Northwestern released the upcoming 2011 football schedule Thursday night, which features the first match-up against new Big Ten member Nebraska since the 2000 Alamo Bowl. The schedule also finalized the changes to the non-conference schedule affected by the restructured conference slates.
Northwestern will open the season on the road against another Bowl Championship Series conference opponent for a second consecutive season. It will be also the second consecutive season in which Northwestern plays only six games at Ryan Field.
The game against Rice is finalized as Northwestern’s Family Weekend, which was up in the air after the conference realignment affected the original scheduled date. In a brief shift of tradition, Northwestern will open the 2011 Big Ten season against Illinois, a rivalry match-up typically reserved towards the end of the season.
Northwestern continues its goal of scheduling games against opponents of similar academic and athletic accomplishment, notably against Boston College, Army and Rice in 2011, and Vanderbilt and Boston College again in 2012.
2011 NORTHWESTERN FOOTBALL SCHEDULE
9/3/11 @ Boston College
9/10/11 vs. Eastern Illinois
9/17/11 @ Army
9/24/11 BYE
10/1/11 @ Illinois
10/8/11 vs. Michigan
10/15/11 @ Iowa
10/22/11 vs. Penn State (Homecoming)
10/29/11 @ Indiana
11/5/11 @ Nebraska
11/12/11 vs. Rice (Family Weekend)
11/19/11 vs. Minnesota
11/26/11 vs. Michigan State
2012 NORTHWESTERN FOOTBALL SCHEDULE
9/1/12 @ Syracuse
9/8/12 vs. Vanderbilt
9/15/12 vs. Boston College
9/22/12 vs. South Dakota
9/29/12 vs. Indiana
10/6/12 @ Penn State
10/13/12 @ Minnesota
10/20/12 vs. Nebraska (Family Weekend)
10/27/12 vs. Iowa (Homecoming)
11/3/12 BYE
11/10/12 @ Michigan
11/17/12 @ Michigan State
11/24/12 vs. Illinois