2014–2026 performance history

Northwestern over time

Season-by-season offense and defense game grades, with head-coaching changes placed on the timeline.

Big TenHead coach: David BraunView Northwestern games →
Offense · 2026 estimate40.1/100

59.1 average through 1 game

37.8 prior · 8 equivalent games
Defense · 2026 estimate42.3/100

8.2 average through 1 game

48.2 prior · 8 equivalent games

The trajectory

Game and Season Unit Ratings

Each small dot is one offensive or defensive game rating, arranged in the order played. For completed seasons, the short bar is that season’s average game rating. Both dot and bar values are labeled on a percentile scale. For 2026, the bar is the Bayesian estimate, while the outlined circle is the empirical games-only mean. Labeled background bands show each head coach’s era.

Northwestern individual offense and defense game grades by seasonEach small point is one game. Horizontal bars show completed-season means and the Bayesian estimate for 2026. The outlined 2026 circle is the empirical games-only mean. Alternating labeled bands identify head-coaching eras.Fitzgerald · ’14–’22Pat Fitzgerald, 2014–2022Braun · ’23–’26David Braun, 2023–2026offenseGame-grade percentile · higher is better9975502512014 Week 1: Northwestern vs. California · L 24–31; offense 23.4 percentile2014 Week 2: Northwestern vs. Northern Illinois · L 15–23; offense 12.5 percentile2014 Week 4: Northwestern vs. Western Illinois · W 24–7; offense 5.6 percentile2014 Week 5: Northwestern at Penn State · W 29–6; offense 70.0 percentile2014 Week 6: Northwestern vs. Wisconsin · W 20–14; offense 69.4 percentile2014 Week 7: Northwestern at Minnesota · L 17–24; offense 47.1 percentile2014 Week 8: Northwestern vs. Nebraska · L 17–38; offense 25.7 percentile2014 Week 10: Northwestern at Iowa · L 7–48; offense 12.2 percentile2014 Week 11: Northwestern vs. Michigan · L 9–10; offense 9.1 percentile2014 Week 12: Northwestern at Notre Dame · W 43–40; offense 74.1 percentile2014 Week 13: Northwestern at Purdue · W 38–14; offense 38.4 percentile2014 Week 14: Northwestern vs. Illinois · L 33–47; offense 29.0 percentile2015 Week 1: Northwestern vs. Stanford · W 16–6; offense 20.3 percentile2015 Week 2: Northwestern vs. Eastern Illinois · W 41–0; offense 38.7 percentile2015 Week 3: Northwestern at Duke · W 19–10; offense 11.1 percentile2015 Week 4: Northwestern vs. Ball State · W 24–19; offense 36.0 percentile2015 Week 5: Northwestern vs. Minnesota · W 27–0; offense 37.3 percentile2015 Week 6: Northwestern at Michigan · L 0–38; offense 7.0 percentile2015 Week 7: Northwestern vs. Iowa · L 10–40; offense 11.6 percentile2015 Week 8: Northwestern at Nebraska · W 30–28; offense 59.0 percentile2015 Week 10: Northwestern vs. Penn State · W 23–21; offense 40.8 percentile2015 Week 11: Northwestern vs. Purdue · W 21–14; offense 20.8 percentile2015 Week 12: Northwestern at Wisconsin · W 13–7; offense 32.6 percentile2015 Week 13: Northwestern vs. Illinois · W 24–14; offense 48.0 percentile2015 Week 1: Northwestern vs. Tennessee · L 6–45; offense 38.5 percentile2016 Week 1: Northwestern vs. Western Michigan · L 21–22; offense 59.2 percentile2016 Week 2: Northwestern vs. Illinois State · L 7–9; offense 1.2 percentile2016 Week 3: Northwestern vs. Duke · W 24–13; offense 6.3 percentile2016 Week 4: Northwestern vs. Nebraska · L 13–24; offense 40.3 percentile2016 Week 5: Northwestern at Iowa · W 38–31; offense 72.3 percentile2016 