In 2020, Northwestern football’s schedule saw two separate iterations — the first a long-planned schedule featuring non-conference opponents and the second a conference-only slate set after the onset of the pandemic — called off before reaching its final form. Over a year later in 2022, the pandemic is still here and the ‘Cats, along with the rest of their Big Ten counterparts, are still dealing with the repercussions of the initial schedule changes.
Today, the conference announced new schedules for each of its teams to accommodate cross-division matchups that were cast aside when it canceled its planned conference-only season in August of 2020 before eventually opting to go on with a shorter schedule a month later.