Wk 1 · 2026
Northern Illinois Huskies at Iowa Hawkeyes — Sat, Sep 5
Sat, Sep 5 ·
Kinnick Stadium, Iowa City, IA
· BTN FINAL
Weather
No forecast yet. Forecasts reach about 16 days ahead, so this fills in nearer the game. A seasonal average printed here would look exactly like a forecast, which is why there is not one.
at
4:15pET
IOWA -31.5 · total 44.5 DraftKings
Ratings differential IOWA by 35.8
What is at stake
A non-conference game. It moves both overall records but neither conference race. Iowa is ranked #20 (AP Top 25 · 2026-10-04).
What the ratings imply
The differential above is arithmetic on two published numbers:
The CFB King’s 2026 final efficiency ratings, plus
2.4 points of home field.
It is not a projection, a value, an edge or a lean, and nothing on this site
compares it with the betting line to tell you one is better. Until 2026
games are played it is last season’s measurement of two teams that have
changed.
Efficiency · 2026 ratings
Efficiency margin
Offense (pts/100)
Defense (pts/100)
Pace (plays/g)
Yards / play
Yards / play allowed
Opponent-adjusted ratings from The College
King's 2026 final numbers. Bars share a scale within each row, so
the two lengths are comparable; the brighter side is the better of the two, and a
longer bar is the better number — including the rows where a lower figure is the
good one. Pace is the exception: it is how fast a team plays, not how well, so
neither side is lit and a longer bar there means only more plays.
Team stats · 2026 per game
Points / game
Points allowed
Yards / game
Yards allowed
Pass yds allowed
Rush yds allowed
Turnovers / game
From completed 2026 box scores;
defensive yardage covers the regular season and conference championships.
N Illinois form
L 7-28vs AFL 14-35at GASTL 17-42at ARIZL 24-28vs ILSTL 0-40at IOWA
2026 season
Iowa form
W 41-24at WASHL 14-31vs OSUW 20-19at MICHW 55-0vs UNIW 16-13vs ISU
2026 season
N Illinois this season
Straight up0-5 · 0% (5 games)
Against the spread1-4 · 20% (5 games)
Over / under2-3 · 40% (5 games)
Iowa this season
Straight up5-1 · 83% (6 games)
Against the spread4-2 · 67% (6 games)
Over / under2-4 · 33% (6 games)
Lines are captured from ESPN's board before kickoff and locked at kickoff, so an in-play price cannot overwrite the number a game is graded against.
Common opponents · 0
These teams share no opponents on the 2026 schedule.
Open these two in the
comparison tool for every shared and unshared opponent.
Series history · 2006–2026
Since 2006, Iowa leads 5–1 · Iowa has won the last 2
6 meetings
in 2006–2026 · average margin
14.5 points toward Iowa
| Yr | Date | Result | Site | Won |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 2026-09-05 | N Illinois 0 — 40 Iowa | at IOWA | Iowa |
| 2018 | 2018-09-01 | N Illinois 7 — 33 Iowa | at IOWA | Iowa |
| 2013 | 2013-08-31 | N Illinois 30 — 27 Iowa | at IOWA | N Illinois |
| 2012 | 2012-09-01 | Iowa 18 — 17 N Illinois | neutral | Iowa |
| 2007 | 2007-09-01 | Iowa 16 — 3 N Illinois | at NIU | Iowa |
| 2006 | 2006-10-28 | N Illinois 14 — 24 Iowa | at IOWA | Iowa |
N Illinois leaders 2026 regular season
| Passing | Taron Dickens QB #5 | 84/120, 837 YDS, 3 TD, 2 INT |
| Brady Davidson QB #2 | 4/6, 27 YDS | |
| Rushing | Telly Johnson Jr. RB #45 | 57 CAR, 253 YDS, 2 TD |
| Elijah Porter RB #24 | 16 CAR, 59 YDS, 1 TD | |
| Jaidaun Cranford RB #20 | 8 CAR, 59 YDS | |
| Receiving | DeAree Rogers WR #1 | 31 REC, 252 YDS, 2 TD |
| La'Don Bryant WR #0 | 14 REC, 185 YDS | |
| Cam Thompson WR #7 | 9 REC, 108 YDS, 1 TD | |
| George Dimopoulos WR #9 | 6 REC, 77 YDS |
Defense
| Tackles | Kyon Conyers S #16 | 27 |
| Jack Murray LB #44 | 26 | |
| Jashawn Nelson LB #6 | 25 | |
| Sacks | Avery Jones DB #2 | 2 |
| Jashawn Nelson LB #6 | 1.5 | |
| Kole Sneed DE #90 | 1 | |
| Interceptions | Yassine Falke CB #5 | 3 |
| Kyon Conyers S #16 | 1 | |
| Andruw Ellis S #30 | 1 |
Iowa leaders 2026 regular season
| Passing | Hank Brown QB #9 | 78/124, 832 YDS, 5 TD, 1 INT |
| Jeremy Hecklinski QB #10 | 32/51, 410 YDS, 4 TD, 1 INT | |
| Rushing | Kamari Moulton RB #28 | 76 CAR, 519 YDS, 4 TD |
| Xavier Williams RB #26 | 20 CAR, 170 YDS, 3 TD | |
| Braeden Jackson RB #22 | 19 CAR, 170 YDS, 2 TD | |
| Receiving | Tony Diaz WR #14 | 28 REC, 329 YDS, 1 TD |
| Reece Vander Zee WR #2 | 16 REC, 247 YDS, 3 TD | |
| DJ Vonnahme TE #81 | 18 REC, 219 YDS, 2 TD | |
| Addison Ostrenga TE #87 | 8 REC, 75 YDS, 1 TD |
Defense
| Tackles | Cam Buffington LB #33 | 52 |
| Jayden Montgomery LB #36 | 35 | |
| Zach Lutmer DB #6 | 34 | |
| Sacks | Joseph Anderson DE #84 | 3 |
| Preston Ries LB #46 | 2.5 | |
| Bryce Hawthorne DL #96 | 2.5 | |
| Interceptions | Deshaun Lee DB #8 | 2 |
| Rashad Godfrey Jr. DB #7 | 1 | |
| Jacob Wallace DB #11 | 1 |
These are regular-season totals for
the season named on each card — the players who led that team that year,
taken from ESPN's team leaders. That list is keyed to the season, not to today's
roster, so a leader who has since transferred or run out of eligibility still
appears against the year he earned it; the
roster
pages and the depth chart on each team page are where the current squad is.
A team switches to this season's numbers once it has played a game. The roster
pages count bowl games too, so a player's two lines can differ by a game.