Week 7: Northwestern at Michigan State · W 54–40; offense 86.5 percentile2016 Week 8: Northwestern vs. Indiana · W 24–14; offense 21.2 percentile2016 Week 9: Northwestern at Ohio State · L 20–24; offense 80.7 percentile2016 Week 10: Northwestern vs. Wisconsin · L 7–21; offense 10.9 percentile2016 Week 11: Northwestern at Purdue · W 45–17; offense 92.6 percentile2016 Week 12: Northwestern at Minnesota · L 12–29; offense 23.0 percentile2016 Week 13: Northwestern vs. Illinois · W 42–21; offense 61.9 percentile2016 Week 1: Northwestern vs. Pittsburgh · W 31–24; offense 52.6 percentile2017 Week 1: Northwestern vs. Nevada · W 31–20; offense 30.4 percentile2017 Week 2: Northwestern at Duke · L 17–41; offense 5.5 percentile2017 Week 3: Northwestern vs. Bowling Green · W 49–7; offense 92.1 percentile2017 Week 5: Northwestern at Wisconsin · L 24–33; offense 41.5 percentile2017 Week 6: Northwestern vs. Penn State · L 7–31; offense 3.7 percentile2017 Week 7: Northwestern at Maryland · W 37–21; offense 65.3 percentile2017 Week 8: Northwestern vs. Iowa · W 17–10; offense 22.4 percentile2017 Week 9: Northwestern vs. Michigan State · W 39–31; offense 55.3 percentile2017 Week 10: Northwestern at Nebraska · W 31–24; offense 51.6 percentile2017 Week 11: Northwestern vs. Purdue · W 23–13; offense 37.1 percentile2017 Week 12: Northwestern vs. Minnesota · W 39–0; offense 76.9 percentile2017 Week 13: Northwestern at Illinois · W 42–7; offense 78.9 percentile2017 Week 1: Northwestern vs. Kentucky · W 24–23; offense 29.9 percentile2018 Week 1: Northwestern at Purdue · W 31–27; offense 34.2 percentile2018 Week 2: Northwestern vs. Duke · L 7–21; offense 12.6 percentile2018 Week 3: Northwestern vs. Akron · L 34–39; offense 49.8 percentile2018 Week 5: Northwestern vs. Michigan · L 17–20; offense 23.6 percentile2018 Week 6: Northwestern at Michigan State · W 29–19; offense 62.5 percentile2018 Week 7: Northwestern vs. Nebraska · W 34–31; offense 30.4 percentile2018 Week 8: Northwestern at Rutgers · W 18–15; offense 10.9 percentile2018 Week 9: Northwestern vs. Wisconsin · W 31–17; offense 50.3 percentile2018 Week 10: Northwestern vs. Notre Dame · L 21–31; offense 37.8 percentile2018 Week 11: Northwestern at Iowa · W 14–10; offense 37.4 percentile2018 Week 12: Northwestern at Minnesota · W 24–14; offense 29.8 percentile2018 Week 13: Northwestern vs. Illinois · W 24–16; offense 46.8 percentile2018 Week 14: Northwestern vs. Ohio State · L 24–45; offense 60.5 percentile2018 Week 1: Northwestern vs. Utah · W 31–20; offense 20.6 percentile2019 Week 1: Northwestern at Stanford · L 7–17; offense 10.7 percentile2019 Week 3: Northwestern vs. UNLV · W 30–14; offense 64.3 percentile2019 Week 4: Northwestern vs. Michigan State · L 10–31; offense 14.2 percentile2019 Week 5: Northwestern at Wisconsin · L 15–24; offense 28.2 percentile2019 Week 6: Northwestern at Nebraska · L 10–13; offense 12.0 percentile2019 Week 8: Northwestern vs. Ohio State · L 3–52; offense 10.7 percentile2019 Week 9: Northwestern vs. Iowa · L 0–20; offense 2.9 percentile2019 Week 10: Northwestern at Indiana · L 3–34; offense 4.1 percentile2019 Week 11: Northwestern vs. Purdue · L 22–24; offense 35.5 percentile2019 Week 12: Northwestern vs. Massachusetts · W 45–6; offense 18.3 percentile2019 Week 13: Northwestern vs. Minnesota · L 22–38; offense 36.9 percentile2019 Week 14: Northwestern at Illinois · W 29–10; offense 90.5 percentile2020 Week 8: Northwestern