Fun Facts: Iowa-Northwestern, the Wrigley Field edition

You can’t beat fun at the old ballpark. Or Fun Facts about an Iowa-Northwestern football game being played at the old ballpark, Wrigley Field.

1. The last time Iowa played a Big Ten opponent in a baseball stadium was in 1904 when it faced Minnesota at Athletic Park in Cedar Rapids.

2. In its two previous games at Wrigley, Northwestern lost 32-14 to Purdue in 2021 and 48-27 to Illinois in 2010. Iowa has never played there.

3. Iowa hasn’t allowed a touchdown since Oct. 7.

4. The Wildcats have lost just one fumble this season. Fresno State is the only team in the country with none.

5. Northwestern is 13th in the Big Ten in total offense. It averages 75 more yards per game than Iowa.

6. Iowa linebacker Jay Higgins leads all Power Five conference players in tackles with 101.

7. Northwestern interim head coach David Braun was the special teams coordinator at Northern Iowa in 2018.

8. The only teams with less than 10 touchdown passes and 1,000 passing yards are Air Force, Navy and Iowa.

9. Iowa has won 16 of its last 18 November games.

10. The over/under for this game was at 30 to 31 points this week depending on the sportsbook. The highest-scoring game at Wrigley this year was the Cubs’ 20-9 win over Cincinnati on Aug. 1.

11. Iowa and UCLA lead the nation in fewest rushing touchdowns allowed with one.

12. The header photo on Northwestern defensive tackle Carmine Bastone’s X (Twitter) page is of Rocky Balboa punching a side of beef.

13. If Northwestern beats Iowa, Michigan State defeats Nebraska, Illinois tops Minnesota, and Indiana upsets Wisconsin Saturday, there will be a 5-way tie at the top of the Big Ten West at 3-3.

14. The first-ever Hawkeye Huddle at a tiki bar will be Saturday, at the Bamboo Club in Wrigleyville. A Pu Pu Platter goes for $47.

15. Previously, Iowa football teams have played in the then-home stadiums of Major League Baseball clubs in Anaheim, Miami, Minneapolis, New York and San Diego.

16. The Chicago Bears played regular-season home games at Wrigley from 1921 to 1970. A National Hockey League game was held there in 2009.

17. Last year, Northwestern and the Bears combined to go 4-25.

18. In 1965 at Wrigley, Gale Sayers of the Bears tied the NFL record for touchdowns in a game with six. One was on an 80-yard pass play, one on a 50-yard rush, one on an 85-yard punt return. The record, shared with two other players, still stands.

19. AC/DC, the de facto rock band of Iowa football, performed at Wrigley in 2015.

20. The game is being played in a stadium renamed in 1926 for chewing gum magnate William Wrigley. Iowa Coach Kirk Ferentz always chews Bubble Yum during games.