Northwestern football players look forward to playing along the lake this season
EVANSTON, Ill. (CBS) -- This college football season, the Northwestern Wildcats will try to replicate their surprising success from last season.
Northwestern will also have perhaps the most picturesque home field in college football while Ryan Field gets a makeover.
The Wildcats got their first impression of playing on the newly-named Northwestern Medicine Field at Martin Stadium. While it's still an active construction site, excitement was building for head coach David Braun and a team coming off eight wins for the first time in five years.
"It fits Northwestern and I think that's what's so cool about it," Braun said. "I would challenge anyone in the country to get a bunch of people together to be this creative, this solutions-based, to pull something off like this."
The Cats' temporary home for the next two seasons holds about 15,000 fans compared to just over 47,000 at Ryan Field, but players feel that can create a unique home field advantage.
"They're worried about the stadium and not about the game," said running back Cam Porter. "So that's gonna work in our favor. No, but it'll be good. It'll be fun. I'm sure they're gonna be amazed just like we are."
"I think there's just been a buzz around campus, you know, within our program, within our community, as far as this being our home field," said receiver A.J. Henning. "It's right here on campus. Students can easily come to the games and it being here, our home field where we played and practiced on for years now to this point, it makes it that much more special to us."
Construction crews continued their quick work as the first of five home games for Northwestern is just over two weeks away on Aug. 31 against Miami of Ohio.