The Ohio State and Northwestern football teams will reportedly face off on Nov. 16 at Wrigley Field next season, per Matthew Shelton and Louie Vaccher of WildcatReport.com.
The Northwestern football team doesn't have a home for the next two seasons with its current stadium, Ryan Field, under construction as part of an $800 million project. So Northwestern, which is located in Evanston, Illinois, is in search of temporary homes to host its football games.
At this moment, it appears only two home games next season have set locations, per Shelton and Vaccher:
"In fact, only two games have locations that are pretty much set at this time, according to the source. The Wildcats will play Indiana on Oct. 5 at SeatGeek, and host Ohio State at Wrigley Field on Nov. 16. The rest of the slate is still up in the air."
Northwestern notably played at Wrigley, the home of the Chicago Cubs, last season when it hosted Iowa on Nov. 4. The Hawkeyes emerged victorious, 10-7.
This game would mark Ohio State football's first and Northwestern's fourth at Wrigley. The Wildcats played there in 2010 (48-27 loss to Illinois) and 2021 (32-14 defeat to Purdue). The 2010 game notably featured both teams' offenses going toward just one of the end zones due to safety concerns. That wasn't an issue in 2021 and 2023, however, and Northwestern and its opponents played in both directions.
It's not completely uncommon to see college football games played at baseball stadiums. Yankee Stadium has been host to the Pinstripe Bowl since 2010. The Fenway Bowl made its debut at Boston's Fenway Park in 2022. Chase Field (in Phoenix) has hosted various bowl games since 2015, and the Holiday Bowl has called Petco Park in San Diego home for two years.
It appears Wrigley will now host its third Northwestern game in four years. This one would come with the most fanfare, given the popularity of the Ohio State program coupled with another year of championship aspirations.
