Wk 8 · 2026
Rutgers Scarlet Knights at Northwestern Wildcats — Sat, Oct 24
Sat, Oct 24 ·
Ryan Field, Evanston, IL
Weather
56° / 49° overcast
19% chance of precipitation
Kickoff time is not set yet, so this is the forecast for the day rather than for the hour.
Forecast from Open-Meteo
Big Ten · 1-4
at
TBDET
no line posted yet
Ratings differential NU by 19.8
Big Ten · 4-1
What is at stake
A Big Ten game — it counts in the standings that decide that league's championship game. Run the race.
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.
Rutgers form
L 15-47vs IUW 58-7vs HOWL 35-42vs USCL 21-28at BCL 21-37vs MASS
2026 season
Northwestern form
W 45-14vs BALLW 34-13vs PSUL 23-29at IUW 41-7vs COLOW 34-18vs SDST
2026 season
Rutgers this season
Straight up1-4 · 20% (5 games)
Against the spread2-3 · 40% (5 games)
Over / under4-1 · 80% (5 games)
Northwestern this season
Straight up4-1 · 80% (5 games)
Against the spread4-1 · 80% (5 games)
Over / under5-0 · 100% (5 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 · 3
| Opponent | Rutgers | Northwestern |
|---|---|---|
| Indiana Big Ten | vs L 15-47 preview | at L 23-29 preview |
| Penn State Big Ten | at Wk 12 · scheduled preview | vs W 34-13 preview |
| Michigan St Big Ten | vs Wk 13 · scheduled preview | at Wk 7 · scheduled preview |
Open these two in the
comparison tool for every shared and unshared opponent.
Series history · 2006–2026
Since 2006, Northwestern leads 2–1 · Rutgers won the last one
3 meetings
in 2006–2026 · average margin
0.0 points either way
| Yr | Date | Result | Site | Won |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | 2023-09-03 | Northwestern 7 — 24 Rutgers | at RUTG | Rutgers |
| 2021 | 2021-10-16 | Rutgers 7 — 21 Northwestern | at NU | Northwestern |
| 2018 | 2018-10-20 | Northwestern 18 — 15 Rutgers | at RUTG | Northwestern |
Rutgers leaders 2026 regular season
| Passing | Dylan Lonergan QB #12 | 51/92, 775 YDS, 7 TD, 5 INT |
| AJ Surace QB #10 | 33/53, 475 YDS, 6 TD, 4 INT | |
| Rushing | Antwan Raymond RB #3 | 89 CAR, 469 YDS, 4 TD |
| Clay Thevenin RB #9 | 42 CAR, 180 YDS, 3 TD | |
| Aiden Gibson RB #32 | 11 CAR, 35 YDS | |
| Receiving | KJ Duff WR #8 | 33 REC, 628 YDS, 7 TD |
| Ben Black III WR #2 | 9 REC, 180 YDS, 2 TD | |
| Jourdin Houston WR #4 | 15 REC, 169 YDS | |
| Antwan Raymond RB #3 | 9 REC, 72 YDS, 1 TD |
Defense
| Tackles | Chris Joines DB #20 | 25 |
| Bradlee Jones DB #5 | 25 | |
| Jesse Ofurie DB #16 | 23 | |
| Sacks | Moses Walker LB #2 | 1.5 |
| Rondo Porter DL #99 | 1.5 | |
| Zaire Angoy DL #55 | 1 | |
| Interceptions | Moses Walker LB #2 | 2 |
| Bradlee Jones DB #5 | 2 |
Northwestern leaders 2026 regular season
| Passing | Aidan Chiles QB #0 | 63/89, 900 YDS, 6 TD |
| Rushing | Caleb Komolafe RB #5 | 52 CAR, 290 YDS, 2 TD |
| Joseph Himon II RB #6 | 20 CAR, 277 YDS, 3 TD | |
| Gavin Sawchuk RB #27 | 33 CAR, 170 YDS | |
| Receiving | Griffin Wilde WR #17 | 16 REC, 281 YDS, 2 TD |
| Luke Dehnicke TE #84 | 11 REC, 208 YDS | |
| Alex Honig TE #86 | 7 REC, 97 YDS, 1 TD | |
| Drew Wagner WR #19 | 12 REC, 97 YDS |
Defense
| Tackles | Robert Fitzgerald DB #6 | 42 |
| Kobie McKinzie LB #2 | 32 | |
| Braydon Brus LB #33 | 30 | |
| Sacks | Braydon Brus LB #33 | 3 |
| Kobie McKinzie LB #2 | 1 | |
| Jamaal Johnson DL #24 | 1 | |
| Interceptions | Ore Adeyi DB #7 | 1 |
| Robert Fitzgerald DB #6 | 1 | |
| Braydon Brus LB #33 | 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.