Story summary
On Friday night, Northwestern opened its new Ryan Field, a $875 million stadium that seats 35,000, in a game against Penn State. The Wildcats won convincingly, 34-13, with running back Caleb Komolafe rushing for a career-high 188 yards and two touchdowns. The new stadium features cutting-edge technology, concessions from local restaurants, and a canopy designed to enhance the fan experience by focusing noise and light on the field. Northwestern’s win marked their first game in the rebuilt stadium, which stands on the same site as the former Ryan Field, exactly 100 years after its predecessor was inaugurated.
Written for “Northwestern Wins At New Stadium” on 2026-10-05,
grounded in this article and the 6 other(s) covering the same event.
We've got some college football action tonight, and I couldn't be more excited.
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I → get → action
Over the past few weeks, we have actually seen some really good football games on Friday night.
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we → see → night
Tonight, I've got my eyes set on a matchup in my home state (even if I can't wager on it due to state regulations), as Penn State comes to town to take on Northwestern.
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State → get → Northwestern
Penn State is one of those schools that has a bit more name value, but they haven't really earned it over the past, well, decade.
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they → have → decade
Without looking, can you tell me the last time Penn State had one or fewer losses?
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State → look → losses
Probably not, so I'll tell you: it was 2005.
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it → tell → you
Since then, it isn't like the program has been terrible, but they also haven't exactly been the dominant team that most associate with the name.
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that → associate → name
Since 2005, they've gone 7-1 or 8-1 in the Big 10 just four times.
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they → go → 10
They did make the College Football Playoff in 2024 and won in the first round.
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They → make → round
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page → contain → partners
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News → sign → wager
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that → create → newsroom
Now the team comes into today's contest with a 3-1 record, and they lost their first Big 10 game of the season.
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they → come → season
That loss came last week, at home, against Wisconsin.
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loss → come → Wisconsin
The Badgers are a good team, but more should be expected out of the Nittany Lions.
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more → expect → Lions
They dropped the game 24-20, so again, it wasn't a blowout, but this isn't a game they should've lost.
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they → drop → game
It also dropped Penn State from 13th in the country to being not ranked.
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It → drop → country
Now they face a Northwestern team that has been okay over the years, but not great.
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that → face → years
Northwestern comes into this game with a 2-1 record, but a winning season from them is often more surprising than expected.
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season → come → them
The Wildcats are a decent enough team, but in the Big 10, this is not a team that most people would put as one of the top options in their conference.
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people → put → conference
The school has invested heavily in the team, but results have been average at best to this point.
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results → invest → point
They started the season with a nice win over San Diego State, winning 34-18.
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They → start → State
The following week, they took on Deion Sanders and the Colorado Buffaloes.
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they → take → Sanders
It wasn't exactly a good look for Mr. Prime, as he got wholloped by the Wildcats with a final score of 41-7.
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he → whollope → 41
I do give more credit to Colorado just not being very good, and less credit to Northwestern being great.
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Northwestern → give → Colorado
Last week, though, my eyes popped a bit as Northwestern was competitive with Indiana.
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Northwestern → pop → Indiana
They hung with one of the best in the country, on the road, and lost the game 29-23.
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They → hang → game
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Now we have Penn State, after a loss, going on the road to face Northwestern, also after a loss.
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State → click → loss
I would give the edge on offense to Penn State, but I'm not sure it is as significant as I would've thought when the season started.
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season → give → State
On defense, I think Northwestern has the personnel to keep up with the Nittany Lions, but not shut them down completely.
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Northwestern → think → them
I can't say I think Northwestern wins this, and I'm far too late to get a great number on them.
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I → say → them
Instead, I'm backing the over 45.5.
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I → back → 45.5
I think we can see both teams get some offense going after a short week.
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offense → think → week
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