mostly because of Kelly’s return to college football and calling the plays. Chiles’ consistency, however, will be crucial for the Wildcats to have sustained success — especially considering its less-than-ideal start to Big Ten play.
By the time Iowa and Northwestern face off, fans will have an idea of where both teams stand and how their respective seasons will impact the outcome of this game.
Northwestern could simply end up being a better team than its record indicates solely because it has to face Indiana, Oregon, Penn State and Ohio State all before seeing the Hawkeyes.
What bodes well for Iowa is if the Hawkeyes improve as the season progresses, particularly as young faces become confident in their roles. The Hawkeyes’ defense, too, has the early advantage between the two programs simply because fans already know what to expect.
And as the season progresses, it’ll become even clearer.
