2026 Northern Illinois

0–⁠6 (0–⁠2 Mountain West Conference), coached by Rob Harley. The season’s Wikipedia article records 0–⁠5, over five games to the six on file here. Share

Schedule and results

Most excitingLost to Illinois State 24–⁠28Sep 12
The win probability swung the most, by CollegeFootballData.com’s excitement index.

Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below.

Date	Opponent	Result
Sep 5	at22Iowa	L 0–⁠40	17%
Sep 12	vsIllinois State	L 24–⁠28	46%
Sep 19	atArizona	L 17–⁠42	20%
Sep 26	atGeorgia State	L 14–⁠35	40%
Oct 10	vsAir Force	L 7–⁠28	38%
Oct 17	atWyoming	L 23–⁠41	31%
Oct 24	vsHawai’i	Preview	46%
Oct 31	atUNLV	Preview	14%
Nov 7	atSan José State	Preview	27%
Nov 14	vsNevada	Preview	44%
Nov 21	atNorth Dakota State	Preview	12%
Nov 28	vsUTEP	Preview	64%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

Record: 0–⁠6
Conference: 0–⁠2 tied for 8th in Mountain West Conference
AP now: Unranked
Points: 85–⁠214
Coach: Rob Harley
Elo: 1312 −101 this season
SP+ rating: -23.5 No. 133 of 138; offense No. 134, defense No. 128, special teams No. 112
SRS: −17.7 No. 129 of 138 in FBS
Returning: 44% of last season’s EPA, No. 61 of 136
Recruiting class: No. 82 roster talent No. 126 in FBS

Offensive coordinators: Quinn Sanders and Tony Petersen
Offense: Multiple
Defense: 4–⁠2–⁠5

How good, play by play

Offense126th of 138
Defense125th of 138
Offense, opponent-adjusted125th of 138
Defense, opponent-adjusted110th of 138

	Success	Explosiveness	FBS rank
Offense	-0.07	35%	1.30	126th of 138
Defense	0.27	52%	1.26	125th of 138
Opponent-adjusted	0.01 off 0.16 def	39% off 46% def	—	125th off 110th def

Passing and running

	Pass success	Depth of target	Deep throws	Line yards	Stuffed
Offense		39%	8.7 yds	14%	3.10	16%
Defense		51%	8.6 yds	15%	3.50	12%

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		2.1	own 27	17% allowed
Defense		4.1	own 29	9% caused

CORE rating -15.4, 126th of 138 (offense -7.0, defense 8.4).

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	Taron Dickens QB	1,193 yds
Passing touchdowns	Taron Dickens QB	4 TD
Rushing yards	Telly Johnson Jr. RB	439 yds
Rushing touchdowns	Telly Johnson Jr. RB	4 TD
Receiving yards	DeAree Rogers WR	422 yds
Receiving touchdowns	DeAree Rogers WR	2 TD
Tackles	Jack Murray LB	43 tkl
Sacks	Avery Jones DB	2 sacks
Interceptions	Yassine Falke CB	3 INT

Top recruits in the 2026 class

Bryshawn Brown QB	★★★	No. 921
Braylon Agee WR	★★★	No. 1336
Deacon King S	★★★	No. 1358
Champ Smith S	★★★	No. 1474
Jvon Hatcher DL	★★★	No. 1566

247Sports composite rankings via CollegeFootballData.com; national rank in the class.

The 2026 class by position

	Signed	Stars	Rating
Quarterbacks	2	3.0	0.857
Running backs	2	3.0	0.848
Receivers	6	3.0	0.845
Offensive line	6	3.0	0.844
Defensive line	5	3.0	0.840
Linebackers	2	3.0	0.857
Defensive backs	4	3.0	0.853
Whole class	27	3.0	0.847

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 2026 roster

113 players, with numbers, heights, hometowns and each player’s 2026 line; 51 have a stat line. See the roster

Transfers in 7

The 2026 portal

Taron Dickens QB	★★★	from Western Carolina
Tyrese Stanley S	★★★	from Morehouse
Avery Jones S	★★★	from Lafayette
Chevez Trask OT	★★★	from South Carolina State
Mathias Davis DE	★★★	from Central State
Daine Hanson OT		from Texas–Permian Basin
Mathias Smith-Davis DE		from Central State

Transfers out 22

James Finley S	★★★★	to Illinois
Lance Ingold DE	★★★	to Iowa
DeAree Rogers WR	★★★	returned to Northern Illinois
Jacob Finley CB	★★★	to Cincinnati
Jasper Beeler S	★★★	to Cincinnati
Mark Hensley DL	★★★	to Missouri
Evan Malcore OT	★★★	to Miami (OH)
Filip Maciorowski LB	★★★	to Cincinnati
Marc Pretto LB	★★★	to Colorado State
Jake Appleget TE	★★★	to Fresno State
Jaylen Poe RB	★★★	to Georgia State
Ivan Moore Jr. DE	★★★	to Sacramento State

And 10 more, lower-rated or unrated.

2026 Mountain West Conference standings

Conference page

Team	Conf.	Overall
New Mexico	2–⁠0	5–⁠1
North Dakota State	3–⁠1	6–⁠1
Air Force	3–⁠1	5–⁠1
Wyoming	3–⁠1	4–⁠3
UNLV	2–⁠1	4–⁠3
San José State	2–⁠1	4–⁠3
Nevada	1–⁠2	2–⁠4
Hawai’i	0–⁠4	1–⁠6
UTEP	0–⁠3	1–⁠6
Northern Illinois	0–⁠2	0–⁠6

Ordered by conference winning percentage, then conference wins. Division splits and tiebreakers aren’t applied.