#138 Northern Illinois
0-3 in Mountain West play, T-9th in the Mountain West
Trophy case
1 award in 2026 · Every award winner- Wooden Spoon ×1
| Award | Week | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Wooden Spoon | Week 8 | Lowest TDR score in the FBS that week |
2026 season recap (through week 8)
Northern Illinois (Mountain West) is ranked 138th in The Davis Rankings after week 8 of 2026, with a record of 0-7 and a score of -9.0 out of 100. That is down 1 from week 7. That puts it in the Oh Crap tier (ranks 126 and below). Its strongest factor is opponent record at game time (33.4 out of 100). Its weakest is win/loss record (0.0 out of 100). It lost to an FCS opponent, which costs 18.0 points.
The toughest result to explain is the week 2 loss, 28-24 to Illinois State at home.
Northern Illinois has lost its last 7 games in a row. On the road it is 0-4. The average margin is -23.4 points per game. 1 of 7 games was decided by a touchdown or less.
Northern Illinois is not ranked in the AP, Coaches, or CFP polls this week, while the Davis Rankings has it 138th.
Next up is #80 UNLV in week 9, on the road. The toughest game left on the schedule by current rank is week 12 against #61 North Dakota State. 0 of the 5 games left are against teams currently in the top 25.
Schedule
| Week | Opponent | Result |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Iowa (away) | L 0-40 |
| 2 | Illinois State (home) | L 24-28 |
| 3 | Arizona (away) | L 17-42 |
| 4 | Georgia State (away) | L 14-35 |
| 6 | Air Force (home, conference game) | L 7-28 |
| 7 | Wyoming (away, conference game) | L 23-41 |
| 8 | Hawai'i (home, conference game) | L 21-56 |
Upcoming games
| Week | Opponent | Date |
|---|---|---|
| 9 | UNLV (away, conference game) | (CBSSN) |
| 10 | San José State (away, conference game) | (MW+) |
| 11 | Nevada (home, conference game) | Sat Nov 14, time TBD (MW+) |
| 12 | North Dakota State (away, conference game) | (CW, ESPN Unlmtd) |
| 13 | UTEP (home, conference game) | Sat Nov 28, time TBD (MW+) |
Ranking history 2026
Now #138, Oh Crap (week 8). Best #96 (week 1). Lowest #138 (week 2). Higher on the chart is a better rank. The shaded bands are rank tiers, with each tier's sticker at its left.
Week 8 TDR #138 (-9.0, 0-7) Oh Crap
Week 1 TDR #96 (11.0, 0-1)
Week 2 TDR #138 (-7.0, 0-2)
Week 3 TDR #137 (-7.5, 0-3) Oh Crap
Week 4 TDR #135 (-7.3, 0-4) Oh Crap
Week 5 TDR #136 (-7.4, 0-4) Oh Crap
Week 6 TDR #136 (-7.9, 0-5) Oh Crap
Week 7 TDR #137 (-8.0, 0-6) Oh Crap
Week 8 TDR #138 (-9.0, 0-7) Oh Crap
Week by week
| Week | TDR | Score | Record | Tier |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | #96 | 11.0 | 0-1 | - |
| 2 | #138 | -7.0 | 0-2 | - |
| 3 | #137 | -7.5 | 0-3 | Oh Crap |
| 4 | #135 | -7.3 | 0-4 | Oh Crap |
| 5 | #136 | -7.4 | 0-4 | Oh Crap |
| 6 | #136 | -7.9 | 0-5 | Oh Crap |
| 7 | #137 | -8.0 | 0-6 | Oh Crap |
| 8 | #138 | -9.0 | 0-7 | Oh Crap |
Score breakdown
Each factor is scored 0–100, then weighted into the composite score. Full methodology & weights
| Factor | Score (0-100) |
|---|---|
| win/loss record | 0.0 |
| recent results | 0.0 |
| road-win bonus | 27.8 |
| opponent record at game time | 33.4 |
| opponent record today | 31.1 |
Something look wrong on this page? Report a data problem. It opens an email with this team and week filled in; if it does not, write to justwin@thedavisrankings.fyi.