Northwestern will open its new stadium under Friday night lights against Penn State on Oct. 2

FILE - A Northwestern helmet is seen on the bench before an NCAA college football game against Iowa, Oct. 26, 2024, in Iowa City, Iowa.
FILE - A Northwestern helmet is seen on the bench before an NCAA college football game against Iowa, Oct. 26, 2024, in Iowa City, Iowa. Photo credit AP Photo/Charlie Neibergall, File

EVANSTON, Ill. (AP) — Northwestern will open its new stadium under the Friday night lights against Penn State on Oct. 2 after playing two more games on the lakefront next season. The school says the Wildcats will host South Dakota State on Sept. 5 and Colorado two weeks later while construction on Ryan Field is completed. They will play five games in their new home starting with the matchup against Penn State. That game will happen 100 years to the day that the original stadium on the same site opened. Northwestern has played home games the past two years at a temporary lakefront facility and at Wrigley Field in Chicago.

Featured Image Photo Credit: AP Photo/Charlie Neibergall, File