Big Ten Matchups

Penn State vs Northern Illinois

Penn State Nittany Lions vs Northern Illinois Huskies

Who wins Penn State vs Northern Illinois?

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Head-to-head on record

Penn State vs Northern Illinois series
TeamWinsSeries
Penn State Nittany Lions1Penn State leads
Northern Illinois Huskies0

Meetings since 1996: 1. Source: CollegeFootballData game log.

The series in numbers

1-0 Regular season
1-0 Last 1
49-0 Avg score
1 Longest Penn State win run

Biggest Penn State win 49-0 in 1996, a 49-point margin.

Every Penn State vs Northern Illinois meeting

Penn State Nittany Lions vs Northern Illinois Huskies, every meeting on record
SeasonResultSiteScore
1996 Penn State win University Park 49-0

Scores from the Penn State perspective. Source: CollegeFootballData game log, since 1996.

Matchup stats

Last five games

Northern Illinois

DateOppResult
09-26 atGAST L 14-35
09-19 atARIZ L 17-42
09-12 vsILST L 24-28
09-05 atIOWA L 0-40
11-28 vsKENT L 31-35

Penn State

DateOppResult
10-02 atNU L 13-34
09-26 vsWIS L 20-24
09-19 vsBUF W 55-13
09-12 atTEM W 27-9
09-05 vsMRSH W 45-0

Completed results from CollegeFootballData via the CFB Data Hub

2026 standings

Mountain West

TeamWLTPCTPFPA
North Dakota State 500 1.00016849
New Mexico 410 .80021753
Air Force 310 .75011680
UNLV 320 .600125118
San José State 320 .600113125
Wyoming 230 .40071110
Nevada 130 .25010997
Hawai'i 140 .20088124
UTEP 140 .20082207
Northern Illinois 040 .00055145

Big Ten

TeamWLTPCTPFPA
Indiana 500 1.00022154
Nebraska 500 1.00021871
UCLA 400 1.00017975
USC 510 .833224153
Ohio State 410 .80021163
Iowa 410 .80014563
Wisconsin 410 .80015883
Minnesota 410 .80016090
Oregon 310 .75019093
Northwestern 310 .75013267
Penn State 320 .60016080
Washington 320 .60013392
Michigan 320 .60011579
Illinois 230 .400153130
Maryland 230 .400152151
Purdue 230 .400152175
Michigan State 230 .40091116
Rutgers 140 .200150161

Records computed from completed games this season

Penn State Nittany Lions lead the series since 1996, 1-0. Here is the series on record and how to watch when Penn State and Northern Illinois meet.

How to watch Penn State vs Northern Illinois

When Penn State and Northern Illinois are scheduled, here is how to find the game.

  1. National TV National windows are set by Set weekly by the conference TV partners (ESPN, ABC, FOX, FS1).
  2. Streaming ESPN+ and the FOX Sports app stream the national windows.
  3. Radio Listen on the Penn State radio network.
  4. Confirm kickoff Kickoff and the exact channel are set by the networks before game week. Check the match center for the Penn State vs Northern Illinois time and line.

The live time, line and how-to-watch details land on the match center and how to watch pages once the game is scheduled.

The Penn State this season

Follow Penn State in the title race on the Big Ten standings, and model the finish with the title race calculator. For the conference series that define the year, see the Big Ten rivalry pages, or browse every Big Ten matchup.

About the author and reviewer

Written by

The BIG10.CO Desk

Conference Newsroom · Independent Big Ten coverage since 2026

The house desk of BIG10.CO - independent researchers tracking every Big Ten game, stat and storyline.

Fact-checked by

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Fact & Data Review · Primary-source verification

Every stat and historical claim on data pages is checked against official box scores and the live feed before publication.

Independence: BIG10.CO was not paid by any school, network or sportsbook for this page. Corrections are logged in our editorial policy.

Penn State vs Northern Illinois: the essentials

Penn State Nittany Lions vs Northern Illinois Huskies is a non-conference matchup that sets the Big Ten against the Mountain West (Group of 6). Penn State Nittany Lions lead the series since 1996, 1-0. Across 1 meeting on record the series is one-sided so far, and whenever the two programs are scheduled this page carries the Penn State vs Northern Illinois head-to-head record, the matchup numbers for both sides, and how to watch on TV and streaming. It sits alongside the Penn State Nittany Lions team hub, the Big Ten this week round-up and the live conference standings. For Northern Illinois against the whole conference, see Northern Illinois vs the Big Ten.

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Frequently asked questions

What is the all-time record between Penn State and Northern Illinois?

Penn State Nittany Lions lead the series since 1996, 1-0. The two programs have met 1 time on record.

How can I watch Penn State vs Northern Illinois?

National windows are set by Set weekly by the conference TV partners (ESPN, ABC, FOX, FS1). Kickoff time and the exact channel are set by the networks before game week.

Are Penn State and Northern Illinois in the same conference?

No. Penn State plays in the Big Ten. Northern Illinois plays in the Mountain West (Group of 6). This is a non-conference game.