Northwestern football announces finalized 2018 schedule

Michigan, Nebraska, Wisconsin, and Notre Dame are all coming to Ryan Field in 2018.

Those four home games highlight the 2018 football schedule, which was finalized Wednesday morning.

Throw in Duke, Akron, and Illinois, and you get a pretty awesome slate of games in Evanston. It certainly looks better than this year’s, which is highlighted by Iowa, Penn State, and Minnesota.

Northwestern will open the season against a conference opponent (Purdue) for the first time since 1984. Four of its five 2018 road games are repeats from the 2016 season; the Wildcats went 3-1 on the road against Purdue, Michigan State, Iowa, and Minnesota last fall.

Northwestern will also take its first trip to Rutgers since the Scarlet Knights joined the Big Ten. The Wildcats are 0-3 all-time against Rutgers, but the two schools haven’t played since 1991.

Notre Dame’s visit to Ryan Field will be its first time in Evanston since 1976.

Season tickets will go on sale in January!