FanBoardHQ

Northwestern

Northwestern University · 2024 · Big Ten

FanBoardHQ CFP
#94
Efficiency
-4.1
84th FBS
Record
4-8
Conf. record
2-7
Conf. finish
16th
of 18
Northwestern Fanboard →

Northwestern went 4-8 and was ranked 94th in the FanBoardHQ CFP Rankings (blended resume and efficiency). Their 61st-ranked defense carried them, with a 102nd-ranked offense. They passed the ball on 54% of offensive plays with a 121st-ranked passing attack and ran the ball on the remaining 46% of plays with an 81st-ranked rushing attack.

Quadrant record

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

Q1
0-3
Q2
0-3
Q3
1-2
Q4
3-0

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: 4.0 wins
Strength of Record
98th
-3.5 wins above a 25th-ranked team's expectation
Strength of Schedule
to date
28th
full season
28th
AP poll
Unranked
Conf. sched. difficulty
33rd
a 25th-ranked team would win ~5.0 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 Miami-OHMid-American#59W 136-1.4100%5.2Q4
2vs DukeACC#39L 2026-5.60%0.2Q3
3vs Eastern IllinoisBig South-OVCW 317+29.0100%-7.6Q4
4@ WashingtonBig Ten#53L 524-11.70%-10.8Q2
6vs IndianaBig Ten#9L 2441-22.80%2.1Q1
7@ MarylandBig Ten#89W 3710-7.2100%30.0Q3
8vs WisconsinBig Ten#60L 323-9.30%-13.6Q3
9@ IowaBig Ten#36L 1440-20.00%-16.5Q1
10@ PurdueBig Ten#129W 2620+6.4100%-9.5Q4
12vs Ohio StateBig Ten#1L 731-34.10%-4.1Q1
13@ MichiganBig Ten#23L 650-18.00%-21.1Q2
14vs IllinoisBig Ten#18L 2838-12.20%-3.7Q2

12 played · 4-8. 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 Northwestern, 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.

-17.0+4.5+25.950-8-11230-14-17-9-4-21-4Week 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 121st
SR 119thYPP 99thEPA 126th
RushingEff 81st
SR 97thYPP 88thEPA 71st
Defense
Pass defenseEff 76th
SR 100thYPP 80thEPA 50th
Rush defenseEff 50th
SR 74thYPP 22ndEPA 52nd
Dropback rate 54%Tempo -1.9 snaps/game vs. averageFaced pass defenses ranked 47th on average
Success rate by down

Their offense vs. what their defense allows.

1st · Offense: 37%1st · Defense allowed: 47%1st2nd · Offense: 38%2nd · Defense allowed: 44%2nd3rd/4th · Offense: 36%3rd/4th · Defense allowed: 43%3rd/4th
OffenseDefense allowed
Points by quarter

Scored vs. allowed, all regular-season games.

Q1 · Scored: 33.0Q1 · Allowed: 47.0Q1Q2 · Scored: 54.0Q2 · Allowed: 97.0Q2Q3 · Scored: 40.0Q3 · Allowed: 79.0Q3Q4 · Scored: 57.0Q4 · Allowed: 81.0Q4
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-ledNorthwesternOffenseDefense
Northwestern Offense vs Defense, 2024
Offensive EffRanked 102nd
-4.8
Field position: +0.1Finishing drives: -4.9
Field position +0.1Finishing drives -4.9= -4.8
Offensive Eff efficiency split into field position and finishing

Field position 55th · Finishing 102nd

Defensive EffRanked 61st
+1.1
Field position: -2.8Finishing drives: +3.9
Field position -2.8Finishing drives +3.9= +1.1
Defensive Eff efficiency split into field position and finishing

Field position 131st · Finishing 40th

1.25 points per drive on offense, 2.15 allowed — starting, on average, at their own 30.

Play-calling & efficiency

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

By quarter
Quarter (att.)Pass / rushSuccessYd/play
Q1(173)51% / 49%37%5.5
Q2(197)51% / 49%38%4.5
Q3(159)57% / 43%39%4.8
Q4(199)66% / 34%35%4.3
how play-calling and results shifted through games — (n) = plays, season total
Passing by down
Down (att.)Avg. to goSuccessYd/play
1st(159)10.141%5.2
2nd(134)8.737%5.2
3rd(105)8.129%4.7
4th(12)6.725%5.1
All (410)36%5.1
Rushing by down
Down (att.)Avg. to goSuccessYd/play
1st(153)10.133%3.8
2nd(102)7.940%4.9
3rd(56)6.045%4.0
4th(7)1.486%6.1
All (318)38%4.3

Northwestern, all games.