Penn State football is on the road in Week 5, taking on Northwestern on Friday, Oct. 2 at 8 p.m. EDT. Both teams look to get back in the win column after the Nittany Lions lost to Wisconsin and the Wildcats lost to Indiana in Week 4.
Northwestern has a couple other things fueling its desire to win. The upcoming contest is the first held at new Ryan Field. There will be a lot of energy opening a new stadium on the Wildcats' sideline, and Penn State will look to disrupt that. Northwestern also has a new quarterbacks coach — someone some Nittany Lions will remember from the 2025 season: Jerry Neuheisel.
Neuheisel spent the last eight seasons at UCLA, added the assistant head coach role to his title in Dec. 2024 for the Bruins, and took over as interim head coach three games into the season after the team fired DeShaun Foster. UCLA was 0-4 to start the season, and when the Nittany Lions came to town, Neuheisel left with something grand to celebrate.
Penn State's disappointing 2025 season was kickstarted by a loss in double overtime to Oregon, but things really settled in when the Bruins pulled off a massive, 42-37, upset over the Nittany Lions in Week 6.
Note for Friday's game: Jerry Neuheisel, who was the interim offensive coordinator when UCLA upset Penn State last year, is now on Northwestern's staff as the QBs coach. pic.twitter.com/HAffAzTjaX
— Joel Haas (@Joel_Haas1) September 29, 2026
Penn State meets a familiar face in Northwestern quarterbacks coach Jerry Neuheisel
Penn State underwent a ton of changes in the past year with hiring head coach Matt Campbell, bringing in an almost entirely new staff, and having a roster overhaul. This is a new team Neuheisel isn't very knowledgable about, but the motivation to get the best of the Nittany Lions for a second consecutive season will be there.
In three contests, quarterback Aidan Chiles has thrown for 807 yards, six touchdowns, and zero interceptions on 53-of-75 completed passes. He has averaged 269.0 passing yards per game. Against Indiana, Chiles was 22-of-30 for 293 yards and two touchdowns, averaging 9.8 yards per pass.
He and the Wildcats' offense put up 23 points on the Hoosiers, ultimately losing by four points in the end. Those numbers from Chiles and making this game as close as possible on the road in Bloomington against the reigning national champions can't be overlooked.
All 23 points were scored in the second half as well, including 16 of which were scored in the fourth quarter. Indiana's offense stayed consistent and ultimately won the contest, but consistency is something Penn State has yet to solidfy this season.
The Nittany Lions' defense allowed one touchdown in the first half and forced three turnovers across all four quarters. The second half is when things got dicey as Penn State allowed 17 points, 14 which were scored in the fourth quarter. The defense allowed quarterback Colton Joseph to throw for 235 yards and two touchdowns.
If the Nittany Lions haven't figured out how to finish out games, Neuheisel and Northwestern might be in luck with the way Chiles has performed. Penn State lost to a team with a head coach on the hot seat in Week 4; the Wildcats rallied and almost beat the No. 6 team in the country.
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