Lion Tales: Ryan Field

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One of Friday night’s big stories is that Northwestern will be opening its posh new version of Ryan Field with a nationally televised game.

The previous stadium was completely torn down with the new place being built right upon the rubble along Central Street in Evanston.

Rather than look back at one game, here’s a quick summary of how Penn State has played against Northwestern in the Chicago suburbs. The answer is that typically it’s gone pretty well for the road team. Penn State is 8-3 all time in Evanston as they hope to spoil the first game in the new stadium later this week.

1993: Penn State 43, Northwestern 21

Mike Archie had a couple of touchdowns, while Bobby Engram had a big day at wide receiver as Penn State pulled away for an easy win in the second half. By the way, this was before Ryan Field had a significant renovation and the stadium was known as Dyche Stadium at the time. This was Penn State’s first season in the Big Ten and its first ever game against the Wildcats.

1995: Northwestern 21, Penn State 10

The Lions were defending conference champions, but they were shut down by Pat Fitzgerald and company in what was arguably the biggest home win of the season for Northwestern. Star running back Darnell Autry scored all three touchdowns for the Wildcats.

1997: Penn State 30, Northwestern 27

The No. 2 Nittany Lions led 30-13 with just four minutes left in the game before the Wildcats scored two late touchdowns to put a scare into Penn State. It was the Lions’ running game that did the damage in this one as Anthony Cleary had a pair of scoring runs and star tailback Curtis Enis also contributed a score.

2001: Penn State 38, Northwestern 35

This back-and-forth game saw Joe Paterno tie Bear Bryant for the most wins in Division IA (as it was known at the time) football with 323 victories. Zack Mills subbed for the injured Matt Senneca at quarterback midway through Penn State’s final drive and threw the game-winning score as the Lions earned their first win of the season.

2003: Northwestern 17, Penn State 7

One of the worst Penn State teams ever and they played one of the most boring games of that season, though they did lead 7-0 at the half after a Zack Mills touchdown run. But, the Wildcats outscored the Lions 17-0 in the fourth quarter to beat Penn State for just the second time ever.

2005: Penn State 34, Northwestern 29

This is likely the most famous of all of Penn State’s wins in Evanston in this series. The Lions came to Northwestern with a 3-0 record, but they were unchallenged. Though they trailed most of the day, Michael Robinson led a clutch fourth-quarter drive in the closing seconds, hitting freshman Derrick Williams with a scoring pass that helped jumpstart the Lions to their first Big Ten title since 1994.

2009: Penn State 34, Northwestern 13

Evan Royster (100+ yards and a score) and Derek Moye (100+ receiving yards and a touchdown) helped the Lions break open the game in the second half. Penn State improved to 8-1 on the season with the victory.

2011: Penn State 34, Northwestern 24

The two teams played a wild first half that saw the Wildcats score all 24 of their points in the first two quarters. Penn State made the necessary defensive adjustments in the second half and Silas Redd helped run the Lions to a night-game road win.

2015: Northwestern 23, Penn State 21

Saquon Barkley put Penn State in position to get the win, but Northwestern kicked a late field goal to give the Wildcats the win. The loss started a late season skid for Penn State, ultimately leading to John Donovan being replaced as offensive coordinator for the Lions.

2017: Penn State 31, Northwestern 7

The highly touted Lions dominated after a slow start. Barkley broke a long touchdown run, while Trace McSorley hit Tommy Stevens with a key early touchdown pass.

2023: Penn State 41, Northwestern 13

Nicholas Singleton fumbled the opening kickoff to let the Wildcats take an early lead and Penn State was shaky for the first two quarters. But, the Nittany Lions ultimately tightened things up and won easily in their last ever game at the old Ryan Field.

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