vs. Maryland · W 43–3; offense 90.1 percentile2020 Week 9: Northwestern at Iowa · W 21–20; offense 43.3 percentile2020 Week 10: Northwestern vs. Nebraska · W 21–13; offense 21.6 percentile2020 Week 11: Northwestern at Purdue · W 27–20; offense 12.6 percentile2020 Week 12: Northwestern vs. Wisconsin · W 17–7; offense 7.3 percentile2020 Week 13: Northwestern at Michigan State · L 20–29; offense 12.5 percentile2020 Week 15: Northwestern vs. Illinois · W 28–10; offense 80.1 percentile2020 Week 16: Northwestern vs. Ohio State · L 10–22; offense 20.1 percentile2020 Week 1: Northwestern vs. Auburn · W 35–19; offense 32.2 percentile2021 Week 1: Northwestern vs. Michigan State · L 21–38; offense 21.1 percentile2021 Week 2: Northwestern vs. Indiana State · W 24–6; offense 22.6 percentile2021 Week 3: Northwestern at Duke · L 23–30; offense 15.0 percentile2021 Week 4: Northwestern vs. Ohio · W 35–6; offense 49.1 percentile2021 Week 5: Northwestern at Nebraska · L 7–56; offense 36.3 percentile2021 Week 7: Northwestern vs. Rutgers · W 21–7; offense 9.5 percentile2021 Week 8: Northwestern at Michigan · L 7–33; offense 13.6 percentile2021 Week 9: Northwestern vs. Minnesota · L 14–41; offense 46.9 percentile2021 Week 10: Northwestern vs. Iowa · L 12–17; offense 25.6 percentile2021 Week 11: Northwestern at Wisconsin · L 7–35; offense 8.2 percentile2021 Week 12: Northwestern vs. Purdue · L 14–32; offense 38.8 percentile2021 Week 13: Northwestern at Illinois · L 14–47; offense 13.1 percentile2022 Week 1: Northwestern vs. Nebraska · W 31–28; offense 48.7 percentile2022 Week 3: Northwestern vs. Southern Illinois · L 24–31; offense 5.2 percentile2022 Week 4: Northwestern vs. Miami (OH) · L 14–17; offense 19.2 percentile2022 Week 5: Northwestern at Penn State · L 7–17; offense 9.3 percentile2022 Week 6: Northwestern vs. Wisconsin · L 7–42; offense 34.3 percentile2022 Week 8: Northwestern at Maryland · L 24–31; offense 83.5 percentile2022 Week 9: Northwestern at Iowa · L 13–33; offense 23.8 percentile2022 Week 10: Northwestern vs. Ohio State · L 7–21; offense 10.4 percentile2022 Week 11: Northwestern at Minnesota · L 3–31; offense 27.6 percentile2022 Week 12: Northwestern at Purdue · L 9–17; offense 12.3 percentile2022 Week 13: Northwestern vs. Illinois · L 3–41; offense 18.2 percentile2023 Week 1: Northwestern at Rutgers · L 7–24; offense 1.2 percentile2023 Week 2: Northwestern vs. UTEP · W 38–7; offense 70.5 percentile2023 Week 3: Northwestern at Duke · L 14–38; offense 29.2 percentile2023 Week 4: Northwestern vs. Minnesota · W 37–34; offense 29.4 percentile2023 Week 5: Northwestern vs. Penn State · L 13–41; offense 20.2 percentile2023 Week 6: Northwestern vs. Howard · W 23–20; offense 11.6 percentile2023 Week 8: Northwestern at Nebraska · L 9–17; offense 34.3 percentile2023 Week 9: Northwestern vs. Maryland · W 33–27; offense 54.4 percentile2023 Week 10: Northwestern vs. Iowa · L 7–10; offense 13.8 percentile2023 Week 11: Northwestern at Wisconsin · W 24–10; offense 65.6 percentile2023 Week 12: Northwestern vs. Purdue · W 23–15; offense 42.3 percentile2023 Week 13: Northwestern at Illinois · W 45–43; offense 80.6 percentile2023 Week 1: Northwestern vs. Utah · W 14–7; offense 8.6 percentile2024 Week 1: Northwestern vs. Miami (OH) · W 13–6; offense 40.8 percentile2024 Week 2: Northwestern vs. Duke · L 20–26; offense 3.3 percentile2024 Week 3: Northwestern vs. Eastern Illinois · W 31–7; offense 22.1 percentile2024 Week 4: