How to watch Northwestern vs. Northern Illinois: Game time, live stream, TV, radio

On Sept. 24, 2013, Northwestern announced it was hosting Northern Illinois in a non-conference game at Ryan Field this season. At the time, this seemed like a winnable matchup. The Wildcats were 3-0, having just blown out Maine, and less than two weeks away from facing Ohio State in a contest billed as one of the most significant in program history. Nobody thought much of the NIU matchup then, but those who did probably felt pretty good about the Wildcats' chances.

Now? This is a terrifying game. Northwestern opened its season with an ugly loss to Cal, and could easily fall to 2-0 if it has another clunker against the Huskies this week. NIU lost its two best players from last season - safety Jimmie Ward and quarterback Jordan Lynch - but this team has enough talent left to, at the very least, put a scare into Northwestern. The Huskies beat Presbyterian 55-3 to open the season, which doesn't really tell us a lot about them. These links will.

First, here's how you can watch and listen to the game

Game time: 3:30 p.m. ET, Big Ten Network

Live stream: BTN2GO

Live radio stream: WGN (and WNUR Sports)

- Practice notes from Tuesday and Wednesday. Also, here's the depth chart and a recap of what Fitz had to say on the weekly Big Ten teleconference.

- Our game picks. Let's just say we're not quite as optimistic heading into week 2.

- A great piece from Mike Deneen on the history behind Northwestern-Northern Illinois

- Nate Williams highlights five "areas to watch" in the matchup.

- Rodger Sherman provides reasons Northwestern will probably beat NIU

- Our report on Northwestern using the wrong wristbands caused a bit of a stir (Fitz later said that there was a typo on the wristbands). Even Keith Olbermann weighed in.

- Jon Davis looks at the attendance for the game

- Northwestern lost Christian Jones to injury before the season. It won't have Tony Jones either. Can the Wildcats' other receivers step up? Daniel Rapaport breaks down that unit.

- Jason Dorow explains the three things you need to know heading into the game

- Read up on the Huskies

- We chatted asked Hustle Belt, SB Nation's MAC blog, some questions about NIU

- Henry Bushnell and I discuss whether Northwestern has "slipped."

- A couple of good film breakdowns: Henry examines Northwestern's spread offense, and Kevin Dukovic analyzes the Wildcats' cornerbacks and defensive scheme.