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Northern Illinois

2026 season

Mountain West
2026 preseason report

Historical preseason snapshot from 2026-07-29, including roster context and illustrative season projections. This is not a live injury feed.

What every system says

Northern Illinois's rank in each system (1 = best). Middle rank 134 across 8 systems; best 131, worst 138, so they disagree by 7 places.

Lab EPA
#131
Through week 92026 · 138 rated FBS teams · Through week 9. Rank 1 is best; lower rank numbers are better. Higher rating values are better. Equal ratings take separate places, ordered by team name.
Lab SRS
#138
no change2026 · 138 FBS roster teams, including prior-only teams · Through week 9 · built 2026-11-06T12:26:24.430328+00:00. Rank 1 is best; lower rank numbers are better. Higher rating values are better. Equal ratings take separate places, ordered by team name.
SP+
#138
down 12026 · 138 published SP+ teams · Provider week 10 · captured 2026-11-02T14:10:13.208713+00:00. Rank 1 is best; lower rank numbers are better. Higher rating values are better. Published provider ranks; tie handling is not documented in this snapshot.
Elo
#131
up 12026 · 138 rated FBS teams · Through week 9 · captured 2026-11-06T12:01:15.459089+00:00. Rank 1 is best; lower rank numbers are better. Higher rating values are better. Equal ratings share the best tied rank; the next rank skips places.
FPI
#133
up 12026 · 138 rated FBS teams · Event cutoff not supplied · captured 2026-11-06T12:01:15.459089+00:00. Rank 1 is best; lower rank numbers are better. Higher rating values are better. Equal ratings share the best tied rank; the next rank skips places.
CORE
#135
up 1 · Through week 9 · captured 2026-11-06T12:01:15.459089+00:002026 · 138 rated FBS teams · Through week 9 · captured 2026-11-06T12:01:15.459089+00:00. Rank 1 is best; lower rank numbers are better. Higher rating values are better. Equal ratings share the best tied rank; the next rank skips places.
CFBD SRS
#135
up 22026 · 138 rated FBS teams · Event cutoff not supplied · captured 2026-11-06T12:01:15.459089+00:00. Rank 1 is best; lower rank numbers are better. Higher rating values are better. Equal ratings share the best tied rank; the next rank skips places.
WEPA
#132
up 32026 · 138 rated FBS teams · Event cutoff not supplied · captured 2026-11-06T12:01:15.459089+00:00. Rank 1 is best; lower rank numbers are better. Higher rating values are better. Equal ratings share the best tied rank; the next rank skips places.
Compare every team

FPI context

ESPN FPI via CFBD · 2026

Résumé and schedule

Results earned and schedule difficulty

Strength of record
#138 of 138
Schedule strength
#72 of 138
Remaining schedule strength
#102 of 138
Game control
#135 of 138

Unit efficiency

Performance by unit

Overall
#135 of 138
Offense
#107 of 138
Defense
#136 of 138
Special teams
#138 of 138

Ranks calculated among rated FBS teams; ties share rank. #1 means strongest résumé, hardest schedule, best game control or highest efficiency. These are separate measures, not a combined forecast. Captured Nov 6, 2026, 06:01:15 CST. FPI supplies no results-through week; capture time records when we received it.

Why the ratings disagree

Northern Illinois · 2026. Each system answers a different question. The cards show each source's rank (published or computed here) and coverage, so a rank gap can also reflect which teams have data.

Record

0-8 wins–losses

No rank assigned

Results earned. Wins and losses do not account for opponent strength or victory margin.

2026, provider Week 10; captured 2026-11-02T14:10:13.208713+00:00

SP+ workbook record

Descriptive EPA

-0.189 net EPA/play

#131

2026 · 138 rated FBS teams · Through week 9. Rank 1 is best; lower rank numbers are better. Higher rating values are better. Equal ratings take separate places, ordered by team name.

Observed per-play efficiency after opponent adjustment. FBS-vs-FBS plays; no preseason strength prior. Sparse schedules can produce sharp early movement.

2026, through CFBD Week 9; opponent adjusted ridge

Lab EPA from CFBD plays

Local predictive SRS

-19.46 points

#138 · Rank unchanged since the previous CFBD cutoff

2026 · 138 FBS roster teams, including prior-only teams · Through week 9 · built 2026-11-06T12:26:24.430328+00:00. Rank 1 is best; lower rank numbers are better. Higher rating values are better. Equal ratings take separate places, ordered by team name.

This season's 8 games, with recent games counting a bit more: average margin -19.99 (with blowouts capped at 35 points and overtime games counted as a 1-point result, then 2.5 points of home field removed) against opponents averaging -3.46, schedule #81 of 138 (#1 = toughest); 1 FCS opponent counts at −25; FBS opponents alone average -0.78. That is worth -23.45 on its own; the preseason prior of -5.72 still carries 22% of the weight, giving -19.46.

How each game enters this SRS rating

Northern Illinois · 2026, through CFBD Week 9. Margins are team minus opponent. The fit caps margins and treats overtime as a one-point result before adjusting for venue. Recent games carry more weight; the fit share includes the preseason prior in its denominator.

GameRaw margin → transformedVenue adjustmentRecency weightFit shareOpponent ratingMargin termOpponent termTotal term
Week 1 · Iowa
away · 2026-09-05 · ID 401858426
-40.00 → -35.00+2.500.73498.26%+10.46-2.6850.864-1.821
Week 2 · Illinois State
home · 2026-09-12 · ID 401864503
-4.00 → -4.00-2.500.76378.58%-25.00 (fixed lower division)-0.558-2.146-2.704
Week 3 · Arizona
away · 2026-09-20 · ID 401856793
-25.00 → -25.00+2.500.79378.92%+11.06-2.0070.987-1.021
Week 4 · Georgia State
away · 2026-09-26 · ID 401864511
-21.00 → -21.00+2.500.82499.27%-4.15-1.715-0.385-2.100
Week 6 · Air Force
home · 2026-10-10 · ID 401864516
-21.00 → -21.00-2.500.890910.01%-0.93-2.353-0.093-2.447
Week 7 · Wyoming
away · 2026-10-17 · ID 401864522
-18.00 → -18.00+2.500.925910.41%-7.98-1.613-0.831-2.444
Week 8 · Hawai'i
home · 2026-10-24 · ID 401864526
-35.00 → -35.00-2.500.962210.82%-7.49-4.056-0.810-4.866
Week 9 · UNLV
away · 2026-11-01 · ID 401864530
-7.00 → -7.00+2.501.000011.24%-2.40-0.506-0.270-0.776

Game terms -18.18 points; prior term -1.29 points. Their unrounded sum is the fitted rating -19.46 points. The preseason prior is -5.72 with 22.48% of the fit weight. Displayed values are rounded; the producer checks the unrounded identity within 0.00000001 points.