Northwestern at Washington · L 5–24; offense 2.6 percentile2024 Week 6: Northwestern vs. Indiana · L 24–41; offense 80.6 percentile2024 Week 7: Northwestern at Maryland · W 37–10; offense 26.6 percentile2024 Week 8: Northwestern vs. Wisconsin · L 3–23; offense 7.9 percentile2024 Week 9: Northwestern at Iowa · L 14–40; offense 1.8 percentile2024 Week 10: Northwestern at Purdue · W 26–20; offense 13.8 percentile2024 Week 12: Northwestern vs. Ohio State · L 7–31; offense 23.3 percentile2024 Week 13: Northwestern at Michigan · L 6–50; offense 4.7 percentile2024 Week 14: Northwestern vs. Illinois · L 28–38; offense 25.3 percentile2025 Week 1: Northwestern at Tulane · L 3–23; offense 7.0 percentile2025 Week 2: Northwestern vs. Western Illinois · W 42–7; offense 25.9 percentile2025 Week 3: Northwestern vs. Oregon · L 14–34; offense 23.5 percentile2025 Week 5: Northwestern vs. UCLA · W 17–14; offense 19.3 percentile2025 Week 6: Northwestern vs. UL Monroe · W 42–7; offense 91.6 percentile2025 Week 7: Northwestern at Penn State · W 22–21; offense 36.8 percentile2025 Week 8: Northwestern vs. Purdue · W 19–0; offense 12.4 percentile2025 Week 9: Northwestern at Nebraska · L 21–28; offense 44.3 percentile2025 Week 11: Northwestern at USC · L 17–38; offense 46.3 percentile2025 Week 12: Northwestern vs. Michigan · L 22–24; offense 31.9 percentile2025 Week 13: Northwestern vs. Minnesota · W 38–35; offense 90.8 percentile2025 Week 14: Northwestern at Illinois · L 13–20; offense 26.0 percentile2025 Week 1: Northwestern vs. Central Michigan · W 34–7; offense 42.4 percentile2026 Week 1: Northwestern vs. South Dakota State · W 34–18; offense 59.1 percentile2014 offense season mean: 31.3 percentile2015 offense season mean: 28.7 percentile2016 offense season mean: 43.3 percentile2017 offense season mean: 43.2 percentile2018 offense season mean: 34.7 percentile2019 offense season mean: 23.0 percentile2020 offense season mean: 33.4 percentile2021 offense season mean: 22.9 percentile2022 offense season mean: 23.6 percentile2023 offense season mean: 30.8 percentile2024 offense season mean: 15.4 percentile2025 offense season mean: 37.8 percentile2026 offense Bayesian estimate: 40.1 percentile2026 offense empirical mean: 59.1 percentiledefenseGame-grade percentile · higher is better9975502512014 Week 1: Northwestern vs. California · L 24–31; defense 67.3 percentile2014 Week 2: Northwestern vs. Northern Illinois · L 15–23; defense 55.3 percentile2014 Week 4: Northwestern vs. Western Illinois · W 24–7; defense 55.2 percentile2014 Week 5: Northwestern at Penn State · W 29–6; defense 85.0 percentile2014 Week 6: Northwestern vs. Wisconsin · W 20–14; defense 75.9 percentile2014 Week 7: Northwestern at Minnesota · L 17–24; defense 70.0 percentile2014 Week 8: Northwestern vs. Nebraska · L 17–38; defense 23.1 percentile2014 Week 10: Northwestern at Iowa · L 7–48; defense 21.3 percentile2014 Week 11: Northwestern vs. Michigan · L 9–10; defense 82.8 percentile2014 Week 12: Northwestern at Notre Dame · W 43–40; defense 51.9 percentile2014 Week 13: Northwestern at Purdue · W 38–14; defense 88.3 percentile2014 Week 14: Northwestern vs. Illinois · L 33–47; defense 5.2 percentile2015 Week 1: Northwestern vs. Stanford · W 16–6; defense 98.4 percentile2015 Week 2: Northwestern vs. Eastern Illinois · W 41–0; defense 72.3 percentile2015 Week 3: Northwestern at Duke · W 19–10; defense 81.5 percentile2015 Week 4: Northwestern vs. Ball State · W 