FanBoardHQ

Northern Illinois

Northern Illinois University · 2025 · Mid-American

FanBoardHQ CFP
#126
Efficiency
-17.4
125th FBS
Record
3-9
Conf. record
2-6
Conf. finish
T-11th
of 13
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Northern Illinois went 3-9 and was ranked 126th in the FanBoardHQ CFP Rankings (blended resume and efficiency). Their 113th-ranked defense carried them, with a 129th-ranked offense. They ran the ball on 66% of offensive plays with an 112th-ranked rushing attack and passed the ball on the remaining 34% of plays with a 137th-ranked passing attack.

Quadrant record

By opponent strength, adjusted for where the game was played.

Q1
0-0
Q2
0-2
Q3
0-3
Q4
3-4

Projected wins

Per-game win probabilities combined across the full schedule.

0
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
Expected: 3.0 wins
Strength of Record
125th
-7.1 wins above a 25th-ranked team's expectation
Strength of Schedule
to date
111th
full season
111th
AP poll
Unranked
Conf. sched. difficulty
99th
a 25th-ranked team would win ~7.0 conference games on this schedule

The resume

Every game on the schedule. Click a row for the game breakdown (played) or the matchup projection (upcoming).

WkOpponentConfOpp rankResultExp. marginWin probGameScoreQuad
1vs Holy CrossPatriotW 1917+14.1100%-29.6Q4
2@ MarylandBig Ten#94L 920-19.40%-9.2Q3
4@ Mississippi StateSEC#76L 1038-23.60%-19.6Q2
5vs San Diego StateMountain West#47L 36-19.50%-0.7Q3
6vs Miami-OHMid-American#88L 1425-8.30%-19.9Q4
7@ Eastern MichiganMid-American#121L 1016-2.20%-21.8Q4
8@ OhioMid-American#60L 2148-16.50%-38.1Q3
9vs Ball StateMid-American#122W 217+7.0100%-13.7Q4
11@ ToledoMid-American#59L 342-26.20%-20.2Q2
12@ MassachusettsMid-American#136W 453+16.8100%14.9Q4
13vs Western MichiganMid-American#50L 1935-14.30%-21.9Q4
14vs Kent StateMid-American#108L 3135+5.90%-28.8Q4

12 played · 3-9. Expected margin and gamescore use the latest ratings — a completed game shows what the model would say now, not that week.

The season

The model’s read on Northern Illinois, recomputed after every week. Toggle between overall, offensive, and defensive efficiency (each with a dot for that week’s game) or the FanBoardHQ CFP rank.

-33.9-11.6+10.6-30-9-20-1-20-22-38-14-2015-22-29Week 0Week 20
Line = the model's read each week; dots = that week's game (green above the line, red below).

Passing & rushing

Opponent-adjusted, FBS-only. The bar is the blended Eff rank — EPA/play (scoring value), success rate (staying on schedule), and yards/play (explosiveness), each standardized against the FBS field. The three ranks below each bar are those components, so you can see what's driving it.

Offense
PassingEff 137th
SR 137thYPP 136thEPA 135th
RushingEff 112th
SR 129thYPP 111thEPA 98th
Defense
Pass defenseEff 86th
SR 112thYPP 79thEPA 85th
Rush defenseEff 100th
SR 107thYPP 78thEPA 104th
Dropback rate 34%Tempo -4.5 snaps/game vs. averageFaced pass defenses ranked 85th on average
Success rate by down

Their offense vs. what their defense allows.

1st · Offense: 38%1st · Defense allowed: 45%1st2nd · Offense: 30%2nd · Defense allowed: 43%2nd3rd/4th · Offense: 38%3rd/4th · Defense allowed: 45%3rd/4th
OffenseDefense allowed
Points by quarter

Scored vs. allowed, all regular-season games.

Q1 · Scored: 60.0Q1 · Allowed: 30.0Q1Q2 · Scored: 61.0Q2 · Allowed: 96.0Q2Q3 · Scored: 42.0Q3 · Allowed: 54.0Q3Q4 · Scored: 31.0Q4 · Allowed: 89.0Q4
ScoredAllowed

What kind of team is this?

Every team by offensive and defensive efficiency (points/game vs. an average team, higher is better on both). Click a dot for that team.

elite bothdefense-ledrebuildingoffense-ledNorthern IllinoisOffenseDefense
Northern Illinois Offense vs Defense, 2025
Offensive EffRanked 129th
-11.9
Field position: -0.3Finishing drives: -11.6
Field position -0.3Finishing drives -11.6= -11.9
Offensive Eff efficiency split into field position and finishing

Field position 76th · Finishing 130th

Defensive EffRanked 113th
-6.4
Field position: -1.4Finishing drives: -5.0
Field position -1.4Finishing drives -5.0= -6.4
Defensive Eff efficiency split into field position and finishing

Field position 111th · Finishing 108th

1.44 points per drive on offense, 2.00 allowed — starting, on average, at their own 28.

Play-calling & efficiency

What the offense did, by quarter and by down — raw, not opponent-adjusted.

By quarter
Quarter (att.)Pass / rushSuccessYd/play
Q1(179)34% / 66%35%5.0
Q2(193)26% / 74%37%4.8
Q3(156)34% / 66%37%5.5
Q4(199)48% / 52%33%3.9
how play-calling and results shifted through games — (n) = plays, season total
Passing by down
Down (att.)Avg. to goSuccessYd/play
1st(78)10.229%4.5
2nd(85)9.028%4.8
3rd(80)7.924%3.5
4th(15)4.333%4.7
All (258)28%4.3
Rushing by down
Down (att.)Avg. to goSuccessYd/play
1st(212)9.841%4.8
2nd(148)7.331%4.5
3rd(89)5.840%6.6
4th(20)1.785%3.6
All (469)40%5.0

Northern Illinois, all games.