worst score differential in a fbs college football season

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

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Data note: Point Differential: team season data complete from 1956

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

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More Northwestern Stats

Team Leaders

PASS

1,898

Chiles

RUSH

618

Komolafe

REC

761

Wilde

Team Rankings

PPG

33.6

34th

OPP PPG

18.8

29th

RUSH YDS/G

200.9

28th

PASS YDS/G

237.3

69th

2026 Big 10 Standings

	TEAM	CONF	OVERALL
7	Iowa	3-2	6-2
8	Oregon	3-2	5-3
9	Northwestern	3-2	6-2
10	Wisconsin	3-2	5-3
11	Washington	2-3	5-3

Schedule

DATE	MATCHUP			TIME (ET)
Sat 11/7	IOWA	@	NW	7:30 PM
Sat 11/14	NW	@	OSU	1:00 PM
Sat 11/21	NW	@	MINN	1:00 PM
Sat 11/28	ILL	@	NW	1:00 PM

Last Game

Northwestern

6 - 2

Final

Oregon

5 - 3

Sat 31 Oct 2026

CFB 2026 Leaders

Pass Yards Leaders

2,977

Atkinson

2,649

Mestemaker

2,577

Jackson

Rush Yards Leaders

1,054

White

1,049

Riley

1,005

Roberts

Rec Yards Leaders

1,110

Legree

1,067

Smith

1,027

Toney

Pass TD Leaders

25

Stokes

25

Atkinson

25

Mensah

Rush TD Leaders

17

Hellums

16

Hawkins

14

Sheppard

Rec TD Leaders

14

Legree

13

Toney

13

Smith

QB Rating Leaders

202.7

Mensah

184.5

Sayin

178.5

Stokes

Sack Leaders

10.5

Simmons

10.0

Osunsanmi

9.0

Bradley

CFB 2026 Rankings

PPG Rankings

47.6

43.8

41.1

41.0

40.4

Opp PPG Rankings

11.9

12.4

12.5

13.4

Total Yards Rankings

540.5

534.9

529.6

517.4

514.0

510.0

Rush Yards Rankings

342.5

341.0

295.8

271.4

261.6

250.8

Pass Yards Rankings

383.4

348.9

338.8

332.4

329.6

324.1

Sack Leaders

35.0

34.0

32.0

31.0

27.0

CFB 2026 Standings

	Pac-12	W	L	PCT
1	Boise State	7	1	.875
2	Oregon State	5	3	.625
3	San Diego State	4	5	.444
4	Texas State	4	4	.500
5	Fresno State	5	3	.625
6	Utah State	3	5	.375
7	Colorado State	3	5	.375
8	Washington State	1	8	.111

	Big 10	W	L	PCT
1	UCLA	8	0	1.000
2	Indiana	8	1	.889
3	Ohio State	6	2	.750
4	USC	7	2	.778
5	Illinois	5	3	.625
6	Minnesota	5	3	.625
7	Iowa	6	2	.750
8	Oregon	5	3	.625
9	Northwestern	6	2	.750
10	Wisconsin	5	3	.625
11	Washington	5	3	.625
12	Michigan	5	3	.625
13	Nebraska	5	3	.625
14	Purdue	3	5	.375
15	Penn State	4	4	.500
16	Rutgers	2	6	.250
17	Maryland	2	6	.250
18	Michigan State	2	6	.250

	Southeastern	W	L	PCT
1	Georgia	7	1	.875
2	Kentucky	7	1	.875
3	Alabama	6	2	.750
4	Ole Miss	6	2	.750
5	Texas	6	2	.750
6	LSU	6	2	.750
7	Missouri	6	2	.750
8	Tennessee	6	2	.750
9	South Carolina	5	3	.625
10	Florida	5	3	.625
11	Oklahoma	4	4	.500
12	Auburn	4	4	.500
13	Mississippi State	4	4	.500
14	Texas A&M	4	4	.500
15	Arkansas	3	5	.375
16	Vanderbilt	3	5	.375

