Northwestern has released its depth chart for its Week 5 Big Ten opener against Minnesota (Saturday, 11 a.m., Big Ten Network), and there are barely any shake-ups despite the injuries suffered by some players Saturday. This does not mean those players will play against Minnesota though:
(Changes in bold italic)
Players who are injury question marks have a * next to their names
| Starter/1st String | Backup/2nd String | |
| Quarterback | Clayton Thorson | Zack Oliver OR Matt Alviti |
| Running Back | Justin Jackson | Warren Long |
| X-Receiver | Austin Carr | Cameron Dickerson |
| Y-Receiver | Christian Jones | Flynn Nagel |
| Z-Receiver | Miles Shuler | Mike McHugh |
| Superback | Dan Vitale | Garrett Dickerson* |
| Left Tackle | Geoff Mogus* | Tommy Doles |
| Left Guard | Connor Mahoney | J.B. Butler |
| Center | Ian Park | Brad North |
| Right Guard | Shane Mertz | Sam Coverdale |
| Right Tackle | Eric Olson | Blake Hance |
| Starter/1st String | Backup/2nd String | |
| Defensive End | Dean Lowry | Xavier Washington |
| Defensive Tackle | C.J. Robbins | Max Chapman |
| Defensive Tackle | Tyler Lancaster | Jordan Thompson |
| Defensive End | Deonte Gibson | Ifeadi Odenigbo* |
| SAM Linebacker | Drew Smith | Joseph Jones |
| MIKE Linebacker | Anthony Walker | Cameron Queiro |
| WILL Linebacker | Jaylen Prater | Nate Hall |
| Cornerback | Matt Harris | Marcus McShepard |
| Safety | Traveon Henry | Terrance Brown |
| Safety | Godwin Igwebuike* | Jared McGee |
| Cornerback | Nick VanHoose | Keith Watkins |
| Starter/1st String | Backup/2nd String | |
| Kicker | Jack Mitchell | Arthur Omilian |
| Punter | Hunter Niswander | Matt Micucci |
| Kickoff Specialist | Matt Micucci | |
| Kick Returner | Solomon Vault | Jelani Roberts |
| Punt Returner | Miles Shuler | Flynn Nagel |
| Long Snapper | Chris Fitzpatrick |