24–19; defense 64.6 percentile2015 Week 5: Northwestern vs. Minnesota · W 27–0; defense 97.5 percentile2015 Week 6: Northwestern at Michigan · L 0–38; defense 46.8 percentile2015 Week 7: Northwestern vs. Iowa · L 10–40; defense 16.4 percentile2015 Week 8: Northwestern at Nebraska · W 30–28; defense 79.1 percentile2015 Week 10: Northwestern vs. Penn State · W 23–21; defense 66.1 percentile2015 Week 11: Northwestern vs. Purdue · W 21–14; defense 74.0 percentile2015 Week 12: Northwestern at Wisconsin · W 13–7; defense 99.9 percentile2015 Week 13: Northwestern vs. Illinois · W 24–14; defense 90.2 percentile2015 Week 1: Northwestern vs. Tennessee · L 6–45; defense 38.0 percentile2016 Week 1: Northwestern vs. Western Michigan · L 21–22; defense 65.3 percentile2016 Week 2: Northwestern vs. Illinois State · L 7–9; defense 27.5 percentile2016 Week 3: Northwestern vs. Duke · W 24–13; defense 85.4 percentile2016 Week 4: Northwestern vs. Nebraska · L 13–24; defense 25.5 percentile2016 Week 5: Northwestern at Iowa · W 38–31; defense 66.5 percentile2016 Week 7: Northwestern at Michigan State · W 54–40; defense 46.8 percentile2016 Week 8: Northwestern vs. Indiana · W 24–14; defense 87.1 percentile2016 Week 9: Northwestern at Ohio State · L 20–24; defense 58.4 percentile2016 Week 10: Northwestern vs. Wisconsin · L 7–21; defense 93.3 percentile2016 Week 11: Northwestern at Purdue · W 45–17; defense 50.5 percentile2016 Week 12: Northwestern at Minnesota · L 12–29; defense 74.6 percentile2016 Week 13: Northwestern vs. Illinois · W 42–21; defense 36.0 percentile2016 Week 1: Northwestern vs. Pittsburgh · W 31–24; defense 72.5 percentile2017 Week 1: Northwestern vs. Nevada · W 31–20; defense 56.1 percentile2017 Week 2: Northwestern at Duke · L 17–41; defense 25.0 percentile2017 Week 3: Northwestern vs. Bowling Green · W 49–7; defense 87.4 percentile2017 Week 5: Northwestern at Wisconsin · L 24–33; defense 75.1 percentile2017 Week 6: Northwestern vs. Penn State · L 7–31; defense 86.5 percentile2017 Week 7: Northwestern at Maryland · W 37–21; defense 69.1 percentile2017 Week 8: Northwestern vs. Iowa · W 17–10; defense 71.6 percentile2017 Week 9: Northwestern vs. Michigan State · W 39–31; defense 38.5 percentile2017 Week 10: Northwestern at Nebraska · W 31–24; defense 73.1 percentile2017 Week 11: Northwestern vs. Purdue · W 23–13; defense 76.4 percentile2017 Week 12: Northwestern vs. Minnesota · W 39–0; defense 89.3 percentile2017 Week 13: Northwestern at Illinois · W 42–7; defense 85.7 percentile2017 Week 1: Northwestern vs. Kentucky · W 24–23; defense 77.4 percentile2018 Week 1: Northwestern at Purdue · W 31–27; defense 27.3 percentile2018 Week 2: Northwestern vs. Duke · L 7–21; defense 78.2 percentile2018 Week 3: Northwestern vs. Akron · L 34–39; defense 47.4 percentile2018 Week 5: Northwestern vs. Michigan · L 17–20; defense 74.4 percentile2018 Week 6: Northwestern at Michigan State · W 29–19; defense 51.9 percentile2018 Week 7: Northwestern vs. Nebraska · W 34–31; defense 42.3 percentile2018 Week 8: Northwestern at Rutgers · W 18–15; defense 66.3 percentile2018 Week 9: Northwestern vs. Wisconsin · W 31–17; defense 89.9 percentile2018 Week 10: Northwestern vs. Notre Dame · L 21–31; defense 50.3 percentile2018 Week 11: Northwestern at Iowa · W 14–10; defense 90.0 percentile2018 Week 12: Northwestern at Minnesota · W 24–14; defense 89.8 percentile2018 Week 13: Northwestern vs. Illinois · W 24–16; defense 47.9 