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South Dakota State18atNorthwestern34

2026 · Week 1

Efficiency

Game-level Efficiency Breakdown

-12.3-6.10+6.1+12.3South Dakota State — Off. field pos.: -2.6-2.6Northwestern — Off. field pos.: -4.6-4.6Off. field pos.Points this side's offense added or cost purely from where its drives started, vs. a league-average FBS team.South Dakota State — Off. scoring eff.: -10.7-10.7Northwestern — Off. scoring eff.: +9.9+9.9Off. scoring eff.Points this side's offense added or cost finishing drives (given where they started), vs. a league-average FBS team.South Dakota State — Def. field pos.: +4.6+4.6Northwestern — Def. field pos.: +2.6+2.6Def. field pos.Points this side's defense saved or gave up in starting field position allowed, vs. a league-average FBS team.South Dakota State — Def. scoring eff.: -9.9-9.9Northwestern — Def. scoring eff.: +10.7+10.7Def. scoring eff.Points this side's defense saved or gave up letting the opponent finish drives, vs. a league-average FBS team.South Dakota State — Possessions: +2.6+2.6Northwestern — Possessions: -2.6-2.6PossessionsValue of having more or fewer real possessions than the opponent this game (onside kicks, half-opening/closing clock timing, etc.) — not offense or defense skill.
South Dakota StateNorthwesternBreaks the final margin of victory down into where it came from, compared to what an average FBS team would do in an average game — the five bars per team always add up to the real final margin. Click a bar for detail.

Running score

01937Q1Q2Q3FinalSouth Dakota State 18Northwestern 34
South Dakota StateNorthwesternhover for any point, click for the by-quarter breakdown

Box score

South Dakota StateNorthwestern
Total yards432497
Rushing yards147224
Rushing attempts4031
Yds / rush3.77.2
Passing yards285273
Passing attempts4824
Yds / pass5.911.4
First downs2719
Turnovers10
Penalties69
Penalty yards4561
Sacks22
Time of possession34:0825:52

Passing & rushing

What each offense did this game.

South Dakota State
By quarterPass / rushSuccessYd/play
Q1(16)75% / 25%44%5.1
Q2(19)32% / 68%37%4.8
Q3(18)39% / 61%39%5.3
Q4(36)69% / 31%44%4.7
how play-calling and results shifted through the game — (n) = plays
Passing by down
Down (att.)Avg. to goSuccessYd/play
1st(22)10.050%6.9
2nd(16)7.525%4.4
3rd(11)7.136%5.1
4th(1)3.0100%6.0
All (50)—40%5.7
Rushing by down
Down (att.)Avg. to goSuccessYd/play
1st(17)10.729%3.5
2nd(11)7.555%5.6
3rd(9)3.444%3.2
4th(2)1.0100%2.0
All (39)—44%3.9
Northwestern
By quarterPass / rushSuccessYd/play
Q1(13)54% / 46%46%9.2
Q2(15)60% / 40%40%5.5
Q3(13)31% / 69%69%10.2
Q4(13)46% / 54%46%12.2
how play-calling and results shifted through the game — (n) = plays
Passing by down(offense 77th on the season)
Down (att.)Avg. to goSuccessYd/play
1st(10)10.080%19.6
2nd(7)6.714%-0.4
3rd(9)8.433%7.7
All (26)—46%10.1
Rushing by down(offense 54th on the season)
Down (att.)Avg. to goSuccessYd/play
1st(17)10.847%9.4
2nd(8)9.963%6.6
3rd(3)4.767%6.3
All (28)—54%8.3

Drive-by-drive — expected vs. actual points, each possession

2Drive 2: own 18 → TD4Drive 4: own 30 → Punt6Drive 6: opp 46 → Punt8Drive 8: own 25 → FG10Drive 10: own 25 → Punt12Drive 12: own 25 → Punt14Drive 14: own 10 → Punt16Drive 16: own 25 → TD18Drive 18: own 25 → FG20Drive 20: own 29 → TD22Drive 22: own 20 → TDown 0own 2550opp 25opp 0
Northwestern drives by field position

Each bar is a drive, from where it started to where it ended. Green = scored, red = turnover/downs/safety.

#StartTimePlaysYdsResultExpPts+/−
2own 18Q1 12:14382TD1.77+5.3
4own 30Q1 10:10713Punt2.60-2.6
6opp 46Q1 5:551024Punt3.60-3.6
8own 25Q2 10:361056FG2.03+1.0
10own 25Q2 5:2048Punt2.00-2.0
12own 25Q2 1:08618Punt2.00-2.0
14own 10Q3 14:26611Punt1.70-1.7
16own 25Q3 9:49875TD2.07+5.0
18own 25Q3 2:011055FG2.03+1.0
20own 29Q4 7:591071TD2.67+4.4
22own 20Q4 1:15180TD1.77+5.3
11 drives5749724.134+9.9

Exp = points an average offense scores from that starting spot. +/− = actual minus expected.

South Dakota State at Northwestern — 2026 game breakdown · FanBoardHQ