New FPI Rankings Show Brutality of Northwestern's 2026 Schedule

When Northwestern's list of 2026 opponents was finalized, it was widely known how tough the Wildcats' schedule would be. The difficulty of that slate became even more apparent once the exact details of the schedule were revealed.

Because of the delayed opening of the New Ryan Field, Northwestern has an early Week 2 Bye. Immediately following that Bye Week are 11 consecutive weeks where the Wildcats will play a game, including three games in a row against ranked opponents and a road contest at the national champion Indiana Hoosiers.

It'll be a long road for Northwestern to reach bowl eligibility for the third time in four years. The Wildcats' schedule is not only difficult, though; it's one of the hardest in the country.

ESPN released its College Football Power Index (FPI) rankings ahead of the 2026 season, which stacks all 138 FBS teams up against each other using a complicated algorithm to predict team performance on a neutral field. The 2026 college football season is still nearly two months from kicking off, so most of the data points are based on last season's results and the quality of new transfer additions.

And from those alone, Northwestern's schedule appears absolutely brutal.

According to ESPN's FPI metric, the Wildcats have the 17th-hardest strength of schedule in the entire FBS. That measures up to the third-hardest strength of schedule in the Big Ten, trailing only Ohio State (No. 8) and Michigan (No. 16). The top 21 teams in ESPN's FPI all belong to either the SEC or the Big Ten.

Northwestern's 2026 schedule is a gauntlet. The 'Cats hit the road for a Halloween matchup at Oregon, then host Iowa the following week. After that, Northwestern faces Ohio State in Columbus and Minnesota in Minneapolis before closing the season against Illinois.

ESPN's FPI doesn't factor in the difficulty of playing all of these games in succession, either. Northwestern will likely be drained from a team that airs the ball out like Oregon and be forced to battle a team like Iowa with physicality in the trenches. The Wildcats will have no time to rest between then and taking on one of the nation's projected top teams, Ohio State.

Northwestern ranks 60th in FPI overall, meaning there would be 59 FBS teams that would be favored over the Wildcats on a neutral field, while Northwestern would be favored over the remaining 78. The metric gives NU a 37.6% chance to reach six wins and a 1.0% chance at reaching the College Football Playoff.