There will be a game at Wrigley Field this November.
A baseball game, perhaps, will happen if the season goes long and the Cubs get to the World Series. But we know for sure there will be football.
The Friendly Confines will host Northwestern and Purdue on Nov. 21 later this year. It will be the second such Wildcats football game in recent years, dubbed the ‘Wildcats Classic,’ at the corner of Clark and Addison. NU hosted Illinois in 2010.
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Fans may remember that there was a scheduled game for the Wildcats at the ballpark last year (vs. Wisconsin) but the COVID-19 pandemic nixed that.
This will be the second in a five-game Wrigley Field football deal, which was agreed upon between the university and the Cubs back in 2013. The iconic landmark has also hosted Northwestern athletic events, including baseball and lacrosse.
The Wildcats lost to Illinois 48-27 in that game back in 2010. The quirks in that contest included an east end zone (flanking the right field bleachers) that was unplayable due to space limitations. All football action had to go east to west –or right to left from the vantage point of the viewer at home. But given the bullpens are now under the outfield bleachers, there will be enough space to accommodate a full football field.
NCAAF
The Bears played in the historic park up until 1970. So the novelty of playing a football game at Wrigley isn’t exactly there. But fans will (hopefully) get to witness a Wildcats team that has won the Big Ten West title in two of the past three seasons. They defeated Auburn in the Citrus Bowl and finished the 2020 campaign ranked No. 10 in the AP poll.
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