The last of ten questions we’re asking that will decide Northwestern’s 2025 season. The offseason is over, Tulane week is here, and it’s time for the staff of WildcatReport to weigh in with our predictions for the 2025 season. We have asked nine questions that will have a big impact on the season that begins […]
The last of ten questions we’re asking that will decide Northwestern’s 2025 season.
The offseason is over, Tulane week is here, and it’s time for the staff of WildcatReport to weigh in with our predictions for the 2025 season.
We have asked nine questions that will have a big impact on the season that begins on Saturday at Tulane. But this is the one that matters the most: will the Wildcats make a bowl this season?
Here are our thoughts.
TEN QUESTIONS SERIES: 1. Can Preston Stone return to form? | 2. Does Northwestern have enough depth at wide receiver? | 3. Will Anto Saka be an elite pass rusher? | 4. Can an influx of transfers boost the defense? l 5. Can Northwestern find production at tight end? | 6. Will Northwestern’s corners be better this season after losing Johnson? | 7. Can the offensive line find consistency? l 8. Can Northwestern restore home-field advantage? | 9. Will the Wildcats be better in the red zone?
Matt Shelton: Yes
Northwestern has a very tough schedule this season and that starts straight away at Tulane, a non-conference against a Group of Six team with playoff aspirations. Not to mention temperatures in the mid-to-high 80s in the humidity of New Orleans.
It’s an unnecessarily steep challenge to a team already on the brink of bowl eligibility, but I think the Wildcats can overcome it for a few reasons. First and foremost is their quarterback. Northwestern has made a major upgrade by bringing in experienced transfer Preston Stone. He’s a signal caller with pedigree that has proven he can stuff stat sheets and architect winning seasons.
Even if the Wildcats struggle to provide him with a ready-made arsenal of targets from an inexperienced wide receiver and tight end room, Stone can create them with his arm talent. In the last decade, a Northwestern quarterback has thrown for 10+ touchdowns in a season five times. All five times, the Wildcats went to a bowl game and won.
Stone’s last full season with SMU, he threw for 28 touchdowns. If Northwestern can get anywhere close to that production, history says their defense will take it from there. And they have a real slate of potential difference makers on defense this season.
Defensive end Anto Saka has draft buzz, Mike linebacker Mac Uihlein will make a bid for a 100-tackle season, Damon Walters has star upside at safety. They have physical corners and depth on the defensive line that can set the tone against teams out of conference and towards the bottom of the Big Ten.
I think the Wildcats can pull off the upset at Tulane against a Green Wave team still sorting out their own transfers, clean up their other non-cons against Western Illinois and UL-Monroe, and then find Big Ten wins on their home turf against UCLA, Purdue and Minnesota.
Prediction: 6-6 (3-6 Big Ten)
Louie Vaccher: Yes
I am confident that Northwestern will be better this season. How much that improvement translates to wins is the question. Especially with an unforgiving schedule: seven of the Wildcats’ nine Big Ten opponents made a bowl last season. The Athletic ranks it as the sixth-toughest in the country.
We are all worried about the unproven wide receiver room, but Stone will make them all better. Northwestern has a long history of unknown wide receivers who put up big years out of nowhere, too (think Austin Carr, Zeke Markshausen, Jonathan Fields). We don’t know yet if the offensive line will be able to get a push in short-yardage situations or consistently keep Stone’s uniform clean, but they will be better than they were last year. At least they’re more experienced.
The opener on Saturday is huge. Win it, and there’s a clear path to six wins. Lose, and they’re going to have to pull off a big upset or two to make a bowl.
Northwestern’s schedule is back-loaded. If they want to play in the postseason, they pretty much have to be sitting at 5-2 after the Purdue game on Oct. 18. It can happen with wins over Tulane, Western Illinois, UCLA, ULM and Purdue, and losses to Oregon to Penn State.
There’s no room for error because the stretch run is one long root canal. Nebraska and USC on the road; Michigan and Minnesota at Wrigley Field, where the Wildcats have yet to win a game in five tries; and then a trip to Illinois, a team that won 10 games last year and could have an outside chance at the playoff.
All they’ll have to do is get one of them. Can they? I say yes. If you can’t be optimistic before the season, you need a new pastime.
Prediction: 6-6 (3-6 Big Ten)
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Category: General Sports
