A trip to play at Northwestern used to include the Big Ten’s worst road venue.

The old Ryan Field would be more than half empty, and late-season games often came with the gales of November whipping off Lake Michigan. The Gophers’ last trip to Evanston, Illinois — a 37-34 overtime loss in 2023 — included a partially closed concourse due to pieces of the ceiling falling to the floor.

While a new $862 million Ryan Field is built on the same site for next season, the Wildcats have been playing the majority of home games on a makeshift field near campus, then two late-season games at the Chicago Cubs’ Wrigley Field.

Minnesota (6-4, 4-3 Big Ten) gets the latter treat. The Gophers will head to “The Friendly Confines” for a Big Ten game against Northwestern (5-5, 3-4) at 11 a.m. Saturday.

“It’

See Full Page