No. 4, 2-0 defending Big Ten Champion Oregon travels to 1-1 Northwestern this Saturday for the Big Noon Kickoff game of the week, 9 a.m. PT on Fox. The Ducks are a 27.5-point favorite.
It's the feature game on the network with the number one team on the call, Gus Johnson, Joel Klatt and Jenny Taft.
Northwestern lost at Tulane in their opener 23-3. Last Friday they beat Western Illinois of the Ohio Valley Conference 42-7 behind three touchdown passes from SMU transfer quarterback Preston Stone, 21-29 passing for 245 yards.
Wildcats running back Cam Powell is out for the season after being carted off the field with a lower body injury in the third quarter against WIU. Porter led the Wildcats with 18 carries for 137 yards, 7.6 per carry including a 43-yard touchdown run early in the first quarter against the Leathernecks.
With Porter gone NU turns to
Caleb Komolafe and Joseph Himon II. Komolafe is a 5-10, 210-pound sophomore from Katy, Texas, a three-star recruit in 2023 with 20 carries for 97 yards this season and a long run of 24 yards.
Stone is capable of getting a hot hand. Against Tulsa in 2023 he was 15-20 passing for 371 yards and three touchdowns; he's not known as a runner but against Rice the week before he racked up eight carries for 81 yards. The Oregon defense is not Tulsa or Rice.
NORTHWESTERN WE'RE COMING TO YOUR CITY 🔥🐾
— Big Noon Kickoff (@BNKonFOX) September 7, 2025
Big Noon Kickoff will be bringing the party to Evanston, IL ahead of @NUFBFamily's matchup with @oregonfootball at 12 ET on FOX 🎉 pic.twitter.com/2qi4qQVdsC
For the Ducks the challenges in this game are focus and routine. They've played two games at a high emotional pitch with a lot of intensity, but this one kicks off at 9 a.m. Pacific Time against a conference bottom-feeder (4-8 last season) in a temporary stadium that holds 12,000.
The view from Northwestern’s Martin Stadium pic.twitter.com/Rd8hJeVn9e
— Mark Stewart Ⓜ️ (@MarkStewartMJS) October 19, 2024
The Ducks will have to create their own energy. The weather forecast calls for a gametime temperature of 76 degrees, wind gusts to 17 mph and a 25 percent chance of rain.
Ify Obidegwu says the DB group is waking up at 4 am, arriving at the facilities at 5 am this week to prepare for the early kick (9 am) on Saturday against Northwestern.
— Zachary Neel (@zacharycneel) September 9, 2025
"We gotta get that rest, go to sleep early."
After two games Northwestern stands 4th in the conference against the pass, giving up 131 yards per game and 4.4 yards per attempt. The Wildcats are next-to-last against the run, giving up 170 yards a game and 5.23 yards per carry.
Northwestern announced the game as a sellout in August, but at Seat Geek, Vivid Seats and StubHub, tickets are available from $234 for the end zones to $515 at midfield, with some limited box seating running as high as $1345.