2025 Northern Illinois
3–9 (2–6 Mid-American Conference), coached by Thomas Hammock. Share
Schedule and results
- Biggest winBeat Massachusetts 45–3Nov 12
By 42 points, its widest win.
- Most excitingLost to Kent State 31–35Nov 28
The win probability swung the most, by CollegeFootballData.com’s excitement index.
| Date | Opponent | Result | Elo |
|---|---|---|---|
| Aug 30 | vs Holy Cross | W 19–17 | 76% |
| Sep 5 | at Maryland | L 9–20 | 49% |
| Sep 20 | at Mississippi State | L 10–38 | 46% |
| Sep 27 | vs San Diego State | L 3–6 | 61% |
| Oct 4 | vs Miami (OH) | L 14–25 | 49% |
| Oct 11 | at Eastern Michigan | L 10–16 | 54% |
| Oct 18 | at Ohio | L 21–48 | 21% |
| Oct 25 | vs Ball State | W 21–7 | 59% |
| Nov 5 | at Toledo | L 3–42 | 31% |
| Nov 12 | at Massachusetts | W 45–3 | 69% |
| Nov 18 | vs Western Michigan | L 19–35 | 46% |
| Nov 28 | vs Kent State | L 31–35 | 69% |
Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.
How it ended: Lost to Kent State 35–31; unranked in the final AP poll; tied for 11th in the Mid-American Conference.
In program history: The 39th-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 61 on file).
- Record
- 3–9
- Conference
- 2–6 tied for 11th in Mid-American Conference
- AP final
- Unranked
- Points
- 205–292
- Coach
- Thomas Hammock
- Elo
- 1368 −154 this season
- SP+ rating
- -16.7 No. 128 of 136; offense No. 135, defense No. 74, special teams No. 83
- SRS
- −17.2 No. 128 of 136 in FBS
- Returning
- 18% of last season’s EPA, No. 103 of 134
- Recruiting class
- No. 84 roster talent No. 125 in FBS
- Offensive coordinator
- Quinn Sanders
- Defensive coordinator
- Rob Harley
- Offense
- Multiple
- Defense
- 4–2–5
How good, play by play
| EPA per play | Success | Explosiveness | FBS rank | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Offense | -0.04 | 35% | 1.27 | 122nd of 136 |
| Defense | 0.17 | 45% | 1.17 | 111th of 136 |
| Opponent-adjusted | -0.03 off 0.21 def | 34% off 49% def | — | 121st off 133rd def |
Passing and running
| Pass success | Depth of target | Deep throws | Line yards | Stuffed | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Offense | 29% | 11.3 yds | 21% | 3.00 | 17% |
| Defense | 44% | 9.3 yds | 13% | 3.40 | 11% |
How these are measured
Play-weighted averages over games against FBS opponents; raw numbers, not adjusted for the strength of the opponent. EPA (expected points added) measures how much each play changed the expected score; success rate counts plays that kept the offense on schedule; explosiveness is the average EPA on successful plays. Lower is better on defense. Ranked by EPA per play among teams that were FBS that season. The opponent-adjusted row (offense / defense) is CollegeFootballData.com’s WEPA, which accounts for who each team played. Passing and running: depth of target is how far downfield passes traveled in the air; deep throws are the share thrown deep, of the passes whose depth and direction the play-by-play describes (about half); line yards are the running yards per carry credited to the blockers; stuffed is the share of carries stopped at or behind the line. The defense’s line is what its opponents did. From CollegeFootballData.com, 2025 on.
Drives and havoc
| Points per trip inside the 40 | Average start | Havoc | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Offense | 3.0 | own 27 | 13% allowed |
| Defense | 3.5 | own 31 | 11% caused |
CORE rating -27.5, 134th of 136 (offense -17.6, defense 9.9).
A trip inside the 40 is a drive that reaches the opponent’s 40-yard line; points per trip is how many it scored on average (allowed, on defense). Average start is where drives began (the defense’s line is where its opponents started). Havoc is the share of plays ending in a tackle for loss, a forced fumble, an interception or a pass broken up. CORE is CollegeFootballData.com’s context- and opponent-adjusted rating (points better than an average team; lower is better on defense). From CollegeFootballData.com.
Leaders
| Passing yards | Josh Holst QB | 689 yds |
| Passing touchdowns | Josh Holst QB | 4 TD |
| Rushing yards | Chavon Wright RB | 875 yds |
| Rushing touchdowns | Chavon Wright RB | 5 TD |
| Receiving yards | DeAree Rogers WR | 506 yds |
| Receiving touchdowns | DeAree Rogers WR | 3 TD |
| Tackles | Quinton Urwiler LB | 127 tkl |
| Sacks | Filip Maciorowski LB | 2.5 sacks |
| Interceptions | Jasper Beeler S | 3 INT |
Top recruits in the 2025 class
| James Finley CB | ★★★ | No. 828 |
| Andruw Ellis ATH | ★★★ | No. 1738 |
| Eliot Hummer LB | ★★★ | No. 1738 |
| James Little IV CB | ★★★ | No. 1738 |
| Lazaro Rogers RB | ★★★ | No. 1874 |
247Sports composite rankings via CollegeFootballData.com; national rank in the class.
The 2025 class by position
| Signed | Stars | Rating | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Quarterbacks | 1 | 3.0 | 0.827 |
| Running backs | 2 | 3.0 | 0.838 |
| Receivers | 5 | 2.8 | 0.817 |
| Offensive line | 4 | 2.8 | 0.812 |
| Defensive line | 7 | 2.9 | 0.825 |
| Linebackers | 3 | 3.0 | 0.839 |
| Defensive backs | 2 | 3.0 | 0.862 |
| Athletes and specialists | 2 | 3.0 | 0.843 |
| Whole class | 26 | 2.9 | 0.828 |
High-school signees by position group, with their average stars and 247Sports composite rating (out of 1), via CollegeFootballData.com. Athletes are signees with no set position.
Roster 113
The 2025 roster113 players, with numbers, heights, hometowns and each player’s 2025 line; 61 have a stat line. See the roster
Transfers in 5
The 2025 portal Thomas McCoy WR | ★★★ | from  Marshall |
 Miles Thompson CB | ★★★ | from  Texas Tech |
 Alvin Gulley Jr. DL | from  Yale | |
| Andrew Glass K | from  Kent State | |
| Keshawn Lyons CB | from McKendree |
Transfers out 26
And 14 more, lower-rated or unrated.
2025 Mid-American Conference standings
| Team | Conf. | Overall | AP final |
|---|---|---|---|
| Western Michigan | 7–1 | 10–4 | |
| Ohio | 6–2 | 9–4 | |
| Toledo | 6–2 | 8–5 | |
| Miami (OH) | 6–2 | 7–7 | |
 Central Michigan | 5–3 | 7–6 | |
| Kent State | 4–4 | 5–7 | |
 Akron | 4–4 | 5–7 | |
 Buffalo | 4–4 | 5–7 | |
| Eastern Michigan | 3–5 | 4–8 | |
| Ball State | 3–5 | 4–8 | |
 Bowling Green | 2–6 | 4–8 | |
 Northern Illinois | 2–6 | 3–9 | |
| Massachusetts | 0–8 | 0–12 |
Ordered by conference winning percentage, then conference wins. Division splits and tiebreakers aren’t applied.