These are additive terms of the current fit, not the effect of removing a game. Opponent ratings already reflect the connected schedule. Lower-division opponents use the fixed anchor, not an individually fitted rating. The rating's model-based 95% band is ±8.8 points; this decomposition does not reduce uncertainty or assign causal effects.

Download fitted terms and source hashes

Estimated strength from schedule-adjusted scoring margins, margin caps, home-field adjustment and recency weighting. Half of prior-season strength, including postseason, carries forward with two games of weight. SRS includes FCS opponents under a fixed strength assumption. 8 current games; prior available.

2026, through CFBD Week 9; generated 2026-11-06T12:26:24.430328+00:00

Lab SRS from CFBD scores

External SP+

-26.5 SP+ points

#138 · Down 1 place

2026 · 138 published SP+ teams · Provider week 10 · captured 2026-11-02T14:10:13.208713+00:00. Rank 1 is best; lower rank numbers are better. Higher rating values are better. Published provider ranks; tie handling is not documented in this snapshot.

Bill Connelly's published predictive strength estimate. Its method and scale differ from local SRS.

2026, provider Week 10; captured 2026-11-02T14:10:13.208713+00:00

Bill Connelly SP+ workbook

External CORE

-21.37 net points per 100 offensive + 100 defensive plays

#135 of 138 by overall (ranked here; CORE publishes no rank)

2026 · 138 rated FBS teams in this CORE board · 2026, through regular Week 9; model core-v1; captured 2026-11-06T12:03:20.826325+00:00. Rank 1 is best; lower rank numbers are better. Higher rating values are better. Equal ratings share the best tied rank; the next rank skips places.

CFBD's context- and opponent-relative efficiency. Offense is higher-better; defense is points allowed above average, so lower is better; overall is offense minus defense. It counts only pass and rush plays from FBS-vs-FBS games, with no special teams, overtime or garbage time; early-week values are pulled toward average but are still uncertain, and it is not a résumé ranking. Its scale is not comparable to EPA, SRS or SP+. Offense -5.16 on 359 plays; defense 16.21 on 402 plays.

2026, through regular Week 9; model core-v1; captured 2026-11-06T12:03:20.826325+00:00

CFBD CORE ratingCORE board: offense vs defense

EPA ranks Northern Illinois 7 places higher than local SRS at the matched cutoff. This identifies a disagreement; it does not isolate its cause. SP+ movement compares provider weeks 9 and 10. Provider weeks may differ from CFBD weeks, so no cross-provider rank gap is calculated. CORE reports its own inclusive cutoff and is shown beside these systems for comparison only; it is an external research rating and is never blended into the lab's opponent-adjusted EPA, local SRS or any pick.

Team ratings and rank gaps are not matchup spreads or win probabilities. Matchup context and a calibrated forecast mapping are required. Do not average EPA, SRS, SP+ and CORE values across their different scales.

Read local SRS assumptions and forecast evidence

Program context

2026 · CFBD records, polls, recruiting, coaches
Record
0-8 · conf 0-4 · home 0-3 · away 0-5 · expected wins 0.6
Polls (Week 10)
unranked
CFP latest
unranked · 2026 regular Week 10 · captured 2026-11-06
CFP final
not published
Against the spread
2026: 2-6 ATS (-6.6 avg) · 2025: 3-9 ATS (-3.5 avg)
Head coach
Rob Harley · hired 2026-02-18 · 0-0 over 1 captured season
Recruiting classes
2024 #99 (150 pts) · 2025 #84 (164 pts) · 2026 #82 (185 pts)
Returning
44% of production · 47% of usage
Passing, receiving and rushing detail
CategoryProductionUsage
Passing138%44%
Receiving93%70%
Rushing29%40%

Shares of prior-season PPA and usage returning in each category. Missing values are unavailable.

Provider values from CFBD captures dated 2026-09-22, 2026-11-06. head coach for the season; tenure counts cover only the captured seasons, hire date is the provider's. Returning usage carries no signal beyond returning production in this repo's research; neither is a model input.

Recruiting by position group

2023–2026 classes · High school · CFBD · captured 2026-11-06 UTC

Position groupCommitsAvg. starsAvg. ratingTotal rating
Defensive Back92.890.83687.53
Defensive Line172.940.829714.11
Linebacker72.860.83735.86
Offensive Line202.950.825016.50
Quarterback53.000.83404.17
Receiver192.890.822515.63
Running Back53.000.83944.20
Special Teams93.000.82377.41

Recruiting class aggregates, not current roster strength. Commits count recruits across the window; total rating also reflects class size. JUCO, prep-school and transfer ratings are excluded. These values do not enter the prediction model.

Player efficiency and usage

2026 · observed 2026-11-06 UTC

Passing and rushing WEPA adjust efficiency for opponents. Kicker PAAR measures points added above replacement. Higher is better within each metric. Metric rows are ordered by sample size, followed by usage-only players. Usage is the share of team plays involving the player within each category; categories overlap and should not be added. CFBD definitions

Player / historyMetricValuePlays / attemptsOverall usageUsage detailRecruiting
Taron Dickens · QB

CFBD athlete 4881032. Northern Illinois (2026–2026); Western Carolina (2023–2025)

Passing WEPA0.20224158.2%
Pass 92.3% · Rush 15.6%

1st 55.0% · 2nd 54.3% · 3rd 71.7%

Standard downs 51.5% · Passing downs 71.3%

2023: 3★ · 0.8156
Telly Johnson Jr. · RB

CFBD athlete 5193302. Northern Illinois (2024–2026)

Rushing WEPA0.2408122.5%
Pass 5.6% · Rush 46.9%

1st 21.6% · 2nd 28.0% · 3rd 15.1%

Standard downs 25.1% · Passing downs 17.2%

2024: 3★ · 0.8163
Elijah Porter · RB

CFBD athlete 5219932. Northern Illinois (2024–2026)

Rushing WEPA0.0775011.9%
Pass 2.8% · Rush 25.1%

1st 13.1% · 2nd 13.4% · 3rd 7.5%

Standard downs 14.8% · Passing downs 6.3%

Not linked
Taron Dickens · QB

CFBD athlete 4881032. Northern Illinois (2026–2026); Western Carolina (2023–2025)

Rushing WEPA0.1043158.2%
Pass 92.3% · Rush 15.6%

1st 55.0% · 2nd 54.3% · 3rd 71.7%

Standard downs 51.5% · Passing downs 71.3%

2023: 3★ · 0.8156
JJ Schlenhardt · PK

CFBD athlete 5265497. Northern Illinois (2025–2026)

Kicker PAAR-3.66011—
Pass — · Rush —

1st — · 2nd — · 3rd —

Standard downs — · Passing downs —

2025: stars unavailable
Afy Ibekwe · WR

CFBD athlete 5264660. Team attribution from the captured season usage record.

