When did Northwestern football last win?

Northwestern last won on Friday, October 2, 2026, beating Penn State Nittany Lions 34–13 at home. That was 3 days ago.

Northwestern is 3–1 (1–1 Big Ten) and 10th in the Big Ten. The full schedule, every result and each game's box score are below.

The longer waits

283days since its last bowl or playoff winLast bowl or playoff win: GameAbove Sports Bowl, December 26, 2025, against Central Michigan

Nonenational titles since 1998Counting national champions since the BCS began with the 1998 season.

Updated 11:25 PM CT.

1–1 Big Ten. Won last game

Last win: beat Penn State 34–13 on Fri, Oct 2

Next: Sat, Oct 10 vs Ball State, 11:30 AM CDT on BTN

Northwestern Wildcats schedule and results
Week	Date	Opponent	Result
1	Sat, Sep 5	vs South Dakota State	W 34–18
2	Open week
3	Sat, Sep 19	vs Colorado	W 41–7
4	Fri, Sep 25	at No. 5 Indiana	L 23–29
5	Fri, Oct 2	vs Penn State	W 34–13
6	Sat, Oct 10	vs Ball State	11:30 AM CDT on BTN
7	Fri, Oct 16	at Michigan State	12:00 AM EDT
8	Fri, Oct 23	vs Rutgers	11:00 PM CDT
9	Fri, Oct 30	at No. 13 Oregon	9:00 PM PDT
10	Fri, Nov 6	vs No. 20 Iowa	11:00 PM CST
11	Fri, Nov 13	at No. 5 Ohio State	12:00 AM EST
12	Fri, Nov 20	at Minnesota	11:00 PM CST
13	Fri, Nov 27	vs Illinois	11:00 PM CST

Northwestern right now

Northwestern beat Penn State 34–13 on Fri, Oct 2 and now stands at 3–1 (1–1 Big Ten), 10th in the Big Ten. The counter has sat at 3 days since. Next, Northwestern hosts Ball State on Sat, Oct 10 at 11:30 AM CDT on BTN.

Every other time Northwestern last won

When did Northwestern last win at home?: October 2, 2026, 34–13 against Penn State (3 days ago)
When did Northwestern last win on the road?: October 11, 2025, 22–21 against Penn State (359 days ago)
When did Northwestern last beat a ranked team?: November 21, 2020, 17–7 against No. 10 Wisconsin (2,144 days ago)
When did Northwestern last win a bowl or playoff game?: GameAbove Sports Bowl, December 26, 2025 (283 days ago)
When did Northwestern last win a national title?: Not since at least 1998. This counts BCS and College Football Playoff champions, from the 1998 season on.
When did Northwestern last beat Illinois?: November 25, 2023, 45–43 against Illinois (1,045 days ago)
When did Northwestern last beat Indiana?: Not since at least 2017.
When did Northwestern last beat Iowa?: October 31, 2020, 21–20 against Iowa (2,165 days ago)
When did Northwestern last beat Maryland?: October 11, 2024, 37–10 against Maryland (724 days ago)
When did Northwestern last beat Michigan?: Not since at least 2017.
When did Northwestern last beat Michigan State?: October 6, 2018, 29–19 against No. 20 Michigan State (2,921 days ago)
When did Northwestern last beat Minnesota?: November 22, 2025, 38–35 against Minnesota (317 days ago)
When did Northwestern last beat Nebraska?: August 27, 2022, 31–28 against Nebraska (1,500 days ago)
When did Northwestern last beat Ohio State?: Not since at least 2017.
When did Northwestern last beat Oregon?: Not since at least 2017.
When did Northwestern last beat Penn State?: October 2, 2026, 34–13 against Penn State (3 days ago)
When did Northwestern last beat Purdue?: October 18, 2025, 19–0 against Purdue (352 days ago)
When did Northwestern last beat Rutgers?: October 16, 2021, 21–7 against Rutgers (1,815 days ago)
When did Northwestern last beat UCLA?: September 27, 2025, 17–14 against UCLA (373 days ago)
When did Northwestern last beat USC?: Not since at least 2017.
When did Northwestern last beat Washington?: Not since at least 2017.
When did Northwestern last beat Wisconsin?: November 11, 2023, 24–10 against Wisconsin (1,059 days ago)
What is Northwestern's current streak?: Won last game
What is Northwestern's longest losing streak since 2017?: 12 games, ending September 3, 2023

Common questions

How many days since Northwestern football last won?

As of October 5, 2026, it has been 3 days since Northwestern last won. Northwestern beat Penn State 34–13 on October 2, 2026.

What is Northwestern's record this season?

Northwestern is 3–1, 1–1 in Big Ten play, and 10th in the Big Ten. Won last game.

When does Northwestern play next?

Northwestern hosts Ball State on Sat, Oct 10 at 11:30 AM CDT on BTN.

Against the conference

Since 2017, Northwestern is 36–47 against the rest of the Big Ten as it stands today, across 83 meetings with 17 different opponents.

Northwestern's best record is against UCLA (1–0), and Oregon has given it the most trouble (0–1).

Northwestern Wildcats record against Big Ten opponents since 2017
Opponent	Record	Win rate
Purdue head to head	6–3	67%
Illinois head to head	5–4	56%
Nebraska head to head	4–4	50%
Wisconsin head to head	3–5	38%
Iowa head to head	3–5	38%
Minnesota head to head	4–3	57%
Maryland head to head	4–1	80%
Michigan State head to head	2–3	40%
Penn State head to head	2–3	40%
Ohio State head to head	0–5	0%
Michigan head to head	0–4	0%
Rutgers head to head	2–1	67%
Indiana head to head	0–3	0%
UCLA head to head	1–0	100%
USC head to head	0–1	0%
Washington head to head	0–1	0%
Oregon head to head	0–1	0%

Drought history

Regular season results for Northwestern Wildcats from 2017 through 2026, conference championship games included, a combined record of 50–59.

Longest losing streak since 2017: 12 straight games, from September 10, 2022 to September 3, 2023.
Longest stretch between wins: 378 days, ending with a win over UTEP on September 9, 2023.
The current drought stands at 3 days, 375 short of that mark.

Northwestern Wildcats record by season
Season	Record
2026	3–1
2025	6–6
2024	4–8
2023	7–5
2022	1–11
2021	3–9
2020	6–2
2019	3–9
2018	8–5
2017	9–3

Recent weeks

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Also in the Big Ten: Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Maryland, Michigan, Michigan State, Minnesota, Nebraska, Ohio State, Oregon, Penn State, Purdue, Rutgers, UCLA, USC, Washington, Wisconsin.