Indiana hosts Northwestern. Too early for a market line, but the model likes Indiana (67%).
What’s at stake
Make the CFP field
Win the conference
Win it all
CFP odds as of September 3, 2026
The series
Northwestern leads the series 47-36-1
84 meetings since 1899 · Indiana has won the last 2
- 2024 · neutral siteIndiana 41–24
- 2019Indiana 34–3
- 2016Northwestern 24–14
- 2012Northwestern 44–29
- 2011Northwestern 59–38
Face-off
What each fanbase carries into this one.
Northwestern
The chip · vs the national mediaEvery preseason the Wildcats are picked to finish last, and every few years they don't — and the fanbase has stopped expecting credit for it. They've learned to treat being underestimated as the natural state of a program that was never supposed to belong.
Indiana
The chip · vs the national mediaThe same voices who called 2024 a fluke and 2025 a soft schedule are still waiting for Indiana to fall back to earth. Cignetti's answer — roughly, 'I win, look it up' — became the fanbase's whole posture.
What this game touches
A century as the Big Ten's football afterthought. From 1887 to 2023 Indiana had never won 11 games or reached the playoff; the football program was a punchline at a basketball blue blood. Cignetti inverted it in two seasons — but the long irrelevance is the backdrop every win is still measured against.
Best players
Indiana
- Rolijah Hardy (LB) · 2025: 103 tackles
- Louis Moore (DB) · 2025: 90 tackles
- Isaiah Jones (LB) · 2025: 78 tackles
Northwestern
- Robert Fitzgerald (DB) · 2025: 106 tackles
- Mac Uihlein (LB) · 2025: 89 tackles
- Braydon Brus (LB) · 2025: 81 tackles
The line, and the room
Northwestern fans are feeling better about their season (62nd percentile) than Indiana fans are (45th) — even with Indiana favored here.
Conditions
Indiana is 64% at home, 44% on the road since 2018 (32-18 home, 17-22 away).