Not available——3.4%
Pass 5.8% · Rush 0.0%

1st 3.1% · 2nd 2.0% · 3rd 6.5%

Standard downs 2.1% · Passing downs 5.5%

Not linked
Brady Davidson · QB

CFBD athlete 5210128. Team attribution from the captured season usage record.

Not available——8.8%
Pass 13.3% · Rush 0.0%

1st 3.8% · 2nd 9.5% · 3rd 12.5%

Standard downs 2.5% · Passing downs 17.9%

Not linked
Cam Thompson · WR

CFBD athlete 5083748. Team attribution from the captured season usage record.

Not available——6.7%
Pass 11.5% · Rush 0.6%

1st 5.2% · 2nd 7.7% · 3rd 9.8%

Standard downs 5.6% · Passing downs 8.8%

Not linked
DeAree Rogers · WR

CFBD athlete 5296150. Team attribution from the captured season usage record.

Not available——15.6%
Pass 27.7% · Rush 0.5%

1st 12.2% · 2nd 15.9% · 3rd 20.8%

Standard downs 12.7% · Passing downs 21.3%

Not linked
George Dimopoulos · WR

CFBD athlete 5193277. Team attribution from the captured season usage record.

Not available——6.1%
Pass 11.3% · Rush 0.0%

1st 6.1% · 2nd 7.7% · 3rd 4.4%

Standard downs 5.7% · Passing downs 6.8%

Not linked
Glen Weber · TE

CFBD athlete 5388937. Team attribution from the captured season usage record.

Not available——1.8%
Pass 3.4% · Rush 0.0%

1st 1.7% · 2nd 3.3% · 3rd 0.0%

Standard downs 2.2% · Passing downs 1.1%

Not linked
Jaidaun Cranford · RB

CFBD athlete 5291180. Team attribution from the captured season usage record.

Not available——2.4%
Pass 0.4% · Rush 5.5%

1st 4.0% · 2nd 1.5% · 3rd 1.1%

Standard downs 3.4% · Passing downs 0.7%

Not linked
Jalen Macon · QB

CFBD athlete 4884086. Team attribution from the captured season usage record.

Not available——11.6%
Pass 14.4% · Rush 8.6%

1st 12.0% · 2nd 6.1% · 3rd 20.9%

Standard downs 9.2% · Passing downs 16.2%

Not linked
Jason Fowler · TE

CFBD athlete 5219946. Team attribution from the captured season usage record.

Not available——2.9%
Pass 4.9% · Rush 0.0%

1st 3.4% · 2nd 1.5% · 3rd 4.7%

Standard downs 3.6% · Passing downs 1.5%

Not linked
Joe Stein · TE

CFBD athlete 5193285. Team attribution from the captured season usage record.

Not available——1.5%
Pass 2.2% · Rush 0.0%

1st 3.8% · 2nd 0.0% · 3rd 0.0%

Standard downs 2.5% · Passing downs 0.0%

Not linked
Kelan McInerney · WR

CFBD athlete 5388929. Team attribution from the captured season usage record.

Not available——2.8%
Pass 4.6% · Rush 0.0%

1st 2.1% · 2nd 2.8% · 3rd 4.5%

Standard downs 2.0% · Passing downs 4.1%

Not linked
Kenji Lewis · WR

CFBD athlete 5084310. Team attribution from the captured season usage record.

Not available——1.8%
Pass 3.1% · Rush 0.0%

1st 0.9% · 2nd 2.2% · 3rd 3.2%

Standard downs 0.6% · Passing downs 3.7%

Not linked
La'Don Bryant · WR

CFBD athlete 5193292. Team attribution from the captured season usage record.

Not available——9.0%
Pass 16.1% · Rush 0.0%

1st 10.4% · 2nd 4.9% · 3rd 10.4%

Standard downs 8.6% · Passing downs 9.8%

Not linked
Liam Russo · TE

CFBD athlete 5215176. Team attribution from the captured season usage record.

Not available——2.1%
Pass 3.3% · Rush 0.0%

1st 1.7% · 2nd 2.3% · 3rd 3.4%

Standard downs 1.1% · Passing downs 3.7%

Not linked
Rickey Taylor Jr. · WR

CFBD athlete 5219936. Team attribution from the captured season usage record.

Not available——10.3%
Pass 15.6% · Rush 0.0%

1st 15.4% · 2nd 9.5% · 3rd 6.3%

Standard downs 12.5% · Passing downs 7.1%

Not linked
Triston White · RB

CFBD athlete 5214939. Team attribution from the captured season usage record.

Not available——3.4%
Pass 0.0% · Rush 8.0%

1st 4.5% · 2nd 5.0% · 3rd 0.0%

Standard downs 3.0% · Passing downs 4.0%

Not linked
Zaire McKinney · WR

CFBD athlete 5302862. Team attribution from the captured season usage record.