	Conference USA	W	L	PCT
1	Liberty	7	1	.875
2	Jacksonville State	6	2	.750
3	Delaware	4	4	.500
4	New Mexico State	3	5	.375
5	Middle Tennessee	4	4	.500
6	Western Kentucky	3	5	.375
7	Missouri State	3	5	.375
8	Florida International	3	5	.375
9	Kennesaw State	2	6	.250
10	Sam Houston	1	7	.125

	Sun Belt	W	L	PCT
1	Louisiana Tech	6	2	.750
2	Appalachian State	5	3	.625
3	South Alabama	4	4	.500
4	James Madison	7	2	.778
5	Louisiana	5	3	.625
6	Georgia Southern	4	4	.500
7	Arkansas State	4	4	.500
8	Coastal Carolina	3	5	.375
9	Troy	4	4	.500
10	Georgia State	4	4	.500
11	Southern Miss	3	5	.375
12	Marshall	5	3	.625
13	Louisiana-Monroe	1	7	.125
14	Old Dominion	2	7	.222

	Atlantic Coast	W	L	PCT
1	Miami	8	0	1.000
2	Wake Forest	7	1	.875
3	Louisville	5	3	.625
4	SMU	6	2	.750
5	Virginia Tech	6	2	.750
6	Duke	6	2	.750
7	Clemson	5	3	.625
8	Pittsburgh	6	3	.667
9	Boston College	4	4	.500
10	NC State	4	4	.500
11	North Carolina	4	4	.500
12	Virginia	4	5	.444
13	California	3	6	.333
14	Syracuse	4	4	.500
15	Stanford	4	5	.444
16	Florida State	3	5	.375
17	Georgia Tech	2	6	.250

	Mountain West	W	L	PCT
1	New Mexico	7	1	.875
2	Wyoming	5	3	.625
3	UNLV	5	3	.625
4	North Dakota State	7	2	.778
5	Air Force	6	2	.750
6	Nevada	3	5	.375
7	San Jose State	4	5	.444
8	Hawai'i	2	6	.250
9	UTEP	1	7	.125
10	Northern Illinois	0	8	.000

	Independent	W	L	PCT
1	Notre Dame	7	1	.875
2	UConn	4	4	.500

	Mid-American	W	L	PCT
1	Ohio	6	2	.750
2	Western Michigan	6	3	.667
3	Buffalo	5	3	.625
4	Toledo	6	2	.750
5	Miami (OH)	5	3	.625
6	Eastern Michigan	4	5	.444
7	Ball State	3	5	.375
8	Kent State	3	6	.333
9	Bowling Green	2	7	.222
10	UMass	4	4	.500
11	Central Michigan	3	5	.375
12	Sacramento State	2	7	.222
13	Akron	1	7	.125

	American Athletic	W	L	PCT
1	UTSA	7	1	.875
2	North Texas	6	2	.750
3	Memphis	7	2	.778
4	Army	5	3	.625
5	South Florida	6	2	.750
6	UAB	4	4	.500
7	Florida Atlantic	5	3	.625
8	East Carolina	4	4	.500
9	Tulane	4	4	.500
10	Charlotte	1	7	.125
11	Tulsa	4	4	.500
12	Temple	2	6	.250
13	Navy	2	6	.250
14	Rice	1	7	.125

	Big 12	W	L	PCT
1	Utah	8	0	1.000
2	BYU	7	1	.875
3	Texas Tech	7	1	.875
4	Houston	6	2	.750
5	Arizona	6	2	.750
6	Baylor	5	3	.625
7	Oklahoma State	5	3	.625
8	West Virginia	5	3	.625
9	Iowa State	4	4	.500
10	UCF	4	4	.500
11	Cincinnati	5	3	.625
12	Arizona State	4	4	.500
13	TCU	4	4	.500
14	Colorado	3	5	.375
15	Kansas State	4	4	.500
16	Kansas	3	5	.375