LockSZN
Aug 28, 12:06 PM EDTupdated
Rankings · College

Northwestern

0–0 FBS · Big Ten · 2026
Rating
+2.8
Rank
55
Résumé
—
Our picks
—
2026 preseasonRating and rank begin with last season's strength. The record, résumé, and team-performance report start fresh when games are played.View Northwestern's 2025 final page
Projected wins · our pregame odds for every game left
4.5projected wins · 12 games
Bowl (6+)32%
9+ wins2%
11+ wins0%

Preseason odds: every line starts from last season and offseason inputs, so this moves most in September. Bands come from the playoff simulation, which carries team-quality uncertainty — early-season spread is honestly wide.

Ranking by week151025Wk 0Wk 7Wk 14Wk 23
Ours 55thFinal

Playoff picture

from 10,000 season simulations
Reach title game1%
Win conference1%
Make the CFP2%
First-round bye<1%
Win it all<1%

Simulated from our pregame win probability for every remaining game; the CFP field is picked by a committee stand-in, so treat those odds as model-derived. Full bracket on the playoffs page.

Luck & what-ifs

2025 final
One-score record
3–3
decided by 8 or fewer
Wins vs expected
+1.1
6–6 vs 4.9
One-score games flipped
6–6
what-if record
Turnover margin
+4
expected −5.0

Luck: +0.2 wins versus the record their play deserved. Banked wins keep; the pace is what regresses.

ConjPWR profile

2025 final · 86th · −4.8 pts vs avg
What repeats — the ratingvs averagepts / game
Offense efficiency−0.166th
Offense play value−1.290th
Defense efficiency−1.9109th
Defense play value−1.688th
Drive finishing−0.495th
Field position+0.444th
What doesn't — luckvs averagepts / game
Ball security−0.080th
Third-down conversion−0.080th

Points per game vs an average team, opponent-adjusted and weighted by how much the factor repeats — the tagged luck factors are already discounted to near zero. Luck added −0.5 pts/game to results; in CFB that pace regresses.

Hidden game

special teams · disruption · style
Special teams EPA / game
+1.4
23rd
Havoc rate
9.9%
86th
Rush rate over expected
+0.7%
53rd · run-leaning

The pieces the ConjPWR factors don't cover: kicking-game value, defensive disruption, and run/pass lean (style, not quality).

Where they sit · offense vs defensepinch or ⌘/ctrl + scroll to zoom
−0.200.00+0.20FBS averageKansas StateIowa StateKansasFresno StateWestern KentuckySam HoustonHawai'iStanfordSouth FloridaBoise StateRutgersOhioAkronWyomingNC StateEast CarolinaUCFJacksonville StateMinnesotaBuffaloCincinnatiNebraskaWisconsinMiami (OH)Michigan StateWestern MichiganCharlotteApp StateWake ForestKennesaw StateBaylorAuburnColoradoGeorgia TechUNLVSan José StateCentral MichiganMarylandFlorida AtlanticPurdueBall StateTennesseeSyracuseSouthern MissMississippi StateOhio StateTexasTulaneKentuckyToledoIndianaOld DominionPenn StateNevadaFlorida StateAlabamaMassachusettsTempleGeorgiaMarshallVirginiaCoastal CarolinaTexas A&MUTSAUtah StateUTEPClemsonLSUMichiganNew MexicoUSCMissouri StateOle MissGeorgia StateLouisianaRiceTexas StateEastern MichiganGeorgia SouthernOregon StateCaliforniaArizonaWashingtonColorado StateUCLAUtahSouth CarolinaVirginia TechMiamiNotre DameNorth CarolinaTCULouisvilleJames MadisonNorthern IllinoisPittsburghFlorida InternationalIowaDukeIllinoisLibertyUConnTexas TechKent StateSMUDelawareTroyMissouriBowling GreenOregonOklahoma StateNorth TexasNavyUABMiddle TennesseeWest VirginiaFloridaArkansasArkansas StateMemphisArmySouth AlabamaHoustonVanderbiltLouisiana TechOklahomaArizona StateBoston CollegeUL MonroeNew Mexico StateTulsaBYUWashington StateSan Diego StateAir ForceNUgood offense, good defense →Offense EPA/play →better defense →
Northwesternoff +0.04 60thdef +0.10 98th

Every FBS team, 2025 final. EPA is garbage-time filtered. Tap a logo for its numbers.

Pick record · our line vs the close
7–3against the closing line
Pick was the favorite5–3
Pick was the dog2–0
Home / away side5–1 / 2–2
Average gap to the close+3.5 pts
Our line beat the close6 of 12

Graded against the closing line, not the open. A push counts as neither.

Schedule strength

opponent rating, points vs average
Avg opponentFBS rank
Played+2.650th
Full season+2.650th

Upcoming

our line · the market · play or pass at a DK/FD price
DateOpponentOur lineMarketOur call
Sat, Sep 5South Dakota StateNU −27.4NU −13.0NU −13.0No price
Sat, Sep 19ColoradoNU −6.8—no line
Fri, Sep 25at IndianaNU +25.7—no line
Fri, Oct 2Penn StateNU +8.8—no line
Sat, Oct 10Ball StateNU −19.3—no line
Sat, Oct 17at Michigan StateNU PK—no line
Sat, Oct 24RutgersNU −2.2—no line
Sat, Oct 31at OregonNU +18.5—no line
Sat, Nov 7IowaNU +6.9—no line
Sat, Nov 14at Ohio StateNU +21.9—no line
Sat, Nov 21at MinnesotaNU +1.3—no line
Sat, Nov 28IllinoisNU +0.6—no line

How to read this page

EPA/playExpected points added per play.
Success rateShare of plays gaining enough for the down.
Quality driveA drive reaching a first down inside the opponent's 40.
Points per QDFinishing — points scored per quality drive.
QD ratioOur quality drives against theirs. Game control.
RROERush rate over expected for down, distance, score and time.
Game percentileThis performance against every FBS game this season.
Expected winsOur pregame win probabilities summed — computed exactly, no simulations.
Havoc rateTFLs, sacks, passes defensed, forced fumbles per defensive snap.
Second-order winsThe record a team's play-by-play performance deserved.

Records and stats cover FBS-vs-FBS games only — the games the model grades. Every number comes from a leak-checked walk-forward pipeline — no retroactive edits, no deleted picks. Picks grade against the closing line. Rate stats exclude garbage time (win probability outside 5–95%); turnovers are counted whole. Not betting advice.