Not available——3.5%
Pass 6.1% · Rush 0.0%

1st 0.0% · 2nd 8.7% · 3rd 3.0%

Standard downs 0.0% · Passing downs 9.3%

Not linked

Transfers

Incoming · 7 reported
PlayerFromDateStars / ratingEligibility
Avery Jones · SLafayette2026-01-083★ / 0.8400Immediate
Chevy Trask Jr. · OTSouth Carolina State2026-01-203★ / 0.8300Immediate
Daine Hanson · OTNot reported2026-04-27— / —Immediate
Mathias Davis · EDGENot reported2025-12-153★ / 0.8000Immediate
Mathias Smith-Davis · EDGENot reported2025-12-15— / —Immediate
Taron Dickens · QBWestern Carolina2026-02-153★ / 0.8500Immediate
Tyrese Stanley · SMorehouse2025-11-133★ / 0.8500Immediate
Outgoing · 22 reported
PlayerToDateStars / ratingEligibility
Abiathar Curry · OTNot reported2025-12-283★ / —Immediate
Daniel Vuckovic · PArkansas State2026-01-14— / —Immediate
DeAree Rogers · WRNot reported2025-12-013★ / 0.8600Immediate
Evan Malcore · OTMiami (OH)2026-01-203★ / 0.8500Immediate
Filip Maciorowski · LBCincinnati2026-01-083★ / 0.8500Immediate
Gary Givens III · WRNot reported2025-12-25— / —Immediate
Ivan Moore Jr. · EDGESacramento State2026-01-203★ / 0.8200Immediate
Jackson Proctor · QBNot reported2026-01-023★ / —Immediate
Jacob Finley · CBCincinnati2026-01-083★ / 0.8600Immediate
Jake Appleget · TEFresno State2026-01-143★ / 0.8300Immediate
James Finley IV · SIllinois2026-03-254★ / 0.9000Immediate
Jasper Beeler · SCincinnati2026-01-063★ / 0.8600Immediate
Jaylen Poe · RBGeorgia State2026-01-183★ / 0.8300Immediate
Lance Ingold · EDGEIowa2026-01-093★ / 0.8700Immediate
Marc Pretto · LBColorado State2026-01-213★ / 0.8400Immediate
Mark Hensley · DLMissouri2026-03-213★ / 0.8600Immediate
Michael Jimmar · OTNot reported2025-12-253★ / —Immediate
Miles Thompson · CBNot reported2025-12-243★ / —Immediate
Reggie Jean · DLCoastal Carolina2026-01-223★ / 0.8200Immediate
Tanner Rinderknecht · IOLNot reported2026-01-052★ / —Immediate
Taylor Powell · SFresno State2026-01-113★ / —Immediate
Thomas McCoy · WRNot reported2025-12-30— / —Immediate

Transfer observations can include unresolved destinations. CFBD supplies no timezone for transfer dates and no athlete ID linking these records to the efficiency table. These observations do not establish current roster membership or game availability.

Descriptive context only; no player or transfer value enters the prediction model. Adjusted metrics require unambiguous season/team history. Usage-only rows use the captured athlete ID and team; conflicting usage identities are omitted. Missing values are unavailable, not zero. Provider coverage is incomplete.

Coaching eras

Continuous appointments at Northern Illinois. Records are CFBD-attributed results; active tenures and the current season may be incomplete.

Rob Harley · career 0–0 across 1 seasons and 1 schools

Tenure timeline · 13 appointments
  1. 2026–present · Rob Harley · interim · active at capture

    0–0 · 0 attributed games · 1 seasons

    Hired 2026-02-18. Exact effective dates unavailable.

  2. 2019–2025 · Thomas Hammock

    35–47 · 82 attributed games · 7 seasons

    Hired 2019-01-18. Exact effective dates unavailable.

  3. 2012–2018 · Rod Carey

    52–30 · 82 attributed games · 7 seasons · incomplete attribution

    Hired 2012-12-03. Exact effective dates unavailable.

  4. 2011–2012 · Dave Doeren

    23–4 · 27 attributed games · 2 seasons · incomplete attribution

    Hired 2010-12-13. Exact effective dates unavailable.

  5. 2008–2010 · Jerry Kill

    23–16 · 39 attributed games · 3 seasons

    Hired 2007-12-13. Exact effective dates unavailable.

  6. 1996–2007 · Joe Novak

    63–76 · 139 attributed games · 12 seasons

    Exact effective dates unavailable.

  7. 1991–1995 · Charlie Sadler

    18–37 · 55 attributed games · 5 seasons

    Exact effective dates unavailable.

  8. 1985–1990 · Jerry Pettibone

    33–32–1 · 66 attributed games · 6 seasons

    Exact effective dates unavailable.

  9. 1984–1984 · Lee Corso

    4–6–1 · 11 attributed games · 1 seasons

    Exact effective dates unavailable.

  10. 1980–1983 · Bill Mallory

    25–19 · 44 attributed games · 4 seasons

    Exact effective dates unavailable.

  11. 1976–1979 · Pat Culpepper

    14–29–1 · 44 attributed games · 4 seasons

    Exact effective dates unavailable.

  12. 1971–1975 · Jerry Ippoliti

    25–29–1 · 55 attributed games · 5 seasons

    Exact effective dates unavailable.

  13. 1969–1970 · Doc Urich

    6–14 · 20 attributed games · 2 seasons

    Exact effective dates unavailable.

Season résumé · 2015–2026

Coach-attributed records appear beside team-season ratings, recruiting and poll context. Shared seasons appear once per coach; rows are not assigned to individual stints. Ratings describe team performance, not a causal coaching effect.

Season / coachRecordConferencePostseasonSP+SRSRecruiting rankFinal poll
2026 · Rob Harley · incomplete attribution0–0——-25-23.982—
2025 · Thomas Hammock3–92–60–0-16.7-17.284—
2024 · Thomas Hammock8–54–41–0-3.5-1.199—
2023 · Thomas Hammock7–65–31–0-7.5-8.8103—
2022 · Thomas Hammock3–92–60–0-18.8-1587—
2021 · Thomas Hammock9–57–20–1-7.1-691—
2020 · Thomas Hammock0–60–60–0-18.4—91—
2019 · Thomas Hammock5–74–40–0-13.9-14.5108—
2018 · Rod Carey8–67–20–1-2.7-4.593—
2017 · Rod Carey8–56–20–1-1.4-0.197—
2016 · Rod Carey5–75–30–0-2.4-3.2112—
2015 · Rod Carey8–66–30–1-0.9-0.183—
Download coaching history JSON

Source: CFBD · captured 2026-10-26T02:02:59.394463+00:00 UTC. Season résumé covers 2015–2026; timeline spans all returned tenures. — means unavailable. Career summaries cover active coaches at capture. This snapshot is descriptive and is not a pregame cutoff.

CFBD season overview

2026 stored season snapshot, including postseason and garbage time. Raw CFBD PPA is not opponent-adjusted EPA or player WEPA. No week cutoff; these values do not enter our forecasts.

