Wk 3 · 2026
Colorado Buffaloes at Northwestern Wildcats — Sat, Sep 19
Sat, Sep 19 ·
Northwestern Medicine Field at Martin Stadium, Evanston, IL
Weather
No forecast yet. This one is 20 days away. Forecasts reach about 16 days ahead, so this fills in nearer the game. A seasonal average printed here would look exactly like a forecast, which is why there is not one.
Big 12 · no games yet
at
7:30pET
no line posted yet
Ratings differential NU by 9.8
Big Ten · no games yet
What is at stake
A non-conference game. It moves both overall records but neither conference race.
What the ratings imply
The differential above is arithmetic on two published numbers:
The CFB King’s 2026 final efficiency ratings, plus
2.4 points of home field.
It is not a projection, a value, an edge or a lean, and nothing on this site
compares it with the betting line to tell you one is better. Until 2026
games are played it is last season’s measurement of two teams that have
changed.
Efficiency · 2026 ratings
Efficiency margin
Offense (pts/100)
Defense (pts/100)
Pace (plays/g)
Yards / play
Yards / play allowed
Opponent-adjusted ratings from The College
King's 2026 final numbers. Bars share a scale within each row, so
the two lengths are comparable; the brighter side is the better of the two, and a
longer bar is the better number — including the rows where a lower figure is the
good one. Pace is the exception: it is how fast a team plays, not how well, so
neither side is lit and a longer bar there means only more plays.
Team stats · 2026 per game
Points / game
Points allowed
Yards / game
Yards allowed
Pass yds allowed
Rush yds allowed
Turnovers / game
From completed 2026 box scores;
defensive yardage covers the regular season and conference championships.
Colorado form
No completed games on record.
Northwestern form
No completed games on record.
Colorado this season
No graded games yet this season. Lines are captured before kickoff and graded when a game goes final, so these records start at Week 1.
Northwestern this season
No graded games yet this season. Lines are captured before kickoff and graded when a game goes final, so these records start at Week 1.
Lines are captured from ESPN's board before kickoff and locked at kickoff, so an in-play price cannot overwrite the number a game is graded against.
Common opponents · 0
These teams share no opponents on the 2026 schedule.
Open these two in the
comparison tool for every shared and unshared opponent.
Series history · 2006–2026
These teams have not met in the 2006–2026 window.
Colorado leaders 2025 regular season
| Passing | Kaidon Salter QB #3 | 127/204, 1414 YDS, 10 TD, 7 INT |
| Julian Lewis QB #10 | 52/94, 589 YDS, 4 TD | |
| Rushing | Micah Welch RB #29 | 96 CAR, 384 YDS, 4 TD |
| Kaidon Salter QB #3 | 103 CAR, 356 YDS, 5 TD | |
| Dallan Hayden RB #7 | 70 CAR, 326 YDS, 1 TD | |
| Receiving | Omarion Miller WR #4 | 45 REC, 808 YDS, 8 TD |
| Joseph Williams WR #8 | 37 REC, 489 YDS, 4 TD | |
| Sincere Brown WR #9 | 22 REC, 376 YDS, 2 TD | |
| Dre'lon Miller WR #1 | 20 REC, 158 YDS, 1 TD |
Defense
| Tackles | Tawfiq Byard S #4 | 79 |
| Jeremiah Brown LB #42 | 69 | |
| Preston Hodge CB #4 | 55 | |
| Sacks | Arden Walker DE #53 | 2.5 |
| Keaten Wade DE #27 | 2.5 | |
| Jeremiah Brown LB #42 | 2 | |
| Interceptions | John Slaughter DB #13 | 2 |
| DJ McKinney CB #2 | 1 | |
| Tawfiq Byard S #4 | 1 |
Northwestern leaders 2025 regular season
| Passing | Preston Stone QB #8 | 203/339, 2174 YDS, 14 TD, 12 INT |
| Ryan Boe QB #2 | 1/3, 7 YDS | |
| Rushing | Caleb Komolafe RB #5 | 175 CAR, 886 YDS, 10 TD |
| Joseph Himon II RB #6 | 99 CAR, 486 YDS, 1 TD | |
| Dashun Reeder RB #24 | 22 CAR, 222 YDS, 1 TD | |
| Receiving | Griffin Wilde WR #17 | 61 REC, 783 YDS, 6 TD |
| Hayden Eligon II WR #8 | 34 REC, 476 YDS, 3 TD | |
| Hunter Welcing TE #84 | 27 REC, 283 YDS, 2 TD | |
| Drew Wagner WR #19 | 22 REC, 172 YDS, 2 TD |
Defense
| Tackles | Robert Fitzgerald DB #6 | 109 |
| Mac Uihlein LB #37 | 92 | |
| Braydon Brus LB #33 | 70 | |
| Sacks | Aidan Hubbard DE #91 | 4.5 |
| Michael Kilbane DL #47 | 3.5 | |
| Anto Saka DE #14 | 3 | |
| Interceptions | Mac Uihlein LB #37 | 4 |
| Najee Story DL #95 | 1 | |
| Ore Adeyi DB #7 | 1 |
These are regular-season totals for
the season named on each card — the players who led that team that year,
taken from ESPN's team leaders. That list is keyed to the season, not to today's
roster, so a leader who has since transferred or run out of eligibility still
appears against the year he earned it; the
roster
pages and the depth chart on each team page are where the current squad is.
A team switches to this season's numbers once it has played a game. The roster
pages count bowl games too, so a player's two lines can differ by a game.