percentile2018 Week 14: Northwestern vs. Ohio State · L 24–45; defense 52.1 percentile2018 Week 1: Northwestern vs. Utah · W 31–20; defense 72.5 percentile2019 Week 1: Northwestern at Stanford · L 7–17; defense 84.8 percentile2019 Week 3: Northwestern vs. UNLV · W 30–14; defense 57.3 percentile2019 Week 4: Northwestern vs. Michigan State · L 10–31; defense 41.3 percentile2019 Week 5: Northwestern at Wisconsin · L 15–24; defense 96.7 percentile2019 Week 6: Northwestern at Nebraska · L 10–13; defense 92.8 percentile2019 Week 8: Northwestern vs. Ohio State · L 3–52; defense 40.3 percentile2019 Week 9: Northwestern vs. Iowa · L 0–20; defense 76.8 percentile2019 Week 10: Northwestern at Indiana · L 3–34; defense 59.8 percentile2019 Week 11: Northwestern vs. Purdue · L 22–24; defense 39.2 percentile2019 Week 12: Northwestern vs. Massachusetts · W 45–6; defense 79.7 percentile2019 Week 13: Northwestern vs. Minnesota · L 22–38; defense 6.4 percentile2019 Week 14: Northwestern at Illinois · W 29–10; defense 93.7 percentile2020 Week 8: Northwestern vs. Maryland · W 43–3; defense 93.9 percentile2020 Week 9: Northwestern at Iowa · W 21–20; defense 89.6 percentile2020 Week 10: Northwestern vs. Nebraska · W 21–13; defense 71.5 percentile2020 Week 11: Northwestern at Purdue · W 27–20; defense 97.6 percentile2020 Week 12: Northwestern vs. Wisconsin · W 17–7; defense 94.6 percentile2020 Week 13: Northwestern at Michigan State · L 20–29; defense 36.8 percentile2020 Week 15: Northwestern vs. Illinois · W 28–10; defense 83.3 percentile2020 Week 16: Northwestern vs. Ohio State · L 10–22; defense 50.9 percentile2020 Week 1: Northwestern vs. Auburn · W 35–19; defense 93.2 percentile2021 Week 1: Northwestern vs. Michigan State · L 21–38; defense 7.0 percentile2021 Week 2: Northwestern vs. Indiana State · W 24–6; defense 65.2 percentile2021 Week 3: Northwestern at Duke · L 23–30; defense 39.3 percentile2021 Week 4: Northwestern vs. Ohio · W 35–6; defense 67.3 percentile2021 Week 5: Northwestern at Nebraska · L 7–56; defense 0.7 percentile2021 Week 7: Northwestern vs. Rutgers · W 21–7; defense 92.6 percentile2021 Week 8: Northwestern at Michigan · L 7–33; defense 37.1 percentile2021 Week 9: Northwestern vs. Minnesota · L 14–41; defense 6.3 percentile2021 Week 10: Northwestern vs. Iowa · L 12–17; defense 44.4 percentile2021 Week 11: Northwestern at Wisconsin · L 7–35; defense 5.7 percentile2021 Week 12: Northwestern vs. Purdue · L 14–32; defense 7.4 percentile2021 Week 13: Northwestern at Illinois · L 14–47; defense 9.6 percentile2022 Week 1: Northwestern vs. Nebraska · W 31–28; defense 26.6 percentile2022 Week 3: Northwestern vs. Southern Illinois · L 24–31; defense 34.2 percentile2022 Week 4: Northwestern vs. Miami (OH) · L 14–17; defense 59.6 percentile2022 Week 5: Northwestern at Penn State · L 7–17; defense 89.1 percentile2022 Week 6: Northwestern vs. Wisconsin · L 7–42; defense 0.7 percentile2022 Week 8: Northwestern at Maryland · L 24–31; defense 23.9 percentile2022 Week 9: Northwestern at Iowa · L 13–33; defense 5.5 percentile2022 Week 10: Northwestern vs. Ohio State · L 7–21; defense 95.0 percentile2022 Week 11: Northwestern at Minnesota · L 3–31; defense 48.7 percentile2022 Week 12: Northwestern at Purdue · L 9–17; defense 81.2 percentile2022 Week 13: Northwestern vs. Illinois · L 3–41; defense 38.2 percentile2023 Week 1: Northwestern at Rutgers · L 7–24; defense 58.7 percentile2023 Week 2: Northwestern vs. UTEP · W 