Captured 2026-11-02 13:51:41.272114 UTC · Source data

Stat rankings

CFBD FBS ranks · source updated 2026-11-01 14:05:58 UTC · calculated 2026-11-02 13:47:25 UTC · provider cache expiry 2026-11-02 13:57:25 UTC. Rank 1 is best; percentiles use CFBD’s 0–100 scale.

StatisticOffense rank / populationPercentileDefense rank / populationPercentile
PPA / play130 / 1385.8134 / 1382.9
Success rate112 / 13819.0137 / 1380.7
Explosiveness74 / 13846.764 / 13854.0
Standard-down success100 / 13827.7137 / 1380.7
Passing-down success118 / 13814.6132 / 1384.4
Pass PPA118 / 13814.6126 / 1388.8
Rush PPA116 / 13816.1135 / 1382.2
Pass explosiveness88 / 13836.571 / 13848.9
Rush explosiveness79 / 13843.189 / 13835.8
Line yards34 / 13875.9130 / 1385.8
Second-level yards11 / 13892.7131 / 1385.1
Open-field yards105 / 13824.1123 / 13810.9
Stuff rate82 / 13840.9124 / 13810.2
Power successT26 / 13881.4T97 / 13829.6
Havoc98 / 13829.2137 / 1380.7
Front-seven havocT104 / 13823.7137 / 1380.7
DB havocT76 / 13842.3126 / 1388.8
Points / opportunity133 / 1383.6133 / 1383.6
Average field positionT112 / 13818.2T101 / 13826.3
Field-position expected points124 / 13810.2109 / 13821.2

Player PPA and usage

Ordered by overall usage. Open a player for pass, rush, down and situation splits. Usage is the provider’s share of team plays in each situation; PPA is the provider’s average or total for that player. Missing values stay blank (—); play counts are not supplied here. Standard downs are 1st down, 2nd-and-7 or shorter, and 3rd/4th-and-4 or shorter; other situations are passing downs.

