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Relive Onward State’s Road Trip To Northwestern

Cadyn Gill | Onward State
By Cadyn Gill
10/6/26 4:07 am

After taking a trip to Philadelphia on September 12 to play Temple at Lincoln Financial Field, Penn State football hosted back-to-back games at Beaver Stadium against Buffalo and Wisconsin.

Week 5 finally saw the Nittany Lions leave the state, as they headed to Evanston, Illinois, to take on Northwestern last Friday at New Ryan Field.

The 34-13 loss was a horrendous sight, but at least the football beat was able to enjoy a lovely trip to the Windy City.

Let’s take a look at all that went down during Onward State’s four-day trip to Evanston!

Thursday

An obscure Friday night game and a 10-hour drive forced us to skip class (sorry Mom and Dad) and leave State College at 11:30 a.m. on Thursday.

At last, we finally had our full team of two photographers and three writers approved for credentials, so the car was packed.

After about two hours of driving, we pulled over at a Sheetz to refuel Jamie’s whip.

Some of the beat got snacks, like Oscar and his chili cheese Fritos that I verbally accosted him for. However, while Jamie was pumping the gas, Oscar let me try one, and perhaps I was too harsh, because it really wasn’t bad.

Just wouldn’t be my go-to. I went snack-less in anticipation of losing my Culver’s virginity in the near future.

Speak of the devil.

As a Dallas native, I have longed to try a ButterBurger, cheese curds, and frozen custard from the Midwest-based chain.

The road trip to Illinois gave me that opportunity, but I was a bit underwhelmed. My double ButterBurger with cheese, lettuce, and grilled onions was delicious, but the onion rings were weak. Bonus points for having diet root beer; I broke road trip rule No. 1 and got four refills. I tried some of Jamie’s cheese curds and was not impressed.

Ella accidentally scammed herself a free burger because the toppings she ordered seemed to be missing (they were actually just vacuum-sealed between a slice of cheese and a patty). I ended up taking the top bun and the patty, ripping them in half, to make half a double cheeseburger so I’d feel fully satiated and avoid food waste.

I was too fat and happy to order custard as we got back on the road. Perhaps another time.

We then played a Harmon Killebrew-adjacent athlete naming game. Essentially, we named an athlete whose first name began with the first letter of the previous athlete’s last name.

Example: Jamie says Drew Allar, I say Aaron Rodgers, then Oscar says Ronald Acuna.

This went on for a looong time before we finally got sick of it and shifted back to some music.

But then Jamie, Oscar, and Ella decided to torture Ericka and me with the entire Hamilton soundtrack. It was brutal.

We made it into Indiana at 7 p.m. on the dot, but the restlessness was kicking in.

Two hours later, we stopped in South Bend, Indiana, to visit one of the nation’s most historic universities: Notre Dame.

We saw the stadium, walked around campus, and then infiltrated the Fighting Irish student center, where they were handing out free ice cream from a local joint.

Of course, as revenge for the 2025 Orange Bowl, we posed as Notre Dame students and got some frozen deliciousness. My birthday cake hit the spot as we headed into the home stretch.

We got to our Motel 6 just before midnight, ready for some rest. But of course, the less-than-ideal housing had weak outlets that caused trouble while we inflated Oscar’s air mattress.

We eventually got it pumped up so everyone could catch some Zs.

Friday

Bright-eyed and bushy-tailed, the beat left the motel just before noon and headed to the Rogers Park neighborhood for some grub.

I identified a popular spot called Honeybear Cafe, a diner known for over-the-top sweet breakfasts and crazy portions.

I opted for a massive steak breakfast quesadilla, but quickly regretted it. It simply wasn’t all that great for $30 with tip, mostly because the filling was 90% flavorless, wet scrambled egg. I should have just embraced my sweet tooth and gotten French toast. Oh well!

We headed 15 minutes north to Northwestern’s campus, where we were greeted by the massive Lake Michigan and stunningly sleek modern architecture.

The open utopia truly was eye-opening coming from University Park, which features boring brick buildings crammed together for miles.

We went into Northwestern’s student center, sifted through the bookstore, then began our trek through the Evanston suburbs toward New Ryan Field.

Oscar, a Los Angeles native and well-documented die-hard Rams fan, agreed with me when I said New Ryan Field reminded me of SoFi Stadium.

After we got our credentials, we marched into Chicago’s signature Big Ten stadium and began exploring. The press box served us dinner at 5 p.m., headlined by fruit, coleslaw, loaded mashed potatoes, and extremely underseasoned grilled chicken.

I must have had about four Diet Cokes on the night, too.

The game quickly got out of hand for Penn State, but nonetheless, we enjoyed being part of history as the first media members to cover a game at New Ryan Field!

Our postgame duties ended around 1:30 a.m. on Saturday, and by the time we got back to the motel, it was almost 3 a.m., so we were lights out the moment we hit our pillows.

Saturday

After suffering through each and every one of the 413 rushing yards the Wildcats pounded through Penn State’s defense, we had earned some vacation time.

I’ve logged my fair share of travel, so naturally, I took the role of itinerary leader.

Up first was Wicker Park, a lovely neighborhood northwest of downtown Chicago. We stopped at Mindy’s Bakery for breakfast, which everyone seemed to thoroughly enjoy. I ordered one sweet and one savory pastry, along with their special banana malt latte. It was pricey, but I enjoyed every sip and bite.

We went into a Barnes & Noble, a thrift store, and a few other shops before taking an Uber deeper into the city. Oscar and I are fans of the Hulu show “The Bear,” so we had to see Mr. Beef, where the restaurant in the show is based.

Afterward, we went to the Chicago Riverwalk and the ever-iconic “bean.”

We ended our day downtown with deep-dish pizza at Giordano’s, then strolled to Navy Pier.

We also drove to Wrigley Field to check out one of MLB’s most historic venues, bought some souvenirs, and grabbed a quick bite while watching the end of the USC-Washington game before heading home.

Sunday

Our day of return was pretty uneventful, being headlined by stops at Dunkin’, a sketchy gas station in Gary, Indiana, and not one, not two, but three Burger Kings for either food or bathroom breaks.

Around noon, Oscar and I hopped on NFL Sunday Ticket to watch our teams, the Rams and Cowboys, pick up some much-needed dubs.

I’m sure Ella and Ericka did not appreciate our passionate cheering, but what can we say? It’s never “just” football!

We arrived back in State College around 10 p.m., but the beat never sleeps, so we had to finish up our stories that we started in the car before calling it a night.

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About the Author

Cadyn Gill

Cadyn is a fourth-year broadcast journalism major at Penn State. Hailing from the great state of Texas, he is a die hard Dallas sports fan. You'll often see him voicing his opinions on music and sports on X/Twitter @cgill214.

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