Northwestern dominated Colorado, played well in a loss to Indiana, and christened its shiny refurbished stadium with a crushing 34-13 win over Penn State. Now the team has to stay locked in.
New year, new team, new program, new-look stadium, and all of that, but Northwestern has a history of occasionally playing down to Group of Six competition.
Tulane was good enough to go to the College Football Playoff last year, but still, Northwestern shouldn’t have lost the 2025 opener 23-3. The Wildcats struggled against Miami University in a 13-6 win to open the 2024 season, lost to Akron in 2018, dropped the 2016 opener against Western Michigan, and then lost to Illinois State, lost to Northern Illinois in 2014.
Ball State is 0-4 against FBS teams this season.
Northwestern vs Ball State: Quick Hits
- The Wildcats go to Michigan State next in what should be an interesting showdown against former head coach Pat Fitzgerald, and then it hosts Rutgers, and then comes the big one – at Oregon.
- Ball State gets back into the MAC season next week at Bowling Green as part of a run of three road games in four.
- The two schools have only played once. Northwestern won 24-19 in 2015.
How To Watch Northwestern vs Ball State
Date: Saturday, October 10, 2026
Game Time: 12:30 PM ET
TV: Big Ten Network
Location: Ryan Field, Evanston, IL
Why Ball State Will Win
So what’s going right for Ball State?
It has a good enough running game to make Northwestern work a bit. It rumbled on Toledo for close to five yards per carry in last week’s loss, and the short-range passing game has the ability to keep things moving if the ground attack comes up with a few early yards.
Why Northwestern Will Win
There’s no need to get cute here. The running game has been fantastic under offensive coordinator Chip Kelly, ripping off 413 yards and four touchdowns against Penn State and averaging over five yards per carry on the season.
Ball State doesn’t slow down the run. It’s the fourth-worst run defense in the nation, allowing 230 yards per game. On the other side, there’s no Ball State downfield passing game whatsoever to worry about.
Northwestern vs Ball State Prediction, Betting Lines
Northwestern won’t blink.
It might not bring the A game – it wasn’t great in the 34-18 opener against South Dakota State – but it’ll run at least 45 times, control the clock throughout, and it’ll keep the party going with Ryan Field still the star.
Northwestern 44, Ball State 7
Latest Consensus Line: Northwestern -37.5, o/u: 52.5
ATS Confidence (out of 5): 1.5
Must See Rating (out of 5): 2
