Wk 5 · 2026
Penn State Nittany Lions at Northwestern Wildcats — Fri, Oct 2
Fri, Oct 2 ·
Ryan Field, Evanston
· FOX
Big Ten · no games yet
at
8:00pET
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. Penn State is ranked #18 (AP Top 25 ยท 2026-08-17).
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.
Penn State form
W 40-36at RUTGW 37-10vs NEBW 28-10at MSUL 24-27vs IUL 14-38at OSU
2025 season
Northwestern form
L 13-20at ILLW 38-35vs MINNL 22-24vs MICHL 17-38at USCL 21-28at NEB
2025 season
Penn State 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.
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.
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 · 2
| Opponent | Penn State | Northwestern |
|---|---|---|
| Minnesota Big Ten | vs Wk 11 · scheduled preview | at Wk 12 · scheduled preview |
| Rutgers Big Ten | vs Wk 12 · scheduled preview | vs Wk 8 · scheduled preview |
Open these two in the
comparison tool for every shared and unshared opponent.
Series history · 2006–2026
Penn State leads the series 8–3 · Northwestern won the last one
11 meetings
in 2006–2026 · average margin
10.7 points toward Penn State
| Yr | Date | Result | Site | Won |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 2025-10-11 | Northwestern 22 — 21 Penn State | at PSU | Northwestern |
| 2023 | 2023-09-30 | Penn State 41 — 13 Northwestern | at NU | Penn State |
| 2022 | 2022-10-01 | Northwestern 7 — 17 Penn State | at PSU | Penn State |
| 2017 | 2017-10-07 | Penn State 31 — 7 Northwestern | at NU | Penn State |
| 2015 | 2015-11-07 | Penn State 21 — 23 Northwestern | at NU | Northwestern |
| 2014 | 2014-09-27 | Northwestern 29 — 6 Penn State | at PSU | Northwestern |
| 2012 | 2012-10-06 | Northwestern 28 — 39 Penn State | at PSU | Penn State |
| 2011 | 2011-10-22 | Penn State 34 — 24 Northwestern | at NU | Penn State |
| 2010 | 2010-11-06 | Northwestern 21 — 35 Penn State | at PSU | Penn State |
| 2009 | 2009-10-31 | Penn State 34 — 13 Northwestern | at NU | Penn State |
| 2006 | 2006-09-30 | Northwestern 7 — 33 Penn State | at PSU | Penn State |
Penn State leaders 2025 season
| Passing | Drew Allar QB #15 | 103/159, 1100 YDS, 8 TD, 3 INT |
| Ethan Grunkemeyer QB #17 | 100/144, 1079 YDS, 6 TD, 4 INT | |
| Rushing | Kaytron Allen RB #13 | 210 CAR, 1303 YDS, 15 TD |
| Nicholas Singleton RB #10 | 123 CAR, 549 YDS, 13 TD | |
| Drew Allar QB #15 | 36 CAR, 172 YDS, 1 TD | |
| Receiving | Trebor Pena WR #8 | 44 REC, 452 YDS, 1 TD |
| Devonte Ross WR #5 | 28 REC, 417 YDS, 5 TD | |
| Kyron Hudson WR #11 | 23 REC, 288 YDS, 2 TD | |
| Luke Reynolds TE #85 | 24 REC, 229 YDS |
Defense
| Tackles | Amare Campbell LB #0 | 96 |
| Zakee Wheatley S #6 | 74 | |
| Dominic DeLuca LB #0 | 63 | |
| Sacks | Dani Dennis-Sutton EDGE #33 | 6.5 |
| Zane Durant DT #28 | 4 | |
| Amare Campbell LB #0 | 3 | |
| Interceptions | Alonzo Ford Jr. DT #50 | 1 |
| Zakee Wheatley S #6 | 1 | |
| Zane Durant DT #28 | 1 |
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 |
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.