3 Northwestern Wildcats to watch against Michigan Football at Wrigley

NCAAF College Football News, Photos, Stats, Scores, Schedule & Videos...

The second bye week of the season is now behind us, and the Michigan Wolverines prep for a difficult three-game stretch to wrap up the regular season. The first is a contest with the Northwestern Wildcats, a 5-4 team that is on the brink of earning bowl eligibility.

It’s a bit of a weird one, as Northwestern opted to play this game in Chicago at the home of the Cubs, Wrigley Field. It will be the first time Michigan has ever played at the historic stadium, built in 1914.

The Wildcats have played similar opponents to Michigan really closely. They lost by a touchdown to Nebraska in Lincoln before losing, 38-17, to USC last week. Northwestern also shutout Purdue and beat a Penn State team with Drew Allar in Happy Valley. This is a physical football team with a lot to like about it.

Across the field, there will be a couple of battles that NFL scouts will be paying key attention to as the two sides do battle. Here are three Wildcats that will surely be mentioned on the broadcast on Saturday.

LB Mac Uihlein

Northwestern has the 21st-best scoring defense this season, allowing 19.1 points per game. At the heart of it is redshirt junior linebacker Mac Uihlein. He’s reached double-digit tackles twice this season and astoundingly has four interceptions and a forced fumble. That’s following a 2024 season where he finished 11th in the Big Ten with 7.1 tackles per game.

At the end of October, Uihlein was the only player in the country with 55+ tackles, five tackles for loss and four interceptions. This is a dude that just makes plays all over the field and can be a difference-maker.

Uihlein is one of the best coverage linebackers not just in the Big Ten, but in the country. If their defense has success in slowing down Michigan’s offense, it’s likely because of Uihlein.

LT Caleb Tiernan

Northwestern has one of the most experience offensive lines in the country, and that’s allowed them to control games on the ground and have success maintaining time of possession. Michigan’s offense has had its woes throughout the season and simply cannot have short possessions against this Northwestern offense on the road.

A large reason for Northwestern’s struggles in losses has been short possession and pressure on quarterback Preston Stone. He’s been sacked 12 times this year and has thrown nine interceptions, which has put the Wildcats in a position where they actually have a negative turnover margin.

But left tackle Caleb Tiernan has been one of the most impressive performers up front. The graduate student who actually hails from the state of Michigan has been named to the PFF Team of the Week twice this season for his performance against Oregon and Western Illinois.

He’s an NFL-caliber tackle that Northwestern has done a strong job building throughout the last few seasons and is a vet. In his career, Tiernan has played more than 2,000 snaps. In his last eight starts, he hasn’t allowed a single sack or quarterback hit and is second in PFF’s pass blocking grade among all Big Ten tackles.

Derrick Moore, TJ Guy and company will have their hands full with Tiernan.

RB Caleb Komolafe

Behind that sturdy offensive line is redshirt sophomore running back Caleb Komolafe. The Cats leaned on him earlier this season with 27 carries for 119 yards and a score against UCLA. In that game, he was the first Northwestern back in three years to surpass the century mark.

Then, he did it twice more against Nebraska and USC with a combined 34 carries for 243 yards and three touchdowns. Komolafe was also involved in the pass game against USC, recording a career-high five receptions for 40 yards. It wouldn’t be a shock for them to expand upon that in this game against the Wolverines.

He has shown real promise in pass pro as well, picking up rushing blockers well with his 5-foot-111, 210-pound frame. As Wink Martindale dials up blitzes on obvious passing downs, watch for Komolafe to stop some of the Michigan linebackers in their tracks, giving Stone more time under heat.

More at NCAAF College Football News, Photos, Stats, Scores, Schedule & Videos