LockSZN
Aug 28, 12:06 PM EDTupdated
Rankings · College · 2026 current page

Northwestern

6–6 FBS · Big Ten · 2025
Rating
+2.8
Rank
55
Résumé
54
Our picks
7–3
Expected wins · what our pregame odds said the games were worth
4.9expected wins · finished 6–6
Bowl (6+)33%
9+ wins0%
11+ wins0%

6–6 against 4.9 expected wins. Second-order wins — the record their play deserved — put them at 5.8.

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

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

Model ledger

2025 · our line against every result
DateOpponentOur lineCloseResultPerformancePick
Sat, Aug 30at TulaneNU +9.4+6.5L 3–2321WIN
Sat, Sep 13OregonNU +29.3+25.5L 14–3425LOSS
Sat, Sep 27UCLANU −4.4−6.0W 17–1454WIN
Sat, Oct 4UL MonroeNU −14.5−12.5W 42–758WIN
Sat, Oct 11at Penn StateNU +26.6+20.5W 22–2144LOSS
Sat, Oct 18PurdueNU −8.7−3.0W 19–070WIN
Sat, Oct 25at NebraskaNU +8.7+7.0L 21–2850PUSH
Fri, Nov 7at USCNU +18.5+14.5L 17–3836WIN
Sat, Nov 15MichiganNU +13.9+10.0L 22–2430LOSS
Sat, Nov 22MinnesotaNU PK−4.0W 38–3553WIN
Sat, Nov 29at IllinoisNU +6.9+7.0L 13–2041PUSH
Fri, Dec 26Central MichiganNU −14.7−13.5W 34–778WIN

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.