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Big Ten

Northwestern

2026 Season Performance

#35
Rank
4-1
Record
45.4
Points
0.691
SOS

Current Form

W2 streak
COLD
Last 3 2-1
Last 5 4-1

Key Games

Best W vs #36 Penn State 34-13
Worst L @ #32 Indiana 23-29

Record Splits

Home 4-0
Away 0-1
Conference 1-1
Non-Conf 3-0
Close (7 pts or less) 0-1
FCS Opponents 1

Remaining Schedule

Opponent ranks are today’s and will move
7
games left
#55.7
avg opponent rank
#10
toughest left
86.27
pts if they win out
Week
Opponent
Win worth
7
10-17
@
#79 Michigan State
2-4
+12.69
8
10-24
vs
#126 Rutgers
1-4
+6.45
9
10-31
@
#34 Oregon
3-2
+15.57
10
11-07
vs
#22 Iowa
5-1
+10.89
11
11-14
@
#10 Ohio State
5-1
+17.11
12
11-21
@
#44 Minnesota
4-2
+14.93
13
11-28
vs
#75 Illinois
3-3
+8.63

“Win worth” is base points scaled by location and the opponent’s current strength. It excludes margin and quality-win bonuses, which depend on a result that hasn’t happened.

Rank Progression

#19
#33
#47
#61
#77
Pre
#51
W3
#24
W6
#35
W9
#37
W12
#37
W15
#35

Season Breakdown

Hover Wk 15 pts for details
Week
Game
Score
Wk 6
Wk 15
Diff
1
09/06
W
NR vs #30 South Dakota State
34-18
+0.0
+0.0
Point Breakdown
FCS Opponent - 0 pts
+0.0
3
09/19
W
#67 vs #54 Colorado
41-7
+16.4
+16.5
Point Breakdown
Base Points
+10.0 10.0
Location Modifiers
-1.0 9.0
Win Opp Modifier
-0.3 8.7
Margin Scaling
+4.8 13.5
Against the Spread (-3.5, +30.5)
+3.0 16.5
Total 16.5 pts
+0.2
4
09/26
L
#24 @ #32 Indiana
23-29
-0.2
-0.7
Point Breakdown
Base Points
-8.0 -8.0
Location Modifiers
+2.0 -6.0
Loss Opp Modifier
+3.0 -3.0
Loss Record Modifier
+1.0 -2.0
Margin Scaling
-1.1 -3.1
Recency Weighting
-0.6 -3.7
Against the Spread (+20.25, +14.25)
+3.0 -0.7
Total -0.7 pts
-0.5
5
10/03
W
#49 vs #36 Penn State
34-13
+21.7
+23.0
Point Breakdown
Base Points
+10.0 10.0
Location Modifiers
-1.0 9.0
Win Opp Modifier
+3.7 12.7
Margin Scaling
+4.3 17.0
Recency Weighting
+3.1 20.0
Against the Spread (+2.75, +23.75)
+3.0 23.0
Total 23.0 pts
+1.4
6
10/10
W
#28 vs #129 Ball State
45-14
+7.6
+7.5
Point Breakdown
Base Points
+10.0 10.0
Location Modifiers
-1.0 9.0
Win Opp Modifier
-4.4 4.6
Margin Scaling
+3.8 8.4
Against the Spread (-34.75, -3.75)
-0.9 7.5
Total 7.5 pts
-0.1
Total
4-1 Record
45.4
46.4
+1.0

All-Time Summary (2016-2026)

11
Seasons
57-65
Record
47%
Win Rate
#54
Avg Rank
#4
Best Rank
0.849
Avg SOS

Final Rank by Season

#1
#34
#67
#100
#134
2016
#34
2017
#11
2018
#8
2019
#96
2020
#7
2021
#104
2022
#124
2023
#22
2024
#91
2025
#57
2026
#35

Season-by-Season Breakdown

Year Conference Record Final Rank Best Rank Points SOS Champion
2026 Big Ten 4-1 (80%) #35 #24 46.3 0.683 -
2025 Big Ten 6-6 (50%) #57 #41 51.8 0.843 -
2024 Big Ten 4-8 (33%) #91 #18 0.8 0.852 -
2023 Big Ten 7-5 (58%) #22 #21 108.5 0.846 -
2022 Big Ten 1-11 (8%) #124 #6 -65.6 0.895 -
2021 Big Ten 3-9 (25%) #104 #74 -39.2 0.853 -
2020 Big Ten 6-2 (75%) #7 #4 144.4 0.943 -
2019 Big Ten 3-9 (25%) #96 #70 -20.4 0.861 -
2018 Big Ten 8-5 (62%) #8 #6 220.7 0.916 -
2017 Big Ten 9-3 (75%) #11 #11 186.3 0.830 -
2016 Big Ten 6-6 (50%) #34 #22 89.6 0.813 -