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Northern Illinois

Huskies · Mountain West

GIE rank
#138
of 138 FBS
Rating
1205
2026 Week 11
Record
0-8
2026 season
Proj record
1-11
12-game season

Head coach Rob Harley Year 1 with Northern Illinois

Year-1 HCs (2015-2024) averaged -0.19 W vs. preseason expectation

Season projection

2026 W11 · 10,000 sims
Expected wins
0.9
0.9 more wins in 4 left
Win range (90%)
0 to 2
Final rank (90%)
#138 (137–138)
Make playoff
0%
Win conference
0%

Path to glory

No remaining game changes Northern Illinois's playoff odds. Make playoff 0%

Schedule

Full 2026 slate. Tap a row for the matchup breakdown.

Schedule and results
Week Opponent Result or win prob.Result or win probability
Wk 1 Sep 5 at Iowa Big Ten Loss, 0-40 Final
Wk 2 Sep 12 vs Illinois State Non-FBS Loss, 24-28 Final
Wk 3 Sep 20 at Arizona Big 12 Loss, 17-42 Final
Wk 4 Sep 26 at Georgia State Sun Belt Loss, 14-35 Final
Wk 5 Bye
Wk 6 Oct 10 vs Air Force Mountain West Loss, 7-28 Final
Wk 7 Oct 17 at Wyoming Mountain West Loss, 23-41 Final
Wk 8 Oct 24 vs Hawai'i Mountain West Loss, 21-56 Final
Wk 9 Nov 1 at UNLV Mountain West Loss, 24-31 Final
Wk 10 Nov 7 at San José State Mountain West Win probability: 11%
Wk 11 Nov 14 vs Nevada Mountain West Win probability: 8%
Wk 12 Nov 21 at North Dakota State Mountain West Win probability: 1%
Wk 13 Nov 28 vs UTEP Mountain West Win probability: 55%

Latest stories

  • Recap

    Northern Illinois: 2026 Week 11 recap

    Northern Illinois sits at 136th nationally with a 0–8 record and no realistic path forward. The Huskies fell to UNLV 31–24 in Week 9, a loss that crystallizes their offensive struggles: a red-zone TD rate of just 11% and third-down…

  • Recap

    Northern Illinois: 2026 Week 7 recap

    Northern Illinois sits at 0–4 after falling to Georgia State 35–14 in Week 4, and GIE's rating hasn't budged: the Huskies remain at –23.9, ranked 133rd. The offense has sputtered across the board—a red-zone TD rate of just 11% and…

  • Recap

    Northern Illinois: 2026 Week 3 recap

    Northern Illinois sits at 0–1 after a shutout loss to Iowa in Week 1, with GIE holding the Huskies at a rating of –17.2 and ranked 123rd nationally. The rating has held flat week-to-week, signaling no meaningful recovery in the interim.…

In the news

More coming. Per-team pages get the full treatment in Phase 3: current rating, season projection histogram, schedule with win probabilities, and live overlays on Pylon stream days. For now, this page exists so stories and news have a permanent home as content rolls in.

If QB1 is out

Josh Holst

GIE projects a 8.3 rating drop and a 33.0pp shift in playoff probability if Northern Illinois loses its QB1 for an extended stretch. (n=5 historical samples; pooled across recent seasons.)

Returning production · 2026

43 score

  • Quarterback 44% (2/5)
  • Offensive line 61% (11/18) players
  • Skill (RB/WR/TE) 56% (17/30)
  • Front 7 (DL/LB) 9% (12/33)
  • Secondary 19% (8/20)
  • Special teams 67% (2/7)

Share of last season's production each unit returns. Higher means more continuity: 70%+ is healthy, 45–70% a normal rebuild, under 45% a major turnover.

Portal additions · 2026

−1.2 rating

10 proven transfers in, carrying the production below from their prior school.

Northern Illinois incoming transfers
Player From Impact
Taron DickensQB From Western Carolina Western Carolina 79
Avery JonesDB From Lafayette Lafayette 27
Liam LindoCB From Bryant Bryant 22
Marshall WashingtonCB From Long Island University Long Island University 19
Kyon ConyersS From Long Island University Long Island University 3
Christopher AllenDT From North Carolina A&T North Carolina A&T 1

Impact scores offensive skill additions (QB/RB/WR/TE) — prior-season production normalized within position (100 ≈ a 90th-percentile producer at that spot) and discounted for non-FBS competition, so a top back counts alongside a top quarterback. Defensive and O-line additions count as transfers but aren't box-score measurable, so they carry no impact score. The rating figure is this class's portal contribution vs. the FBS average, capped at ±2.5.

Situational efficiency · 2025

FBS percentile rank
  • 3rd-down conversion 30.8%
    17th — bottom tier
  • Red-zone TD rate 11.2%
    22th — bottom tier
  • 4th-down aggression 44.2%
    83th — strong
  • Late & close 3.5 yds/play
    19th — bottom tier

Percentile is across all FBS teams with play-by-play data for the season. "Late & close" is yards per play in Q4+ with a one-score margin — a proxy for clutch offensive performance.