Northwestern — Big Ten
HC
David Braun · Lanny and Sharon Martin Stadium · Evanston, IL · 12,023 cap
PPA off / def
0.15 / 0.17
2025
Class rank
#52
class of 2026
Returning PPA
89%
returning production
vs Ohio State — OSU leads 66–14
| 2024 |
OSU W 31–7 | away |
| 2022 |
OSU W 21–7 | away |
| 2020 |
OSU W 22–10 | Columbus |
| 2019 |
OSU W 52–3 | away |
| 2018 |
OSU W 45–24 | Columbus |
| 2016 |
OSU W 24–20 | Columbus |
| 2013 |
OSU W 40–30 | away |
| 2008 |
OSU W 45–10 | away |
| 2007 |
OSU W 58–7 | Columbus |
| 2006 |
OSU W 54–10 | away |
| + 71 earlier meetings in archive |
2026 schedule
2025 results (7–6)
Statistical comps — 2025 Northwestern's closest analogs
Nearest neighbors by z-scored success rate, explosiveness, run rate & havoc (offense + defense), 2015–25.
2025 leaders
Transfer portal — 2026 (17 in / 8 out)
Origins
The conference's academic outlier, and once its doormat: 34 straight losses into 1971 and again 23 straight into 1982. The 1995 team went to the Rose Bowl anyway, which remains one of football's least likely seasons.
Founded 1851 · Founded by Methodist businessmen to serve the Northwest Territory · first football 1882 · defined by Otto Graham
All-time record
All-time
568–709–40
1892–2025
Win %
44.6%
132 seasons played
Winning seasons
50
38% of seasons
| Best seasons | W | L | Conference |
|---|
| 1903 | 10 | 1 | Western |
| 1995 | 10 | 2 | Big Ten |
| 2017 | 10 | 3 | Big Ten |
| 2015 | 10 | 3 | Big Ten |
| 2012 | 10 | 3 | Big Ten |
Season records from CollegeFootballData, which is why the span starts at 1892 — that is where its coverage of this program begins, not necessarily the first year it fielded a team.
Play-calling tendencies (2025 · garbage time excluded)
| Situation | Plays | Run % | Success % | Nat'l | Avg yds | Expl % |
|---|
| 1st down | 332 | 54% |
43% | 76 of 136 | 5.5 | 10% |
| 2nd down | 250 | 56% |
42% | 72 of 136 | 5.1 | 11% |
| 3rd & short (≤3) | 44 | 77% |
64% | — | 5.3 | 9% |
| 3rd & medium (4–7) | 57 | 26% |
51% | — | 7.2 | 16% |
| 3rd & long (8+) | 59 | 15% |
25% | — | 5.5 | 15% |
| 4th down | 23 | 52% |
61% | — | 3.2 | 4% |
136 drives · 38% ended in points · 7.5 plays and 43.1 yards per drive · 0.88 PPA per drive
Success: 50% of yardage needed on 1st, 70% on 2nd, 100% on 3rd/4th. Explosive: 12+ yd rush / 16+ yd pass. National rank is shown only for 1st and 2nd down, where every team has 100+ plays; the later buckets average 18-43 and a rank there would be noise.
League leaderboard →Most valuable plays (by PPA, 2025)
| Wk | Opp | Play | Yds | PPA |
|---|
| 3 | Oregon |
Dashun Reeder run for 79 yds for a TD (Jack Olsen KICK) |
79 | 6.33 |
| 2 | Western Illinois |
Ryan Boe 58 Yd Run (Jack Olsen Kick) |
58 | 5.48 |
| 9 | Nebraska |
(11:25) No Huddle-Shotgun #5 C.Komolafe rush right for 56 yards gain to the NEB00 TOUCHDOW… |
56 | 5.47 |
| 6 | UL Monroe |
Caleb Komolafe 39 Yd Run (Jack Olsen Kick) |
39 | 4.58 |
| 2 | Western Illinois |
Cam Porter 43 Yd Run (Luke Akers Kick) |
43 | 4.38 |
| 13 | Minnesota |
(12:10) Shotgun #5 C.Komolafe rush middle for 46 yards gain to the MIN00 TOUCHDOWN, clock … |
46 | 3.98 |
| 9 | Nebraska |
(06:56) No Huddle-Shotgun #8 P.Stone pass complete deep left to #17 G.Wilde caught at NEB3… |
37 | 3.91 |
| 6 | UL Monroe |
Griffin Wilde 49 Yd pass from Preston Stone (Jack Olsen Kick) |
49 | 3.76 |