2024 Northwestern
4–8 (2–7 Big Ten), coached by David Braun. Share
Schedule and results
- Biggest winBeat Maryland 37–10Oct 11
By 27 points, its widest win.
- Most excitingLost to Duke 20–26Sep 6
The win probability swung the most, by CollegeFootballData.com’s excitement index.
| Date | Opponent | Result | Elo |
|---|---|---|---|
| Aug 31 | vs Miami (OH) | W 13–6 | 41% |
| Sep 6 | vs Duke | L 20–26 | 44% |
| Sep 14 | vs Eastern Illinois | W 31–7 | 78% |
| Sep 21 | at Washington | L 5–24 | 25% |
| Oct 5 | vs 23Indiana | L 24–41 | 47% |
| Oct 11 | at Maryland | W 37–10 | 32% |
| Oct 19 | vs Wisconsin | L 3–23 | 44% |
| Oct 26 | at Iowa | L 14–40 | 29% |
| Nov 2 | at Purdue | W 26–20 | 57% |
| Nov 16 | vs 2Ohio State | L 7–31 | 18% |
| Nov 23 | at Michigan | L 6–50 | 24% |
| Nov 30 | vs 22Illinois | L 28–38 | 36% |
Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.
How it ended: Lost to Illinois 38–28; unranked in the final AP poll; 16th in the Big Ten.
In program history: The 66th-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 133 on file).
- Record
- 4–8
- Conference
- 2–7 16th in Big Ten
- AP final
- Unranked
- Points
- 214–316
- Coach
- David Braun
- Elo
- 1469 −42 this season
- SP+ rating
- -8.2 No. 101 of 134; offense No. 124, defense No. 51, special teams No. 106
- SRS
- −3.3 No. 84 of 134 in FBS
- Returning
- 42% of last season’s EPA, No. 75 of 133
- Recruiting class
- No. 80 roster talent No. 55 in FBS
- Offensive coordinator
- Zach Lujan
- Defensive coordinator
- Tim McGarigle
- Offense
- Spread
- Defense
- Multiple 4–3
How good, play by play
| EPA per play | Success | Explosiveness | FBS rank | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Offense | -0.09 | 35% | 1.19 | 130th of 134 |
| Defense | 0.10 | 45% | 1.16 | 65th of 134 |
| Opponent-adjusted | -0.01 off 0.07 def | 37% off 43% def | — | 126th off 50th def |
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.
Drives and havoc
| Points per trip inside the 40 | Average start | Havoc | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Offense | 3.0 | own 28 | 19% allowed |
| Defense | 3.7 | own 34 | 15% caused |
CORE rating -10.0, 101st of 134 (offense -11.4, defense -1.3).
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 | Jack Lausch QB | 1,714 yds |
| Passing touchdowns | Jack Lausch QB | 7 TD |
| Rushing yards | Cam Porter RB | 501 yds |
| Rushing touchdowns | Cam Porter RB | 6 TD |
| Receiving yards | A.J. Henning WR | 603 yds |
| Receiving touchdowns | A.J. Henning WR | 4 TD |
| Tackles | Mac Uihlein LB | 84 tkl |
| Sacks | Aidan Hubbard DL | 6 sacks |
| Interceptions | Devin Turner S | 3 INT |
Top recruits in the 2024 class
| Patrick Schaller TE | ★★★ | No. 947 |
| Idrys Cotton OL | ★★★ | No. 1123 |
| Dashun Reeder RB | ★★★ | No. 1220 |
| Tito Williams Jr. S | ★★★ | No. 1281 |
| Ezomo Oratokhai OL | ★★★ | No. 1297 |
247Sports composite rankings via CollegeFootballData.com; national rank in the class.
The 2024 class by position
| Signed | Stars | Rating | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Quarterbacks | 1 | 3.0 | 0.848 |
| Running backs | 1 | 3.0 | 0.860 |
| Receivers | 3 | 2.7 | 0.830 |
| Offensive line | 3 | 3.0 | 0.845 |
| Defensive line | 4 | 3.0 | 0.849 |
| Linebackers | 1 | 3.0 | 0.826 |
| Defensive backs | 3 | 3.0 | 0.853 |
| Athletes and specialists | 2 | 3.0 | 0.837 |
| Whole class | 18 | 2.9 | 0.844 |
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 111
The 2024 roster111 players, with numbers, heights, hometowns and each player’s 2024 line; 62 have a stat line. See the roster
Transfers in 6
The 2024 portal| Nigel Glover LB | ★★★ | from  Ohio State |
 Jack Bailey OL | ★★★ | from  Colorado |
 Matt Keeler OT | ★★★ | from  Texas Tech |
 Mike Wright QB | ★★★ | from  Mississippi State |
 Noah Taylor LB | ★★★ | from  Cornell |
 Cooper Lovelace OL | ★★★ | from  USC |
Transfers out 12
All-Big Ten
1 second teamSecond team
Theran JohnsonDBCoaches-2
From Wikipedia’s 2024 all-conference team article, with the selectors that named each player (AP-1: the Associated Press’s first team).
2024 Big Ten standings
Conference page| Team | Conf. | Overall | AP final |
|---|---|---|---|
 Oregon | 9–0 | 13–1 | 3 |
| Indiana | 8–1 | 11–2 | 10 |
 Penn State | 8–1 | 13–3 | 5 |
| Ohio State | 7–2 | 14–2 | 1 |
| Illinois | 6–3 | 10–3 | 16 |
| Iowa | 6–3 | 8–5 | |
| Michigan | 5–4 | 8–5 | |
 Minnesota | 5–4 | 8–5 | |
| USC | 4–5 | 7–6 | |
 Rutgers | 4–5 | 7–6 | |
| Washington | 4–5 | 6–7 | |
 Nebraska | 3–6 | 7–6 | |
 Michigan State | 3–6 | 5–7 | |
| Wisconsin | 3–6 | 5–7 | |
 UCLA | 3–6 | 5–7 | |
| Northwestern | 2–7 | 4–8 | |
| Maryland | 1–8 | 4–8 | |
| Purdue | 0–9 | 1–11 |
Ordered by conference winning percentage, then conference wins. Division splits and tiebreakers aren’t applied.