Our side
MoneylineIOWA to win
ours 36%
Projected score
26–20
IOWA – NU
2026-11-07 · kickoff TBD
Ryan Field · Evanston, IL
B1G game
Early season
The books
No book has priced this game. Nothing to compare, and no ticket to build.
Series
Iowa lead
55–28–3
· 86 meetings since 1897
2025 unit ranks —
last completed season, from games actually played
Run game
edge Iowa Hawkeyes
164 ranks
Iowa Hawkeyes #49 rush offense
Northwestern Wildcats #213 run defense
Pass game
even
23 ranks apart
Iowa Hawkeyes #131 pass offense
Northwestern Wildcats #108 pass defense
Run game
even
4 ranks apart
Northwestern Wildcats #79 rush offense
Iowa Hawkeyes #75 run defense
Pass game
edge Iowa Hawkeyes
148 ranks
Northwestern Wildcats #170 pass offense
Iowa Hawkeyes #22 pass defense
Iowa Hawkeyes
Run-heavy · 68% run
Ball-control
Dual-threat QB · 41 rush ypg
Northwestern Wildcats
Balanced · 56% run
Ball-control
Kirk Ferentz · 98-43 · defense-minded
David Braun · 19-19
Ranked by team-unit strength
(rush & pass offense vs. run & pass defense) across all 265
D1 teams, not by individual players. Identity, tempo and unit strength are measured from the
2025 season.
The evidence 2025 production and power ratings · supporting the number above
Who carried each team in 2025
Iowa Hawkeyes
RB
Kamari Moulton
240 rush yds · 2 TD · 6 rec
#19 RB
WR
Tony Diaz
15 rec · 179 yds · 1 TD
#39 WR
K
Caden Buhr
5 FG · 5 XP · 20 pts
#18 K
LB
Cam Buffington
21 tkl · 1.0 TFL
#113 LB
Northwestern Wildcats
DB
Braden Turner
7 tkl · 3 PD
#97 DB
DB
Robert Fitzgerald
14 tkl · 1 PD
#113 DB
DB
Damon Walters
9 tkl · 1 PD · 1 INT
#114 DB
DL
Brendan Flakes
4 tkl · 1.0 sacks · 1.0 TFL
#225 DL
Top-rated players from last season, ranked within their
position across D1. A grade measures what a player produced, and no
2026 game has been played yet — so this is who produced for
these programs in 2025, not a claim about who is on the field this year.
Power breakdown
Def is higher = better. The projection assumes a 2.4-pt home edge (0 at neutral sites).
Where the number comes from
Iowa offense vs Northwestern defense-6.4 pts
Northwestern offense vs Iowa defense-14.1 pts
An efficiency adjustment from season-to-date EPA and success rate applies once teams have
played enough games; before then it is 0 and the number is the power rating alone.