Northwestern Wildcats
Big Ten
3-9 (1-8 conf)
SP+ #106
Ratings
2021
- SP+
- -11.1 (#106)
- SP+ Offense
- 19.4
- SP+ Defense
- 27.3
- SRS
- -7.2
- FPI
- -7.5
- Elo
- 1292
- Talent
- 649
- Recruiting
- 184 (#50)
Schedule
record 3–9
Schedule
37th
toughest of 130
Offenses faced
72nd
toughest of 130
Defenses faced
12th
toughest of 130
Strength of schedule — how tough this team's opponents are, ranked 1 (hardest) to 130 (easiest) · 1 FCS game.
| Wk | Opponent | SP+ | Score | Margin | Res |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | vsMichigan State | +11.2 | 21-38 | -17 | L |
| 2 | vsIndiana State | FCS | 24-6 | +18 | W |
| 3 | @Duke | -13.5 | 23-30 | -7 | L |
| 4 | vsOhio | -11.6 | 35-6 | +29 | W |
| 5 | @Nebraska | +10.3 | 7-56 | -49 | L |
| 7 | vsRutgers | -3 | 21-7 | +14 | W |
| 8 | @Michigan | +23.4 | 7-33 | -26 | L |
| 9 | vsMinnesota | +14.4 | 14-41 | -27 | L |
| 10 | vsIowa | +11.4 | 12-17 | -5 | L |
| 11 | @Wisconsin | +20.1 | 7-35 | -28 | L |
| 12 | NPurdue | +10.3 | 14-32 | -18 | L |
| 13 | @Illinois | +4.3 | 14-47 | -33 | L |
Quarterbacks · 4
2021 · 63
| Pos | Depth | Player | Cl | Ht | Wt | ★ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| QB | 1st | Ryan Hilinski | — | — | — | ★★★★ |
| QB | 2nd | Andrew Marty | — | — | — | — |
| QB | 3rd | Hunter Johnson | — | — | — | — |
| QB | 4th | Carl Richardson | — | — | — | — |
Running Backs · 6
| Pos | Depth | Player | Cl | Ht | Wt | ★ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| RB | 1st | Evan Hull | — | — | — | — |
| RB | 2nd | Andrew Clair | — | — | — | ★★★ |
| RB | 3rd | Anthony Tyus III | — | — | — | ★★★ |
| RB | 4th | Marcus Cisco | — | — | — | — |
| RB | 5th | Connor Newhouse | — | — | — | — |
| RB | 6th | Jake Arthurs | — | — | — | — |
Wide Receivers · 11
| Pos | Depth | Player | Cl | Ht | Wt | ★ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| WR | 1st | Stephon Robinson | — | — | — | — |
| WR | 2nd | Malik Washington | — | — | — | — |
| WR | 3rd | Raymond Niro III | — | — | — | — |
| WR | 4th | Bryce Kirtz | — | — | — | — |
| WR | 5th | JJ Jefferson | — | — | — | ★★★ |
| WR | 6th | Jacob Gill | SR | 6'0" | 185 | — |
| WR | 7th | Berkeley Holman | — | — | — | — |
| WR | 8th | Genson Hooper Price | — | — | — | — |
| WR | 9th | Wayne Dennis Jr. | — | — | — | — |
| WR | 10th | Jordan Mosley | SR | 6'0" | 195 | ★★★★ |
| WR | — | Calvin Johnson II | SR | 5'11" | 180 | — |
Tight Ends · 4
| Pos | Depth | Player | Cl | Ht | Wt | ★ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| TE | 1st | Marshall Lang | — | — | — | — |
| TE | 2nd | Charlie Mangieri | — | — | — | ★★★ |
| TE | 3rd | Trey Pugh | — | — | — | ★★★ |