Taron Dickens · QBUsage 58.2% · Avg PPA 0.034 · Total 10.270
SplitAverage PPATotal PPAUsage
Overall0.03410.27058.2%
Pass0.07319.09192.3%
Rush-0.073-2.41515.6%
1st down-0.041-5.05855.0%
2nd down0.0010.05154.3%
3rd down0.33225.25671.7%
Standard downs-0.132-22.97651.5%
Passing downs0.26833.24571.3%
Telly Johnson Jr. · RBUsage 22.5% · Avg PPA 0.119 · Total 13.691
SplitAverage PPATotal PPAUsage
Overall0.11913.69122.5%
Pass-0.036-0.5715.6%
Rush0.14414.26246.9%
1st down-0.033-1.56821.6%
2nd down0.0663.02428.0%
3rd down0.3836.12115.1%
Standard downs0.14312.15825.1%
Passing downs0.0511.53217.2%
DeAree Rogers · WRUsage 15.6% · Avg PPA 0.491 · Total 39.249
SplitAverage PPATotal PPAUsage
Overall0.49139.24915.6%
Pass0.49639.17527.7%
Rush0.0740.0740.5%
1st down0.42411.45912.2%
2nd down0.2476.43515.9%
3rd down0.93320.53420.8%
Standard downs0.51522.15312.7%
Passing downs0.46217.09621.3%
Elijah Porter · RBUsage 11.9% · Avg PPA -0.089 · Total -5.443
SplitAverage PPATotal PPAUsage
Overall-0.089-5.44311.9%
Pass-0.236-1.8922.8%
Rush-0.067-3.55125.1%
1st down-0.024-0.69913.1%
2nd down0.0400.89013.4%
3rd down0.2271.8147.5%
Standard downs-0.135-6.76714.8%
Passing downs0.1201.3246.3%
Jalen Macon · QBUsage 11.6% · Avg PPA -0.263 · Total -6.060
SplitAverage PPATotal PPAUsage
Overall-0.263-6.06011.6%
Pass-0.315-5.04514.4%
Rush-0.145-1.0158.6%
1st down-0.255-2.55312.0%
2nd down-0.194-0.7746.1%
3rd down-0.304-2.73320.9%
Standard downs-0.274-3.2939.2%
Passing downs-0.252-2.76716.2%
Rickey Taylor Jr. · WRUsage 10.3% · Avg PPA 0.468 · Total 3.278
SplitAverage PPATotal PPAUsage
Overall0.4683.27810.3%
Pass0.4683.27815.6%
Rush—0.0000.0%
1st down0.1850.73915.4%
2nd down-0.353-0.7069.5%
3rd down3.2453.2456.3%
Standard downs-0.003-0.01512.5%
Passing downs1.6463.2937.1%
La'Don Bryant · WRUsage 9.0% · Avg PPA 0.066 · Total 3.039
SplitAverage PPATotal PPAUsage
Overall0.0663.0399.0%
Pass0.0663.03916.1%
Rush—0.0000.0%
1st down0.2846.52310.4%
2nd down0.2461.9724.9%
3rd down0.2743.01310.4%
Standard downs-0.050-1.4578.6%
Passing downs0.2644.4969.8%
Brady Davidson · QBUsage 8.8% · Avg PPA 0.225 · Total 1.349
SplitAverage PPATotal PPAUsage
Overall0.2251.3498.8%
Pass0.2251.34913.3%
Rush—0.0000.0%
1st down-0.921-0.9213.8%
2nd down-0.362-0.7239.5%
3rd down-0.174-0.34812.5%
Standard downs-0.921-0.9212.5%
Passing downs0.4542.27017.9%
Cam Thompson · WRUsage 6.7% · Avg PPA 0.173 · Total 5.193
SplitAverage PPATotal PPAUsage
Overall0.1735.1936.7%
Pass0.2146.21511.5%
Rush-1.022-1.0220.6%
1st down0.3863.8625.2%
2nd down-0.401-4.4097.7%
3rd down0.6385.7409.8%
Standard downs0.2243.5825.6%
Passing downs0.1151.6118.8%
George Dimopoulos · WRUsage 6.1% · Avg PPA 0.538 · Total 14.517
SplitAverage PPATotal PPAUsage
Overall0.53814.5176.1%
Pass0.53814.51711.3%
Rush—0.0000.0%
1st down0.2352.8156.1%
2nd down0.6507.1487.7%
3rd down1.1394.5554.4%
Standard downs0.2464.1825.7%
Passing downs1.03410.3356.8%
Zaire McKinney · WRUsage 3.5% · Avg PPA 0.441 · Total 2.204
SplitAverage PPATotal PPAUsage
Overall0.4412.2043.5%
Pass0.4412.2046.1%
Rush—0.0000.0%
1st down—0.0000.0%
2nd down-0.196-0.7838.7%
3rd down2.9872.9873.0%
Standard downs—0.0000.0%
Passing downs0.4412.2049.3%
Afy Ibekwe · WRUsage 3.4% · Avg PPA -0.124 · Total -0.622
SplitAverage PPATotal PPAUsage
Overall-0.124-0.6223.4%
Pass-0.124-0.6225.8%
Rush—0.0000.0%
1st down-0.914-1.8283.1%
2nd down-1.061-1.0612.0%
3rd down1.1332.2666.5%
Standard downs-0.914-1.8282.1%
Passing downs0.4021.2055.5%
Triston White · RBUsage 3.4% · Avg PPA -0.299 · Total -0.599
SplitAverage PPATotal PPAUsage
Overall-0.299-0.5993.4%
Pass—0.0000.0%
Rush-0.299-0.5998.0%
1st down-0.388-0.3884.5%
2nd down-0.211-0.2115.0%
3rd down—0.0000.0%
Standard downs-0.388-0.3883.0%
Passing downs-0.211-0.2114.0%
Jason Fowler · TEUsage 2.9% · Avg PPA -0.110 · Total -0.657
SplitAverage PPATotal PPAUsage
Overall-0.110-0.6572.9%
Pass-0.110-0.6574.9%
Rush—0.0000.0%
1st down0.1140.3423.4%
2nd down-0.649-0.6491.5%
3rd down-0.175-0.3504.7%
Standard downs-0.175-0.8743.6%
Passing downs0.2160.2161.5%
Kelan McInerney · WRUsage 2.8% · Avg PPA 0.527 · Total 4.746
SplitAverage PPATotal PPAUsage
Overall0.5274.7462.8%
Pass0.5274.7464.6%
Rush—0.0000.0%
1st down-0.516-1.5472.1%
2nd down0.2980.8942.8%
3rd down1.7995.3984.5%
Standard downs-0.566-2.2652.0%
Passing downs1.4027.0114.1%
Jaidaun Cranford · RBUsage 2.4% · Avg PPA 0.268 · Total 2.681
SplitAverage PPATotal PPAUsage
Overall0.2682.6812.4%
Pass-0.703-0.7030.4%
Rush0.3763.3845.5%
1st down0.4493.1464.0%
2nd down-0.591-1.1831.5%
3rd down0.7180.7181.1%
Standard downs0.3513.1603.4%
Passing downs-0.479-0.4790.7%
Liam Russo · TEUsage 2.1% · Avg PPA 0.168 · Total 0.504
SplitAverage PPATotal PPAUsage
Overall0.1680.5042.1%
Pass0.1680.5043.3%
Rush—0.0000.0%
1st down0.9100.9101.7%
2nd down-0.821-0.8212.3%
3rd down0.4150.4153.4%
Standard downs0.9100.9101.1%
Passing downs-0.203-0.4073.7%
Glen Weber · TEUsage 1.8% · Avg PPA 0.034 · Total 0.168
SplitAverage PPATotal PPAUsage
Overall0.0340.1681.8%
Pass0.0340.1683.4%
Rush—0.0000.0%
1st down0.1320.2651.7%
2nd down-0.032-0.0973.3%
3rd down—0.0000.0%
Standard downs0.0090.0352.2%
Passing downs0.1340.1341.1%
Kenji Lewis · WRUsage 1.8% · Avg PPA -0.599 · Total -2.993
SplitAverage PPATotal PPAUsage
Overall-0.599-2.9931.8%
Pass-0.599-2.9933.1%
Rush—0.0000.0%
1st down-0.163-0.1630.9%
2nd down-0.838-1.6752.2%
3rd down-0.577-1.1553.2%
Standard downs-0.163-0.1630.6%
Passing downs-0.708-2.8303.7%
Joe Stein · TEUsage 1.5% · Avg PPA 1.025 · Total 1.025
SplitAverage PPATotal PPAUsage
Overall1.0251.0251.5%
Pass1.0251.0252.2%
Rush—0.0000.0%
1st down1.0251.0253.8%
2nd down—0.0000.0%
3rd down—0.0000.0%
Standard downs1.0251.0252.5%
Passing downs—0.0000.0%
Where Northern Illinois sits · 2026 FBS distributions138 teams · raw PPA

2026 · Through provider Week 9. Each metric uses only published FBS teams with a numeric value. Higher percentile is better; tied values receive the midpoint of their positions, rounded to a whole percentile. Missing values are unranked.

Offense PPA/playOffense PPA/play: -0.024 (6th percentile; 138 teams)6thOffense success rateOffense success rate: 0.389 (19th percentile; 138 teams)19thOffense explosivenessOffense explosiveness: 1.225 (47th percentile; 138 teams)47thOffense pass PPA/playOffense pass PPA/play: 0.032 (15th percentile; 138 teams)15thOffense rush PPA/playOffense rush PPA/play: 0.005 (16th percentile; 138 teams)16thDefense PPA/playDefense PPA/play: 0.253 (3rd percentile; 138 teams)3rdDefense success rateDefense success rate: 0.504 (1st percentile; 138 teams)1stDefense explosivenessDefense explosiveness: 1.217 (54th percentile; 138 teams)54thDefense havoc createdDefense havoc created: 0.097 (1st percentile; 138 teams)1st
Values and percentiles
Northern Illinois metric values with FBS percentiles, 2026
MetricValuePercentileBetter
Offense PPA/play-0.0246th138 teamshigher
Offense success rate0.38919th138 teamshigher
Offense explosiveness1.22547th138 teamshigher
Offense pass PPA/play0.03215th138 teamshigher
Offense rush PPA/play0.00516th138 teamshigher
Defense PPA/play0.2533rd138 teamslower
Defense success rate0.5041st138 teamslower
Defense explosiveness1.21754th138 teamslower
Defense havoc created0.0971st138 teamshigher

Passing profile

2026 · CFBD passing family · raw PPA

Captured 2026-11-06. Offense: 99% of 266 attempts charted. Average depth of target 8.4 yards (39th percentile of FBS). Yards after catch 5.5 per completion. Completion 62.4%, 6.3 yards per attempt, pass PPA 0.13.

