CollegeFootballDigestfrom CooperSearch

2025 Northwestern

7–⁠6 (4–⁠5 Big Ten), coached by David Braun.

Schedule and results

Northwestern in 2025, game by game: lost at Tulane 3–23; won vs. Western Illinois 42–7; lost vs. No. 4 Oregon 14–34; won vs. UCLA 17–14; won vs. UL Monroe 42–7; won at Penn State 22–21; won vs. Purdue 19–0; lost at Nebraska 21–28; lost at No. 20 USC 17–38; lost vs. No. 18 Michigan 22–24; won vs. Minnesota 38–35; lost at Illinois 13–20; won vs. Central Michigan 34–7+35−21Lost 3–23 at Tulane-20TulaneWon 42–7 vs. Western Illinois+35Western IllinoisLost 14–34 vs. No. 4 Oregon-20No. 4 OregonWon 17–14 vs. UCLA+3UCLAWon 42–7 vs. UL Monroe+35UL MonroeWon 22–21 at Penn State+1Penn StateWon 19–0 vs. Purdue+19PurdueLost 21–28 at Nebraska-7NebraskaLost 17–38 at No. 20 USC-21No. 20 USCLost 22–24 vs. No. 18 Michigan-2No. 18 MichiganWon 38–35 vs. Minnesota+3MinnesotaLost 13–20 at Illinois-7IllinoisWon 34–7 vs. Central Michigan+27Central Michigan
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below.
DateOpponentResultElo
Aug 30atTulaneL 3–⁠2331%
Sep 5vsWestern IllinoisW 42–⁠786%
Sep 13vs4OregonL 14–⁠3423%
Sep 27vsUCLAW 17–⁠1464%
Oct 4vsUL MonroeW 42–⁠760%
Oct 11atPenn StateW 22–⁠2122%
Oct 18vsPurdueW 19–⁠073%
Oct 25atNebraskaL 21–⁠2838%
Nov 7at20USCL 17–⁠3823%
Nov 15vs18MichiganL 22–⁠2426%
Nov 22vsMinnesotaW 38–⁠3538%
Nov 29atIllinoisL 13–⁠2032%
Dec 26Bowls & playoffvsCentral MichiganGameAbove Sports BowlW 34–⁠755%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Beat Central Michigan 34–⁠7 in the GameAbove Sports Bowl; unranked in the final AP poll; tied for 10th in the Big Ten.

In program history: The 42nd-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 133 on file).

Record
7–⁠6
Conference
4–⁠5 tied for 10th in Big Ten
AP final
Unranked
Points
304–⁠258
Coach
David Braun
Elo
1523 +43 this season
SP+ rating
5.8 No. 51 of 136; offense No. 90, defense No. 30, special teams No. 25
SRS
4.4 No. 49 of 136 in FBS
Returning
20% of last season’s EPA, No. 97 of 134
Recruiting class
No. 66 roster talent No. 57 in FBS
Offensive coordinator
Zach Lujan
Defensive coordinator
Tim McGarigle
Offense
Spread
Defense
Multiple 4–⁠3

How good, play by play

  • Offense87th of 136
  • Defense77th of 136
  • Offense, opponent-adjusted86th of 136
  • Defense, opponent-adjusted59th of 136
EPA per playSuccessExplosivenessFBS rank
Offense0.0543%1.1487th of 136
Defense0.1246%1.1577th of 136
Opponent-adjusted0.06 off
0.08 def		42% off
44% def		—86th off
59th def

Passing and running

Pass successDepth of targetDeep throwsLine yardsStuffed
Offense43%9.5 yds15%3.1016%
Defense47%10.4 yds19%3.1015%
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 40Average startHavoc
Offense3.2own 2917% allowed
Defense3.4own 2915% caused

CORE rating -2.1, 74th of 136 (offense -1.3, defense 0.8).

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 yardsPreston Stone QB2,400 yds
Passing touchdownsPreston Stone QB17 TD
Rushing yardsCaleb Komolafe RB941 yds
Rushing touchdownsCaleb Komolafe RB11 TD
Receiving yardsGriffin Wilde WR880 yds
Receiving touchdownsGriffin Wilde WR8 TD
TacklesRobert Fitzgerald DB106 tkl
SacksAidan Hubbard DL7.5 sacks
InterceptionsMac Uihlein LB4 INT

Top recruits in the 2025 class

Daniel Anderson RB★★★No. 645
Caden O’Rourke DE★★★No. 897
Mason Mayne DL★★★No. 1014
Tyler Kielmeyer TE★★★No. 1024
Michael O’Connell OT★★★No. 1049

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

The 2025 class by position

SignedStarsRating
Quarterbacks13.00.861
Running backs23.00.866
Receivers53.00.858
Offensive line33.00.861
Defensive line43.00.860
Linebackers13.00.858
Defensive backs32.70.832
Athletes and specialists32.70.829
Whole class222.90.852

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.

Drafted in 2026

The 2026 draft
Rd 3Caleb Tiernan OTMinnesota Vikings
Rd 7Evan Beerntsen OGBaltimore Ravens

Roster 112

The 2025 roster

112 players, with numbers, heights, hometowns and each player’s 2025 line; 59 have a stat line. See the roster

Transfers in 14

The 2025 portal
Griffin Wilde WR★★★from South Dakota State
Dillon Tatum S★★★from Michigan State
Fred Davis II CB★★★from Jacksonville State
Jack Sadowsky LB★★★from Iowa State
Martes Lewis OL★★★from Minnesota
Preston Stone QB★★★from SMU
Chase Farrell WR★★★from Stanford
Evan Beerntsen OL★★★from South Dakota State
Xavior Gray OT★★★from Liberty
Yanni Karlaftis LB★★★from Purdue
Alex Lines TE★★★from New Mexico State
Talan Chandler OL★★★from Missouri

And 2 more, lower-rated or unrated.

Transfers out 12

Josh Thompson OL★★★★to LSU
Theran Johnson CB★★★to Oregon
Devin Turner S★★★to Baylor
An’Darius Coffey S★★★to Purdue
Cooper Lovelace OL★★★to Colorado
Kenny Soares Jr. LB★★★to NC State
C.J. Johnson II WR★★★to Tulsa
Mike Wright QB★★★to East Carolina
Donnie Gray WR★★★to Massachusetts
Reggie Fleurima WR★★★★to Slippery Rock
Jordan Knox OL★★★to Northwest Mississippi C.C.
Hunter Renner P★★no new school on file

All-Big Ten

2 second team

Second team

From Wikipedia’s 2025 all-conference team article, with the selectors that named each player (AP-1: the Associated Press’s first team).

2025 Big Ten standings

Conference page
TeamConf.OverallAP final
Indiana9–⁠016–⁠01
Ohio State9–⁠012–⁠25
Oregon8–⁠113–⁠24
Michigan7–⁠29–⁠421
USC7–⁠29–⁠420
Iowa6–⁠39–⁠417
Illinois5–⁠49–⁠4
Washington5–⁠49–⁠4
Minnesota5–⁠48–⁠5
Nebraska4–⁠57–⁠6
Northwestern4–⁠57–⁠6
Penn State3–⁠67–⁠6
UCLA3–⁠63–⁠9
Rutgers2–⁠75–⁠7
Wisconsin2–⁠74–⁠8
Michigan State1–⁠84–⁠8
Maryland1–⁠84–⁠8
Purdue0–⁠92–⁠10

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