Ohio State gets Northwestern on Saturday, and there’s more to watch here than just a team trying to stop a two-game skid. The Wildcats arrive at 6-3, 3-3 with former Buckeyes offensive coordinator Chip Kelly on the other sideline, and they’ll have to navigate the matchup without their starting quarterback again.
Aidan Chiles will miss his second straight game because of injury. The Oregon State and Michigan State transfer has been a major reason Northwestern has stayed afloat this season, throwing for 1,898 yards with 13 touchdowns and only one interception while adding 274 rushing yards and 10 scores on the ground. With Chiles sidelined, Nicco Marchiol started against Iowa and should be in line to start again Saturday.
Kelly’s return to Columbus adds another layer to the game. He was Ohio State’s offensive coordinator during the 2024 national championship run before leaving for the Las Vegas Raiders, where he was fired in the same season he was hired.
He later landed at Northwestern and has done well there. In 2024, Ohio State averaged 37.2 points and 429.4 total yards per game.
In 2026, Northwestern is averaging 33.6 points and 438.1 yards per game.
One of the biggest problems for Ohio State’s defense will be Griffin Wilde. The Northwestern receiver has 49 catches for 813 yards and five touchdowns this season, and he’s averaging 16.6 yards per catch.
Over his career at South Dakota State and Northwestern, Wilde has piled up 211 receptions for 3,246 yards and 31 touchdowns. Keeping him in check will be a major job for the Buckeyes’ secondary.
Northwestern also enters the game with a new stadium situation that has drawn attention around college football. Ryan Field is gone in its old form, replaced by a new stadium using the same name.
On Sept. 22, 2021, Northwestern announced that the Ryan family had donated $480 million to the university to replace Ryan Field with a new stadium at the existing site.
The university estimated the project would generate a $1.3 billion economic impact for the Chicago area, including $659 million in economic impact to Evanston.
And while the game is in Columbus, Northwestern’s football history still carries one of the sport’s most infamous marks: a 34-game losing streak from 1979 to 1982. That remains the longest losing streak in college football history.
In Other News...
Browns Defense Suddenly Has A Problem Cleveland Can't Ignore
A defense that looked like a strength early in the season has started to wobble, and the Browns cant really brush it off anymore. Over the last three games, Cleveland has been giving up an average of 24.7 points and 167 rushing yards per game, a stretch that has helped turn recent losses into a much bigger concern for a team that expected its defense to set the tone.
Defensive coordinator Mike Rutenberg has stressed the need to address the issues directly, with the Browns trying to stay disciplined and physical against the run. The bigger question now is whether that message turns into a quick correction, because the early-season edge this unit carried has been harder to find lately, and the margin for error is shrinking fast. [Read more 🡒]
Browns Could Finally Punish A Texans Weakness Fans Need To See
The Texans defense has become a useful talking point for anyone trying to size up this matchup, and a recent question-and-answer exchange with Scott Barzilla of Battle Red Blog put a spotlight on exactly where Houston has been vulnerable. The conversation centered on the Texans secondary, their uneven play in close games and the way key pieces like Kamari Lassiter fit into a unit that has not always looked steady from week to week.
For Cleveland, that creates a clear opening in a game where the Browns are again entering as underdogs. If Houstons defensive back end continues to show cracks, it could give Cleveland a chance to lean into a weakness fans have been waiting to see exploited. The bigger question is whether the Browns can take advantage before the Texans defense settles in and changes the tone of the game. [Read more 🡒]
Deshaun Watson Faces A Browns Moment That Feels Bigger Than One Game
Deshaun Watson is set to step back into the lineup against the Houston Texans, the franchise where he spent his first five NFL seasons, and the timing gives this one a little extra weight for Cleveland. He returns with the Browns still trying to steady their season, while Watson comes in having played eight games and carrying the sort of uneven production that has defined much of his time in Cleveland so far.
The backdrop makes this more than just another midseason matchup. Watson is in the final year of his contract, the Browns need a win to improve their record, and the Texans have their own push to get closer to .500. For all the familiar faces and old storyline threads in this game, the larger question is what it means when Watson gets back on the field in a moment that feels bigger than one Sunday. [Read more 🡒]