Completion percentage over expected (CPOE)
SideActualExpectedCPOE (pp)Qualifying / all attempts
Offense60.1%60.5%-0.4233 / 266
Defense allowed68.4%59.3%+9.0177 / 210

Actual and expected use the same qualifying attempts, which can be fewer than all passes. CPOE is their difference in percentage points (pp); higher is better on offense, lower allowed is better on defense. CFBD models FBS-vs-FBS passes, excluding spikes, throwaways, intentional grounding and attempts without air yards. — means unavailable; small samples have fewer than 40 qualifying attempts.

Depth of target vs yards after catch, FBS offenses
Air Force: ADOT 13.0, YAC 3.9Akron: ADOT 7.7, YAC 4.9Alabama: ADOT 9.9, YAC 5.3App State: ADOT 8.5, YAC 5.3Arizona: ADOT 8.1, YAC 5.8Arizona State: ADOT 7.9, YAC 6.1Arkansas: ADOT 7.6, YAC 5.4Arkansas State: ADOT 9.0, YAC 5.3Army: ADOT 12.5, YAC 3.7Auburn: ADOT 7.9, YAC 5.1BYU: ADOT 8.8, YAC 5.9Ball State: ADOT 7.6, YAC 5.4Baylor: ADOT 10.2, YAC 5.1Boise State: ADOT 7.6, YAC 5.0Boston College: ADOT 8.0, YAC 6.6Bowling Green: ADOT 6.4, YAC 5.6Buffalo: ADOT 10.1, YAC 2.2California: ADOT 6.2, YAC 5.6Central Michigan: ADOT 9.0, YAC 5.5Charlotte: ADOT 7.1, YAC 5.5Cincinnati: ADOT 7.2, YAC 6.7Clemson: ADOT 6.9, YAC 5.8Coastal Carolina: ADOT 10.6, YAC 5.8Colorado: ADOT 8.6, YAC 7.1Colorado State: ADOT 5.6, YAC 8.3Delaware: ADOT 9.4, YAC 6.4Duke: ADOT 8.6, YAC 6.6East Carolina: ADOT 8.9, YAC 6.2Eastern Michigan: ADOT 7.2, YAC 5.3Florida: ADOT 7.1, YAC 6.7Florida Atlantic: ADOT 8.4, YAC 4.5Florida International: ADOT 8.0, YAC 5.3Florida State: ADOT 10.4, YAC 8.1Fresno State: ADOT 8.0, YAC 6.0Georgia: ADOT 8.2, YAC 7.7Georgia Southern: ADOT 6.9, YAC 5.1Georgia State: ADOT 8.3, YAC 6.3Georgia Tech: ADOT 7.3, YAC 4.7Hawai'i: ADOT 8.4, YAC 4.2Houston: ADOT 8.3, YAC 6.7Illinois: ADOT 9.9, YAC 4.0Indiana: ADOT 11.3, YAC 4.9Iowa: ADOT 7.5, YAC 6.2Iowa State: ADOT 9.2, YAC 5.3Jacksonville State: ADOT 8.3, YAC 5.8James Madison: ADOT 8.5, YAC 5.1Kansas: ADOT 12.5, YAC 5.2Kansas State: ADOT 7.8, YAC 5.3Kennesaw State: ADOT 6.7, YAC 4.9Kent State: ADOT 9.4, YAC 5.2Kentucky: ADOT 6.7, YAC 7.0LSU: ADOT 8.0, YAC 6.9Liberty: ADOT 11.3, YAC 6.0Louisiana: ADOT 8.5, YAC 5.1Louisiana Tech: ADOT 6.5, YAC 6.2Louisville: ADOT 9.1, YAC 7.1Marshall: ADOT 8.9, YAC 5.3Maryland: ADOT 6.9, YAC 6.0Massachusetts: ADOT 10.4, YAC 4.6Memphis: ADOT 10.3, YAC 5.6Miami: ADOT 7.3, YAC 7.2Miami (OH): ADOT 10.7, YAC 6.2Michigan: ADOT 9.9, YAC 4.8Michigan State: ADOT 7.6, YAC 4.1Middle Tennessee: ADOT 8.0, YAC 5.5Minnesota: ADOT 6.1, YAC 6.1Mississippi State: ADOT 8.8, YAC 5.6Missouri: ADOT 10.1, YAC 5.1Missouri State: ADOT 8.6, YAC 5.7NC State: ADOT 8.9, YAC 5.4Navy: ADOT 13.8, YAC 8.0Nebraska: ADOT 8.6, YAC 5.9Nevada: ADOT 8.4, YAC 6.1New Mexico: ADOT 9.9, YAC 6.1New Mexico State: ADOT 9.6, YAC 4.4North Carolina: ADOT 7.4, YAC 6.4North Dakota State: ADOT 10.0, YAC 4.6North Texas: ADOT 9.2, YAC 6.0Northwestern: ADOT 8.8, YAC 5.5Notre Dame: ADOT 9.6, YAC 4.9Ohio: ADOT 9.6, YAC 6.1Ohio State: ADOT 11.0, YAC 5.1Oklahoma: ADOT 8.3, YAC 5.3Oklahoma State: ADOT 8.5, YAC 6.2Old Dominion: ADOT 10.9, YAC 4.3Ole Miss: ADOT 8.7, YAC 4.1Oregon: ADOT 7.6, YAC 6.5Oregon State: ADOT 8.8, YAC 7.7Penn State: ADOT 9.8, YAC 5.1Pittsburgh: ADOT 9.2, YAC 5.6Purdue: ADOT 8.5, YAC 6.9Rice: ADOT 10.8, YAC 4.9Rutgers: ADOT 11.3, YAC 5.5SMU: ADOT 8.4, YAC 6.3Sacramento State: ADOT 8.2, YAC 4.3Sam Houston: ADOT 7.8, YAC 5.5San Diego State: ADOT 9.7, YAC 5.2San José State: ADOT 10.0, YAC 3.7South Alabama: ADOT 10.7, YAC 5.2South Carolina: ADOT 8.8, YAC 5.9South Florida: ADOT 7.7, YAC 6.3Southern Miss: ADOT 8.2, YAC 5.1Stanford: ADOT 8.9, YAC 4.9Syracuse: ADOT 8.9, YAC 5.5TCU: ADOT 9.5, YAC 4.6Temple: ADOT 9.0, YAC 6.9Tennessee: ADOT 6.9, YAC 6.8Texas: ADOT 8.3, YAC 6.3Texas A&M: ADOT 8.8, YAC 5.3Texas State: ADOT 8.6, YAC 6.8Texas Tech: ADOT 9.6, YAC 4.7Toledo: ADOT 9.1, YAC 6.1Troy: ADOT 8.9, YAC 6.5Tulane: ADOT 9.2, YAC 4.9Tulsa: ADOT 8.7, YAC 4.7UAB: ADOT 9.8, YAC 4.4UCF: ADOT 7.0, YAC 5.4UCLA: ADOT 9.1, YAC 5.8UConn: ADOT 11.2, YAC 6.3UL Monroe: ADOT 8.1, YAC 5.8UNLV: ADOT 10.5, YAC 4.3USC: ADOT 8.0, YAC 6.4UTEP: ADOT 8.7, YAC 4.9UTSA: ADOT 7.1, YAC 6.0Utah: ADOT 9.5, YAC 5.8Utah State: ADOT 9.9, YAC 4.5Vanderbilt: ADOT 9.2, YAC 5.1Virginia: ADOT 8.3, YAC 5.3Virginia Tech: ADOT 6.5, YAC 7.0Wake Forest: ADOT 8.7, YAC 6.0Washington: ADOT 7.9, YAC 6.5Washington State: ADOT 7.1, YAC 4.0West Virginia: ADOT 13.8, YAC 8.5Western Kentucky: ADOT 6.9, YAC 5.4Western Michigan: ADOT 8.5, YAC 5.1Wisconsin: ADOT 7.5, YAC 6.9Wyoming: ADOT 8.4, YAC 5.6Northern Illinois: ADOT 8.4, YAC 5.5Average depth of target (yards) →Yards after catch per completion →