| TE | 4th | Thomas Gordon | — | — | — | — |
Offensive Line · 2
| Pos | Depth | Player | Cl | Ht | Wt | ★ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| OL | — | Ethan Wiederkehr | — | — | — | — |
| OL | — | Charlie Schmidt | — | — | — | — |
Defensive Line · 10
| Pos | Depth | Player | Cl | Ht | Wt | ★ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| DE | 1st | Trevor Kent | — | — | — | — |
| DL | 1st | Adetomiwa Adebawore | — | — | — | — |
| DL | 2nd | Jeremy Meiser | — | — | — | ★★ |
| DL | 3rd | Jeffery Pooler Jr. | — | — | — | — |
| DL | 4th | Sam Miller | — | — | — | — |
| DL | 5th | Sean McLaughlin | — | — | — | — |
| DL | 6th | Joe Spivak | — | — | — | ★★ |
| DL | 7th | Devin O'Rourke | — | — | — | ★★★★ |
| DL | 8th | Te-Rah Edwards | — | — | — | — |
| DT | 1st | Jason Gold Jr. | — | — | — | — |
Linebackers · 8
| Pos | Depth | Player | Cl | Ht | Wt | ★ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| LB | 1st | Chris Bergin | — | — | — | — |
| LB | 2nd | Bryce Gallagher | — | — | — | — |
| LB | 3rd | Peter McIntyre | — | — | — | — |
| LB | 4th | Xander Mueller | — | — | — | — |
| LB | 5th | Troy Hudetz | — | — | — | — |
| LB | 6th | Khalid Jones | — | — | — | ★★★ |
| LB | 7th | Grayson Metz | — | — | — | — |
| LB | 8th | Michael Jansey Jr. | — | — | — | — |
Defensive Backs · 12
| Pos | Depth | Player | Cl | Ht | Wt | ★ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| CB | 1st | Garnett Hollis Jr. | — | — | — | — |
| DB | 1st | Coco Azema | — | — | — | — |
| DB | 2nd | Cameron Mitchell | — | — | — | — |
| DB | 3rd | A.J. Hampton | — | — | — | ★★★ |
| DB | 4th | Bryce Jackson | — | — | — | — |
| DB | 5th | Trent Carrington | — | — | — | — |
| DB | 6th | Jaylen Rivers | — | — | — | ★★★ |
| DB | 7th | Tyler Haskins | — | — | — | — |
| DB | 8th | Ore Adeyi | SR | 5'11" | 195 | ★★★ |
| S | 1st | Brandon Joseph | — | — | — | — |
| S | 2nd | Rod Heard | — | — | — | ★★★ |
| S | 3rd | Jaheem Joseph | JR | 5'10" | 200 | — |
Special Teams · 6
| Pos | Depth | Player | Cl | Ht | Wt | ★ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| LS | 1st | Peter Snodgrass | — | — | — | — |
| P | 1st | Derek Adams | — | — | — | ★★ |
| P | 2nd | Jake Genyk | — | — | — | — |
| PK | 1st | Charlie Kuhbander | — | — | — | — |
| PK | — | Jack Olsen | SR | 5'10" | 195 | ★★★ |
| PK | — | Trey Finison | — | — | — | — |
2021 · pct vs FBS
SP+ Off
19.410
Off PPA
+0.0912
Pass PPA
+0.1214
Rush PPA
+0.0929
Success
38%14
Explosive
1.1922
PlayerMedian (50th)percentile vs league
SP+ Trend
points vs avg team
— Overall— Offense— Defense
SP+ = opponent-adjusted points vs an average team. Overall & Offense higher = better; Defense lower = better.
