Wk 7 · 2026
Northwestern Wildcats at Michigan State Spartans — Sat, Oct 17
Sat, Oct 17 ·
Spartan Stadium, East Lansing
Big Ten · no games yet
at
TBDET
no line posted yet
Big Ten · no games yet
What is at stake
A Big Ten game — it counts in the standings that decide that league's championship game. Run the race.
Efficiency · 2025 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 2025 final numbers. Bars share a scale within each row; the
brighter side is the better of the two, and a longer bar is always the better number
— including the rows where a lower figure is the good one.
Team stats · 2025 per game
Points / game
Points allowed
Yards / game
Yards allowed
Pass yds allowed
Rush yds allowed
Turnovers / game
From completed 2025 box scores;
defensive yardage covers the regular season and conference championships.
Northwestern form
L 13-20at ILLW 38-35vs MINNL 22-24vs MICHL 17-38at USCL 21-28at NEB
2025 season
Michigan St form
W 38-28vs MDL 17-20at IOWAL 10-28vs PSUL 20-23at MINNL 20-31vs MICH
2025 season
Northwestern this season
No graded games yet this season. Lines are captured before kickoff and graded when a game goes final, so these records start at Week 1.
Michigan St this season
No graded games yet this season. Lines are captured before kickoff and graded when a game goes final, so these records start at Week 1.
Lines are captured from ESPN's board before kickoff and locked when the game goes final. There is no line archive before this season, so these records begin with 2026 Week 1.
Common opponents · 3
| Opponent | Northwestern | Michigan St |
|---|---|---|
| Rutgers Big Ten | vs Wk 8 · scheduled preview | at Wk 13 · scheduled preview |
| Oregon Big Ten | at Wk 9 · scheduled preview | vs Wk 12 · scheduled preview |
| Illinois Big Ten | vs Wk 13 · scheduled preview | vs Wk 6 · scheduled preview |
Open these two in the
comparison tool for every shared and unshared opponent.
Series history · 2006–2026
Michigan St leads the series 9–5 · Michigan St has won the last 3
14 meetings
in 2006–2026 · average margin
5.8 points toward Michigan St
| Yr | Date | Result | Site | Won |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 2021-09-03 | Michigan St 38 — 21 Northwestern | at NU | Michigan St |
| 2020 | 2020-11-28 | Northwestern 20 — 29 Michigan St | at MSU | Michigan St |
| 2019 | 2019-09-21 | Michigan St 31 — 10 Northwestern | at NU | Michigan St |
| 2018 | 2018-10-06 | Northwestern 29 — 19 Michigan St | at MSU | Northwestern |
| 2017 | 2017-10-28 | Michigan St 31 — 39 Northwestern | at NU | Northwestern |
| 2016 | 2016-10-15 | Northwestern 54 — 40 Michigan St | at MSU | Northwestern |
| 2013 | 2013-11-23 | Michigan St 30 — 6 Northwestern | at NU | Michigan St |
| 2012 | 2012-11-17 | Northwestern 23 — 20 Michigan St | at MSU | Northwestern |
| 2011 | 2011-11-26 | Michigan St 31 — 17 Northwestern | at NU | Michigan St |
| 2010 | 2010-10-23 | Michigan St 35 — 27 Northwestern | at NU | Michigan St |
| 2009 | 2009-10-17 | Northwestern 14 — 24 Michigan St | at MSU | Michigan St |
| 2008 | 2008-10-11 | Michigan St 37 — 20 Northwestern | at NU | Michigan St |
| 2007 | 2007-10-06 | Northwestern 48 — 41 Michigan St | at MSU | Northwestern |
| 2006 | 2006-10-21 | Michigan St 41 — 38 Northwestern | at NU | Michigan St |
Northwestern leaders 2025 season
| Passing | Preston Stone QB #8 | 203/339, 2174 YDS, 14 TD, 12 INT |
| Ryan Boe QB #2 | 1/3, 7 YDS | |
| Rushing | Caleb Komolafe RB #5 | 175 CAR, 886 YDS, 10 TD |
| Joseph Himon II RB #6 | 99 CAR, 486 YDS, 1 TD | |
| Dashun Reeder RB #24 | 22 CAR, 222 YDS, 1 TD | |
| Receiving | Griffin Wilde WR #17 | 61 REC, 783 YDS, 6 TD |
| Hayden Eligon II WR #8 | 34 REC, 476 YDS, 3 TD | |
| Hunter Welcing TE #84 | 27 REC, 283 YDS, 2 TD | |
| Drew Wagner WR #19 | 22 REC, 172 YDS, 2 TD |
Defense
| Tackles | Robert Fitzgerald DB #6 | 109 |
| Mac Uihlein LB #37 | 92 | |
| Braydon Brus LB #33 | 70 | |
| Sacks | Aidan Hubbard DE #91 | 4.5 |
| Michael Kilbane DL #47 | 3.5 | |
| Anto Saka DE #14 | 3 | |
| Interceptions | Mac Uihlein LB #37 | 4 |
| Najee Story DL #95 | 1 | |
| Ore Adeyi DB #7 | 1 |
Michigan St leaders 2025 season
| Passing | Aidan Chiles QB #0 | 128/203, 1392 YDS, 10 TD, 3 INT |
| Alessio Milivojevic QB #11 | 111/173, 1267 YDS, 10 TD, 3 INT | |
| Rushing | Makhi Frazier RB #25 | 116 CAR, 520 YDS, 2 TD |
| Elijah Tau-Tolliver RB #4 | 72 CAR, 428 YDS, 2 TD | |
| Brandon Tullis RB #7 | 69 CAR, 301 YDS, 4 TD | |
| Receiving | Nick Marsh WR #11 | 59 REC, 662 YDS, 6 TD |
| Omari Kelly WR #1 | 47 REC, 626 YDS, 2 TD | |
| Jack Velling TE #12 | 36 REC, 359 YDS, 3 TD | |
| Chrishon McCray WR #13 | 24 REC, 330 YDS, 3 TD |
Defense
| Tackles | Jordan Hall LB #5 | 88 |
| Wayne Matthews III LB #10 | 73 | |
| Alex VanSumeren DT #91 | 52 | |
| Sacks | Quindarius Dunnigan DL #99 | 2.5 |
| Jordan Hall LB #5 | 2.5 | |
| Jalen Thompson DL #9 | 2.5 | |
| Interceptions | Armorion Smith S #7 | 1 |
| Wayne Matthews III LB #10 | 1 | |
| Aveon Grose S #30 | 1 |
These are 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.