138 teams with at least 40 charted attempts. The highlighted point is Northern Illinois.

Target mix by zone, Northern Illinois offense
Short left35% · 90Short middle18% · 46Short right33% · 85Deep left7% · 19Deep middle3% · 8Deep right3% · 8

Highlighted bars are deep zones. Shares are of located attempts only.

Defense and rushing detail
Northern Illinois passing defense and rushing profile, 2026
SideAttemptsChartedADOTYACComp %PPACPOECPOE att
Passing offense26699%8.45.562.4%0.13-0.4 pp233
Passing defense21098%9.55.470.5%0.32+9.0 pp177

Rushing production

SideAttemptsYards / carrySuccessPPALine yards / rushSecond-level yards / rushOpen-field yards / rushStuff ratePower success
Offense2363.944.5%0.023.201.300.9016.6%79.4%
Defense allowed3185.454.1%0.293.501.301.6010.8%76.0%

Second-level yards are gained 5–10 yards past the line; open-field yards are beyond 10. These are provider per-rush averages, not totals. Power success measures success with two or fewer yards needed. Exact line-metric and power-success denominators are not supplied in this feed.

Rushing sample and attribution

SideYards recordedIndividualUnattributedSacksKneelsTeam rushesMultiple carriersDirection located / eligible
Offense229 / 236228824110208 / 211 · 98.6%
Defense allowed311 / 31829820913130295 / 296 · 99.7%

Counts are attempts. Team totals include sacks, kneels, team-only rushes and unresolved attribution; these categories can overlap and must not be summed. Direction coverage uses ordinary direction-eligible rushes, not all attempts. Missing fields in older captures remain unavailable.

Raw provider values, no opponent adjustment; not model inputs. CFBD metric definitions.

Game-by-game passing and rushing

2026 · Passing CPOE · percentage points. Dashed line: season -0.4 pp. 7 of 8 captured games have this metric. Missing observations break the line.

-10.7-2.06.7W1W1 vs Iowa: -7.7 ppW2W3W3 vs Arizona: +6.1 ppW4W4 vs Georgia State: +6.7 ppW6W6 vs Air Force: +3.0 ppW7W7 vs Wyoming: -3.5 ppW8W8 vs Hawai'i: +1.4 ppW9W9 vs UNLV: -10.7 pp

CPOE is completion percentage over expected on qualifying FBS-vs-FBS attempts; positive means more completions than expected. PPA is raw provider PPA. These are game observations, not opponent-adjusted forecasts. P labels postseason weeks.

Game log and attempt coverage
WeekOpponentPass attCPOE attComp %*Expected %*CPOEADOTPass PPARush attRush yds/carryRush PPA
W1Iowa242454.2%61.8%-7.7 pp9.90.02310.2-0.45
W2Illinois State300———3.5-0.03363.1-0.01
W3Arizona434266.7%60.6%+6.1 pp8.50.32243.60.06
W4Georgia State424165.9%59.1%+6.7 pp8.50.19313.30.04
W6Air Force202065.0%62.0%+3.0 pp9.5-0.00234.9-0.22
W7Wyoming444454.5%58.0%-3.5 pp11.20.06296.20.58
W8Hawai'i262665.4%64.0%+1.4 pp9.30.39243.6-0.35
W9UNLV373650.0%60.7%-10.7 pp6.00.02386.20.33

*Completion and expected rates use the same CPOE-eligible attempts. ADOT uses available air-yard attempts; a game needs at least one. No missing family is filled with the other family’s data.

Punting and returns

2026 season to date · CFBD · captured 2026-11-06T12:25:52.746993+00:00. Descriptive totals, including postseason when present.

Our punts

33 punts · 42.4 gross yards/punt · 35.8 net yards/punt

7 inside the 20 · 3 touchbacks · 0 blocked

Known gross yards: 32/33 punts. Known net yards: 28/33 punts.

Our punt returns

6 returns · 7.2 yards/return · 0 touchdowns

1 muffs · 1 opponent punts blocked

Known return yards: 6/6 returns. Return totals include team-only and unattributed plays.

Recent games
GamePuntsGross yd/puntNet yd/puntKnown net yards
Week 8 · Hawai'i446.841.33/4
Week 7 · Wyoming450.544.54/4
Week 6 · Air Force242.552.01/2
Week 4 · Georgia State434.533.33/4
Week 3 · Arizona334.034.02/3
Team style
Rating history