Advanced
2021 · opponent-adjusted PPA / play
| Split | Offense | Defense |
|---|---|---|
| Overall | +0.09 | +0.27 |
| Passing | +0.12 | +0.24 |
| Rushing | +0.09 | +0.30 |
| 1st Down | -0.02 | +0.17 |
| 2nd Down | +0.01 | +0.28 |
| 3rd Down | +0.41 | +0.44 |
Scoring Trend
2021 · pts/game
PPG For
16.6
PPG Against
29.0
Differential
-12.4
— Points for— Points against
dots: W / LResults
2021
- Overall
- 3-9
- Home
- 3-3
- Away
- 0-5
- Neutral
- 0-1
- Conference
- 1-8
- Non-Conference
- 2-1
- One-Score (≤8)
- 0-2
- Avg Margin
- -12.4
Situational Splits
2021 · record · pts
| Split | Record | PF | PA |
|---|---|---|---|
| Venue | |||
| Home | 3-3 | 21.2 | 19.2 |
| Away | 0-5 | 11.6 | 40.2 |
| Neutral | 0-1 | 14.0 | 32.0 |
| Competition | |||
| vs Ranked (SP+ 25) | 0-3 | 9.3 | 36.3 |
| Conference | 1-8 | 13.0 | 34.0 |
| Non-conference | 2-1 | 27.3 | 14.0 |
Season History · last 12
0 AP top-10 · 7 postseason
| Season | Record | Conf | SP+ | AP | Post |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 6-6 | 4-5 | #51 | — | 1-0 |
| 2024 | 4-8 | 2-7 | #101 | — | — |
| 2023 | 7-5 | 5-4 | #69 | — | 1-0 |
| 2022 | 1-11 | 1-8 | #110 | — | — |
| 2021 | 3-9 | 1-8 | #106 | — | — |
| 2020 | 6-2 | 6-2 | #32 | — | 1-0 |
| 2019 | 3-9 | 1-8 | #91 | — | — |
| 2018 | 8-5 | 8-2 | #68 | — | 1-0 |
| 2017 | 9-3 | 7-2 | #27 | — | 1-0 |
| 2016 | 6-6 | 5-4 | #61 | — | 1-0 |
| 2015 | 10-2 | 6-2 | #75 | — | 0-1 |
| 2014 | 5-7 | 3-5 | #66 | — | — |
Recent Form · last 5
0-5 SU · 1-4 ATS · O3/U2
Betting Profile
2021 · 12 w/ line
| Straight up | 3-9 |
| ATS | 3-925% |
| Over / Under | 6-6 O-U |
| — ATS splits — | |
| As favorite | 1-3 |
| As underdog | 2-6 |
| Home | 3-3 |
| Away | 0-5 |
vs closing line · splits show cover–no cover
Recruiting Classes
avg #54 · 13 blue-chip
■ 5★■ 4★■ 3★126 rated signees
| Class | Natl | Pts | 5★ | 4★ | 3★ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | #66 | 188 | 0 | 0 | 16 |
| 2024 | #80 | 166 | 0 | 0 | 12 |
| 2023 | #47 | 200 | 0 | 1 | 12 |
| 2022 | #48 | 192 | 0 | 2 | 7 |
| 2021 | #50 | 184 | 0 | 3 | 4 |
| 2020 | #47 | 191 | 0 | 1 | 4 |
| 2019 | #52 | 188 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| 2018 | #58 | 180 | 0 | 1 | 17 |
| 2017 | #50 | 182 | 0 | 1 | 12 |
| 2016 | #52 | 175 | 0 | 0 | 13 |
247Sports composite · class rank vs all FBS
Roster Talent
talent #44
Returning prod 14%Departed 86%
Talent composite648.8 #44 / 224
Returning usage (pass / rush / rec)0 / 31 / 20
returning PPA · portal · talent composite · 2021
Injury Report · 0
No injuries reported.
Team News
5 items
- All Quiet On the Pacific Northwestern FrontSince Chris Petersen stepped down as head coach following the 2019 season, Washington hasn’t had much success keeping a leader at the helm. Jimmy Lake was named the heir apparent, only to be fired after roughly two seasons. Next came Kalen DeBoer, the architect of many great memories, whose name now leaves behind a sour […]NU16h
- Breaking down Northwestern football’s recent commitsThe class of 2027 is coming together.NU19h
- Five questions for Northwestern football in 2026The smoke & mirrors amidst NUFB’s rebuild for CFP contention.NU3d
- 2026 Northwestern Football Know Your Opponent: Indiana HoosiersThe Wildcats take their first road trip of the season.NU4d
- Northwestern center Jackson Carsello gets injunction restoring eligibility for 2026 seasonCook County Circuit Judge Neil Cohen ruled that Carsello, a starter, is entitled to an extra season of competition.