Northwestern Rises in Preseason College Football FPI Rankings
Northwestern had a disappointing 4-8 season in 2024, but thanks to the largest incoming transfer class in program history, the Wildcats are looking to take a leap forward in the fall.
Built on the backs of a 13-man group of portal players that fills roster holes across the board, the 'Cats' lineup appears much improved from the unit that went just 2-7 in Big Ten play last season. While the 2025 campaign is still nearly three months away, ESPN's Football Power Index projects Northwestern to be much better.
FPI is a metric, created by the multimedia sports network in 2013, that factors in a variety of advanced statistics to predict how a certain team would perform relative to an average FBS team. The system has come under fire in recent years, as certain input data points like recruiting rankings have tended to favor the SEC, which ESPN has exclusive broadcasting rights for.
Northwestern finished 89th out of 134 teams in FPI in 2024, which ranked 17th in the Big Ten. However, the Wildcats check in at 74th in ESPN's preseason rankings ahead of 2025, and their 15-spot rise is good for the 14th-largest increase in this offseason.
Offseason additions factor into the FPI formula, and Northwestern's transfer portal class is likely a primary reason for the team's big jump in the rankings. Thanks to a change in the university's admissions process that allowed the Wildcats to utilize the winter portal window, NU now has answers in several positions of need.
Former SMU quarterback Preston Stone highlights the group, but Northwestern has also added four offensive linemen, two defensive backs and a trio of pass-catching weapons. With these reinforcements, the Wildcats are a much deeper team, but only time will tell if they're ready to challenge the Big Ten's best.
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Gavin Dorsey is the Lead Writer for Northwestern Wildcats On SI and covers a handful of other teams in the On SI network. Before joining On SI in February 2025, he wrote for the Star Tribune and Inside NU while broadcasting college sports for both radio and television. Dorsey is a graduate of Northwestern's Medill School of Journalism, where he also studied psychology. In his free time, he enjoys running and being outdoors. Dorsey is currently a freelance writer for the Associated Press, covering Chicago area sports teams.