Northwestern football: Wildcats are Big Ten’s sneaky-good squad
Schedule and Prediction
| Week | DATE | Opponent |
| 1 | Thursday, Aug. 30 | at Purdue |
| 2 | Saturday, Sept. 8 | vs. Duke |
| 3 | Saturday, Sept. 15 | vs. Akron |
| 4 | Saturday, Sept. 22 | BYE |
| 5 | Saturday, Sept. 29 | vs. Michigan |
| 6 | Saturday, Oct. 6 | at Michigan State |
| 7 | Saturday, Oct. 13 | vs. Nebraska |
| 8 | Saturday, Oct. 20 | at Rutgers |
| 9 | Saturday, Oct. 27 | vs. Wisconsin |
| 10 | Saturday, Nov. 3 | vs. Notre Dame |
| 11 | Saturday, Nov. 10 | at Iowa |
| 12 | Saturday, Nov. 17 | at Minnesota |
| 13 | Saturday, Dec. 8 | vs. Illinois |
When it comes to Big Ten schedules, this is about as friendly as they get. A road trip to Purdue to start the season could be tough, but Duke and Akron should both be winnable games after that. A bye before Michigan and Michigan State is nice, but those will be two of the toughest games this year.
Two more winnable games before hosting Wisconsin is another plus, but Wisconsin, Notre Dame, and at Iowa in three weeks is a brutal stretch. Those are three great defenses, and will be a huge test for Thorson and this offense as a whole. The Wildcats finish with two games I think that they should win.
There are parts of this schedule that I touched on that are just brutal. Most of the hard parts of this season will come in waves for the Wildcats. However, outside of the five toughest games (and maybe Duke), this is a very manageable schedule for what should be a very good team. Michigan, Michigan State and Rutgers isn’t a great cross-division draw, but it could be worse. Three of those five tough games are at home. Northwestern can make this work.
Prediction: 8-4
I think it’s another good season for Northwestern, and I think they come up just short once again. I think the Wildcats finish just behind Wisconsin in the Big Ten, because of two games; Wisconsin and Michigan State. Getting Michigan, Wisconsin and Notre Dame all at home is a huge deal, but ultimately, I don’t think it’ll be enough.
Of those five tough games, I see just one win for the Wildcats, and I see it being a big upset at home over Michigan. I’m concerned about the Wolverines this year, and I think Northwestern is in a good place to take advantage of Michigan’s weaknesses. However, I think road trips to Michigan State and Iowa cause issues. Notre Dame and Wisconsin feel like they could be close, but I just don’t see it.
Next: Preseason Top 25 rankings
This feels like a pretty solid result for Northwestern. They’re going to return a lot of production next year as well, Clemson transfer Hunter Johnson is on his way, and the 2019 schedule is even friendlier, especially if Michigan State, Iowa or Wisconsin have down years.