Northwestern
B10 · 2026 Season · at MICHIGAN STATE (Sat 12:00 PM ET)
Record
4–1
0.800 Win %
Conference
9th
1–1 in B10
All-Time Resume
Ranked Seasons
131
1892–2026
All-Time Record
558–696–40
0.447 Win %
Peak Final Rank
#6
1930, 1931
#1 Finishes
0
Top 5: 0 · Top 10: 4 · Top 25: 28
- 12-Team Playoff & Revenue Era · 1 seasons
- Limited Playoff Era · 25 seasons
- Independents & Bowl Tie-In Era · 16 seasons · 1 Top 10
- Divisional Era · 26 seasons
- AP Poll & Postwar Era · 20 seasons
- Forward Pass & Stadium Boom Era · 28 seasons · 2 Top 10
- Pioneer Era · 14 seasons · 1 Top 10
Final finishes, as published; the season in progress counts toward record only. Compare Northwestern head-to-head · History & Eras
2026 Schedule & Results
| Wk | Date | Opponent | Conf | Opp. Record | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Sat, Sep 5 | vs South Dakota State | FCS | — | W 34–18 |
| 2 | BYE | ||||
| 3 | Sat, Sep 19 | vs  Colorado (COLORADO)H2H |  B12 | 2–3 | W 41–7 |
| 4 | Fri, Sep 25 | at  Indiana (INDIANA)H2H |  B10 | 6–0 | L 23–29 |
| 5 | Fri, Oct 2 | vs  Penn State (PENN STATE)H2H | B10 | 3–3 | W 34–13 |
| 6 | Sat, Oct 10 | vs  Ball State (BALL STATE)H2H |  MAC | 1–5 | W 45–14 |
| 7 | Sat, Oct 17 | at  Michigan State (MICHIGAN STATE)H2H | B10 | 2–4 | 12:00 PM ET |
| 8 | Sat, Oct 24 | vs  Rutgers (RUTGERS)H2H | B10 | 1–4 | TBD |
| 9 | Sat, Oct 31 | at  Oregon (OREGON)H2H | B10 | 3–2 | TBD |
| 10 | Sat, Nov 7 | vs  Iowa (IOWA)H2H | B10 | 5–1 | TBD |
| 11 | Sat, Nov 14 | at  Ohio State (OHIO STATE)H2H | B10 | 5–1 | TBD |
| 12 | Sat, Nov 21 | at  Minnesota (MINNESOTA)H2H | B10 | 4–2 | TBD |
| 13 | Sat, Nov 28 | vs  Illinois (ILLINOIS)H2H | B10 | 3–3 | TBD |
Kickoff times in Eastern Time. TBD = not yet announced. vs* = neutral site. Opp. Record is the current season record; — = unavailable.
Paramount (best)Rock Bottom
Where the rating sits on the 12-tier scale (lower is better).
+6
0+6
- Penn State +3
- Colorado +2
- Ball State +1
- Indiana 0
Each win stacks that opponent's win total to the right; each loss stacks that opponent's loss total to the left.
Rank #35Better than 75%
Win % Place 27thBetter than 81%
0.800 Win % · No change
Percent of all FBS teams this team is ahead of.
Higher on the chart = better rank.
+16
+34
-6
+21
+31
Bars above the line are wins, below are losses; height = point margin.
Higher = better finish. Ranks as published.