38–7; defense 80.5 percentile2023 Week 3: Northwestern at Duke · L 14–38; defense 1.3 percentile2023 Week 4: Northwestern vs. Minnesota · W 37–34; defense 28.4 percentile2023 Week 5: Northwestern vs. Penn State · L 13–41; defense 49.6 percentile2023 Week 6: Northwestern vs. Howard · W 23–20; defense 27.4 percentile2023 Week 8: Northwestern at Nebraska · L 9–17; defense 60.7 percentile2023 Week 9: Northwestern vs. Maryland · W 33–27; defense 47.3 percentile2023 Week 10: Northwestern vs. Iowa · L 7–10; defense 61.5 percentile2023 Week 11: Northwestern at Wisconsin · W 24–10; defense 81.6 percentile2023 Week 12: Northwestern vs. Purdue · W 23–15; defense 51.3 percentile2023 Week 13: Northwestern at Illinois · W 45–43; defense 15.2 percentile2023 Week 1: Northwestern vs. Utah · W 14–7; defense 90.4 percentile2024 Week 1: Northwestern vs. Miami (OH) · W 13–6; defense 90.9 percentile2024 Week 2: Northwestern vs. Duke · L 20–26; defense 72.0 percentile2024 Week 3: Northwestern vs. Eastern Illinois · W 31–7; defense 30.3 percentile2024 Week 4: Northwestern at Washington · L 5–24; defense 29.6 percentile2024 Week 6: Northwestern vs. Indiana · L 24–41; defense 13.8 percentile2024 Week 7: Northwestern at Maryland · W 37–10; defense 88.7 percentile2024 Week 8: Northwestern vs. Wisconsin · L 3–23; defense 37.9 percentile2024 Week 9: Northwestern at Iowa · L 14–40; defense 38.5 percentile2024 Week 10: Northwestern at Purdue · W 26–20; defense 36.8 percentile2024 Week 12: Northwestern vs. Ohio State · L 7–31; defense 15.1 percentile2024 Week 13: Northwestern at Michigan · L 6–50; defense 16.1 percentile2024 Week 14: Northwestern vs. Illinois · L 28–38; defense 26.0 percentile2025 Week 1: Northwestern at Tulane · L 3–23; defense 49.4 percentile2025 Week 2: Northwestern vs. Western Illinois · W 42–7; defense 41.4 percentile2025 Week 3: Northwestern vs. Oregon · L 14–34; defense 36.6 percentile2025 Week 5: Northwestern vs. UCLA · W 17–14; defense 49.6 percentile2025 Week 6: Northwestern vs. UL Monroe · W 42–7; defense 63.1 percentile2025 Week 7: Northwestern at Penn State · W 22–21; defense 53.4 percentile2025 Week 8: Northwestern vs. Purdue · W 19–0; defense 83.3 percentile2025 Week 9: Northwestern at Nebraska · L 21–28; defense 38.9 percentile2025 Week 11: Northwestern at USC · L 17–38; defense 17.5 percentile2025 Week 12: Northwestern vs. Michigan · L 22–24; defense 33.5 percentile2025 Week 13: Northwestern vs. Minnesota · W 38–35; defense 18.1 percentile2025 Week 14: Northwestern at Illinois · L 13–20; defense 65.7 percentile2025 Week 1: Northwestern vs. Central Michigan · W 34–7; defense 77.7 percentile2026 Week 1: Northwestern vs. South Dakota State · W 34–18; defense 8.2 percentile2014 defense season mean: 56.6 percentile2015 defense season mean: 80.1 percentile2016 defense season mean: 62.9 percentile2017 defense season mean: 72.0 percentile2018 defense season mean: 65.2 percentile2019 defense season mean: 67.9 percentile2020 defense season mean: 84.4 percentile2021 defense season mean: 24.6 percentile2022 defense season mean: 42.3 percentile2023 defense season mean: 48.1 percentile2024 defense season mean: 41.4 percentile2025 defense season mean: 48.2 percentile2026 defense Bayesian estimate: 42.3 percentile2026 defense empirical mean: 8.2 percentile2014201520162017201820192020202120222023202420252026
Individual gameSeason bar · 2026 is the estimate2026 empirical meanCoaching-era band
2023David Braun

