Northern Illinois vs. Northwestern
Northern Illinois and Northwestern have 8 meetings on file, the first in 1975; Northwestern leads the series 6–1–1 in the games on file. Over the last 8 meetings it’s Northwestern 6–1. Share
- Northern Illinois wins
- 1
- Northwestern wins
- 6
- Ties
- 1
- Earliest on file
- 1975
- Longest streak
- 3 Northwestern
- Current streak
- 1 Northern Illinois
- Last 10 meetings
- Northwestern 6–1
- Most recent
- 2014
The series at a glance
| ’0 | ’1 | ’2 | ’3 | ’4 | ’5 | ’6 | ’7 | ’8 | ’9 | W–L | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1970s | 0–1 | ||||||||||
| 1980s | 0–2–1 | ||||||||||
| 1990s | 0–1 | ||||||||||
| 2000s | 0–2 | ||||||||||
| 2010s | 1–0 |
- Average margin
- 12.3 points; 3 decided by one score (8 or fewer)
- At Northwestern
- 6–1–1 Northwestern’s record at home
Every meeting on file, as played. Ranks are the AP poll’s going in.
Games that tell the story
- Northern Illinois’s biggest win2014: Northern Illinois 23, Northwestern 15by 8 points
- Northwestern’s biggest win1982: Northwestern 31, Northern Illinois 6by 25 points
- Upset1990: Northwestern 24, Northern Illinois 7Northwestern had a 31% chance, by our ratings before kickoff
- Upset1982: Northwestern 31, Northern Illinois 6Northwestern had a 34% chance, by our ratings before kickoff
Both programs through the years
Our Elo rating at the end of each season, a measure of how strong a team was, not a forecast; 1500 is an average FBS team.
Stars of the series
Biggest days
| Garrett Wolfe Northern Illinois | 34 carries, 245 yards, 3 TD | 2005 Rushing | |
| Tyrell Sutton Northwestern | 30 carries, 214 yards, 4 TD | 2005 Rushing |
Biggest days: the week’s best individual games by our big-days rule, from box scores (2004 on).
Every game
| Sep 6, 2014 | Northern Illinois 23, Northwestern 15 | at Northwestern | ||
| Sep 10, 2005 | Northwestern 38, Northern Illinois 37 | at Northwestern | ||
| Aug 31, 2000 | Northwestern 35, Northern Illinois 17 | at Northwestern | ||
| Sep 29, 1990 | Northwestern 24, Northern Illinois 7 | at Northwestern | ||
| Sep 26, 1987 | Northwestern 16, Northern Illinois 16 | at Northwestern | ||
| Sep 28, 1985 | Northwestern 38, Northern Illinois 16 | at Northwestern | ||
| Sep 25, 1982 | Northwestern 31, Northern Illinois 6 | at Northwestern | ||
| Sep 20, 1975 | Northwestern 10, Northern Illinois 3 | at Northwestern |
Every game is listed as played on the field.