ncaa football worst point differential ever in one season

The Northwestern Wildcats have the lowest point differential by a team in a season, with a -423-point differential in 1981.

TEAMDIFFSEASONGPWLTTDPTSPPGOPP PTSOPP PPG1DWN3DWN%4DWN%
1Northwestern
Northwestern
-423
1981
11
0
11
0
82
7.5
505
45.9
2Temple
Temple
-412
1993
11
1
10
0
115
10.5
527
47.9
3Washington State
Washington State
-405
2008
13
2
11
0
20
165
12.7
570
43.8
184
4UTEP
UTEP
-402
1973
11
0
11
0
142
12.9
544
49.5
5UMass
UMass
-395
2019
12
1
11
0
31
237
19.8
632
52.7
190
34.4
37.9
6Temple
Temple
-391
2005
11
0
11
0
13
107
9.7
498
45.3
165
7Louisiana
Louisiana
-377
1997
11
1
10
0
176
16.0
553
50.3
8Kansas
Kansas
-370
2015
12
0
12
0
24
183
15.3
553
46.1
212
36.5
26.9
9Temple
Temple
-365
2006
12
1
11
0
18
131
10.9
496
41.3
138
10SMU
SMU
-363
2014
12
1
11
0
15
133
11.1
496
41.3
179
32.4
50.0
11Kent State
Kent State
-362
2024
12
0
12
0
22
167
13.9
529
44.1
156
18.5
38.1
12New Mexico
New Mexico
-356
2011
12
1
11
0
18
144
12.0
500
41.7
187
13Colorado
Colorado
-349
2022
12
1
11
0
22
185
15.4
534
44.5
191
31.7
36.7
14New Mexico
New Mexico
-348
1988
12
2
10
0
170
14.2
518
43.2
15Northwestern
Northwestern
-348
1978
11
0
10
1
92
8.4
440
40.0
16Idaho
Idaho
-343
2013
12
1
11
0
8
218
18.2
561
46.8
74
31.9
28.6
17New Mexico
New Mexico
-342
2010
12
1
11
0
24
190
15.8
532
44.3
188
18UConn
UConn
-339
2018
12
1
11
0
36
266
22.2
605
50.4
250
42.1
54.2
19Colorado
Colorado
-338
2012
12
1
11
0
28
214
17.8
552
46.0
206
20Colorado State
Colorado State
-338
1981
12
0
12
0
164
13.7
502
41.8
21Minnesota
Minnesota
-337
1983
11
1
10
0
181
16.5
518
47.1
22San José State
San José State
-336
2017
13
2
11
0
24
206
15.8
542
41.7
225
30.9
40.0
23
Hardin-Simmons
-334
1961
10
0
10
0
43
4.3
377
37.7
24Utah State
Utah State
-332
2006
12
1
11
0
18
130
10.8
462
38.5
170
25North Texas
North Texas
-331
2008
12
1
11
0
30
240
20.0
571
47.6
247
StatMuse has team, season-level data for point differential going back to the 1956 season.

More Northwestern Stats

Team Rankings

PPG

22.5

115th

OPP PPG

20.9

36th

RUSH YDS/G

167.1

66th

PASS YDS/G

181.8

138th

2025 Big 10 Standings
TEAMCONFOVERALL
9
Minnesota Minnesota
5-4
7-5
10
Nebraska Nebraska
4-5
7-5
11
Northwestern Northwestern
4-5
6-6
12
UCLA UCLA
3-6
3-9
13
Penn State Penn State
3-6
6-6
Last Game

13

Final

20

ILL Illinois

8 - 4

Sat 29 Nov 2025

CFB 2025 Leaders

CFB 2025 Rankings

CFB 2025 Division Standings

SoutheasternWLPCT
1
Georgia Georgia
12
1
.923
2
Ole Miss Ole Miss
11
1
.917
Mountain WestWLPCT
1
Boise State Boise State
9
4
.692
2
New Mexico New Mexico
9
3
.750
Big 10WLPCT
1
Ohio State Ohio State
12
1
.923
2
Indiana Indiana
13
0
1.000
IndependentWLPCT
1
Notre Dame Notre Dame
10
2
.833
2
UConn UConn
9
3
.750
Big 12WLPCT
1
Texas Tech Texas Tech
12
1
.923
2
BYU BYU
11
2
.846
American AthleticWLPCT
1
North Texas North Texas
11
2
.846
2
Tulane Tulane
11
2
.846
Atlantic CoastWLPCT
1
Virginia Virginia
10
3
.769
2
Duke Duke
8
5
.615
Pac-12WLPCT
1
Washington State Washington State
6
6
.500
2
Oregon State Oregon State
2
10
.167
Mid-AmericanWLPCT
1
Western Michigan Western Michigan
9
4
.692
2
Ohio Ohio
8
4
.667
Sun BeltWLPCT
1
JMU JMU
12
1
.923
2
Troy Troy
8
5
.615
Conference USAWLPCT
1
Kennesaw State Kennesaw State
10
3
.769
2
Jacksonville State Jacksonville State
8
5
.615

CFB 2025 Scores & Schedule

Scores

DATEMATCHUPSCORE
Fri
11/7
CIT CIT
@
MISS MISS
0-49
Mon
11/10
KENT KENT
@
AKR AKR
42-35
Mon
11/10
OHIO OHIO
@
WMU WMU
13-17
Tue
11/11
NIU NIU
@
MASS MASS
45-3
Tue
11/11
TOL TOL
@
M-OH M-OH
24-3

Schedule

DATEMATCHUPTIME (ET)
Sat
12/13
ARMY ARMY
@
NAVY NAVY
3:00 PM
Wed
12/17
ODU ODU
@
USF USF
5:00 PM
Wed
12/17
UL UL
@
DEL DEL
8:30 PM
Thu
12/18
MOST MOST
@
ARST ARST
9:00 PM
Wed
12/24
CAL CAL
@
HAW HAW
8:00 PM