CFB Schedule college football
Wk 6 · 2026

Ball State Cardinals at Northwestern Wildcats — Sat, Oct 10

Sat, Oct 10 · Ryan Field, Evanston
MAC · no games yet
at
TBDET
no line posted yet
Big Ten · no games yet

What is at stake

A non-conference game. It moves both overall records but neither conference race.

Efficiency · 2025 ratings

-13.5#130
Efficiency margin
+0.7#63
17.0
Offense (pts/100)
23.3
30.5
Defense (pts/100)
22.5
62.7
Pace (plays/g)
66.5
4.19
Yards / play
5.24
6.15
Yards / play allowed
5.91
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

15.8
Points / game
22.5
29.8
Points allowed
20.9
272
Yards / game
349
406
Yards allowed
335
227
Pass yds allowed
195
179
Rush yds allowed
140
1.33
Turnovers / game
1.67
From completed 2025 box scores; defensive yardage covers the regular season and conference championships.

Ball State form

L 24-45at M-OHL 9-38at TOLL 9-24vs EMUW 17-13vs KENTL 7-21at NIU
2025 season

Northwestern form

L 13-20at ILLW 38-35vs MINNL 22-24vs MICHL 17-38at USCL 21-28at NEB
2025 season

Ball 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 · 1

OpponentBall StateNorthwestern
Ohio State
Big Ten
at Wk 1 · scheduled previewat Wk 11 · scheduled preview
Open these two in the comparison tool for every shared and unshared opponent.

Series history · 2006–2026

Northwestern leads the series 1–0 · Northwestern won the last one
1 meeting in 2006–2026 · average margin 5.0 points toward Northwestern
Yr DateResultSiteWon
20152015-09-26Ball State 1924 Northwesternat NUNorthwestern

Ball State leaders 2025 season

PassingKiael Kelly QB #1154/273, 1583 YDS, 11 TD, 8 INT
Ty Robinson WR #102/3, 77 YDS
RushingKiael Kelly QB #1211 CAR, 600 YDS, 5 TD
Qua Ashley RB #9118 CAR, 547 YDS, 4 TD
TJ Horton RB #460 CAR, 180 YDS
ReceivingQian Magwood WR #519 REC, 320 YDS, 1 TD
Donovan Hamilton WR #120 REC, 244 YDS
Eric Weatherly WR #329 REC, 238 YDS, 1 TD
Koby Gross TE #610 REC, 141 YDS, 1 TD
Defense
TacklesAlfred Chea LB #059
Joey Stemler LB #2154
Michael Gravely Jr. DB #253
SacksNathan Voorhis EDGE #4412
DeJuan Echoles Jr. DE #313
Drew Hughes DT #472
InterceptionsJoedrick Lewis DB #13
Eric McClain CB #92
Muheem McCargo DB #161

Northwestern leaders 2025 season

PassingPreston Stone QB #8203/339, 2174 YDS, 14 TD, 12 INT
Ryan Boe QB #21/3, 7 YDS
RushingCaleb Komolafe RB #5175 CAR, 886 YDS, 10 TD
Joseph Himon II RB #699 CAR, 486 YDS, 1 TD
Dashun Reeder RB #2422 CAR, 222 YDS, 1 TD
ReceivingGriffin Wilde WR #1761 REC, 783 YDS, 6 TD
Hayden Eligon II WR #834 REC, 476 YDS, 3 TD
Hunter Welcing TE #8427 REC, 283 YDS, 2 TD
Drew Wagner WR #1922 REC, 172 YDS, 2 TD
Defense
TacklesRobert Fitzgerald DB #6109
Mac Uihlein LB #3792
Braydon Brus LB #3370
SacksAidan Hubbard DE #914.5
Michael Kilbane DL #473.5
Anto Saka DE #143
InterceptionsMac Uihlein LB #374
Najee Story DL #951
Ore Adeyi DB #71
Player production is per game from the 2025 season, for players on the current roster.