Northwestern Takes Down South Dakota State 34-18 in Season Opener

EVANSTON, Ill. — Northwestern secured a 34-18 victory over South Dakota State in its 2026 season opener on Friday night at Northwestern Medicine Field at Martin Stadium. The Wildcats (1-0, 0-0 B1G) never trailed in their matchup with the two-time FCS national champions. With the result, Dan and Susan Jones Family Head Football Coach David Braun improved to 4-0 in home openers. “We said it earlier this week — that’s a championship-caliber program. They were going to be physical, well-coached, resilient and they showed all of that today. That’s a really good football team, and this is a really good…