How to read 2026

The current-season estimate intelligently blends last season with new data.

The 2026 estimate is a Bayesian weighted average of normal-score Z-values. The 2025 season mean counts like 8 games of prior evidence; each completed 2026 game counts once. The result is then translated back to the 0–100 percentile scale.

2026 Z = (8 × 2025 mean Z + games played × 2026 mean Z) ÷ (8 + games played)

Season record

Every annual grade and coach

Retrospective rows average the available single-game grades in normal-score space. The result is shown as a percentile. Roughly speaking, a 95th-percentile season corresponds to about the eighth-best team in a 160-team field.

SeasonHead coachGamesOffenseDefense
2026Live estimateDavid Braun1
40.1 estimate59.1 games-only average
42.3 estimate8.2 games-only average
2025David Braun1337.848.2
2024David Braun1215.441.4
2023David BraunCoaching change1330.848.1
2022Pat Fitzgerald1123.642.3
2021Pat Fitzgerald1222.924.6
2020Pat Fitzgerald933.484.4
2019Pat Fitzgerald1223.067.9
2018Pat Fitzgerald1434.765.2
2017Pat Fitzgerald1343.272.0
2016Pat Fitzgerald1343.362.9
2015Pat Fitzgerald1328.780.1
2014Pat Fitzgerald1231.356.6