Week 5 · College Football

Penn State vs Northwestern prediction

The TailgateNinjas model gives Penn State a 64% chance to beat Northwestern in this College Football matchup. Updated August 29, 2026.

#16 Big Ten Conference

Penn State

25% to make the 12

@

#45 Big Ten Conference

Northwestern

3% to make the 12

The model's read

SpreadPenn State −5.5Model
Projected scorePenn State 29Northwestern 23

Penn State is the pick by 5.5, but it's live — 64% on the model.

Chaos meter72 · LIVE
72/ 100
CalmMayhem

Penn State

64%

to win

Northwestern

36%

to win

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Tale of the tape

2025 efficiency · ranks
Penn State
vs
Northwestern
#30Offense · EPA/play#84
#46Defense · EPA/play#80
#101Explosiveness#110
#25Success rate#60
56%Returning production68%

National ranks from last season (1 = best). The 2026 outlook builds on this.

Series history

22 meetings all-time

Penn State leads 16–6

Last met 2025 · Penn State 2122 NorthwesternNorthwestern won

Both sidelines

via Google News

What Penn State is hearing

What Northwestern is hearing

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