The Most Important Games for the Northwestern Wildcats are those conference games in the upcoming week whose outcome most changes the Wildcats final standings. The Importance Factor provides a relative importance between games. Northwestern Wildcats fans can use this table to identify the most interesting conference games in the upcoming week of play.
| Game | Importance Factor (0‑∼100) |
Game Winner |
Northwestern Resultant Probabilities | |||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Regular Season Finish | ||||||||||||||||||
| 1* First and Second Round Byes |
2* First and Second Round Byes |
3* First and Second Round Byes |
4* First and Second Round Byes |
5** First Round Bye |
6** First Round Bye |
7** First Round Bye |
8** First Round Bye |
9** First Round Bye |
10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | NT | |||
| NorthwesternN. Western (13‑13) vs Ohio St. (15‑11) |
25 | NorthwesternN. Western Wins | X | X | X | X | X | X | <1% | <1% | <1% | 1% | 4% | 6% | 8% | 11% | 15% | 55% |
| Current Probabilities | X | X | X | X | X | X | <1% | <1% | <1% | 1% | 2% | 3% | 5% | 7% | 11% | 72% | ||
| Ohio St. Wins | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | <1% | <1% | <1% | <1% | 1% | 3% | 6% | 10% | 80% | ||
| Oregon (18‑8) vs Iowa (14‑11) |
4 | Oregon Wins | X | X | X | X | X | X | <1% | <1% | <1% | 1% | 2% | 3% | 5% | 8% | 11% | 71% |
| Current Probabilities | X | X | X | X | X | X | <1% | <1% | <1% | 1% | 2% | 3% | 5% | 7% | 11% | 72% | ||
| Iowa Wins | X | X | X | X | X | X | <1% | <1% | <1% | 1% | 1% | 3% | 4% | 7% | 10% | 75% | ||
| UCLA (19‑7) vs Minnesota (13‑12) |
3 | UCLA Wins | X | X | X | X | X | X | <1% | <1% | <1% | 1% | 2% | 3% | 5% | 7% | 11% | 71% |
| Current Probabilities | X | X | X | X | X | X | <1% | <1% | <1% | 1% | 2% | 3% | 5% | 7% | 11% | 72% | ||
| Minnesota Wins | X | X | X | X | X | X | <1% | <1% | <1% | 1% | 1% | 3% | 4% | 7% | 10% | 74% | ||
| Nebraska (17‑9) vs Penn State (13‑13) |
3 | Nebraska Wins | X | X | X | X | X | X | <1% | <1% | <1% | 1% | 2% | 3% | 5% | 8% | 12% | 71% |
| Current Probabilities | X | X | X | X | X | X | <1% | <1% | <1% | 1% | 2% | 3% | 5% | 7% | 11% | 72% | ||
| Penn State Wins | X | X | X | X | X | X | <1% | <1% | <1% | 1% | 1% | 3% | 4% | 7% | 10% | 74% | ||
| Maryland (20‑6) vs USC (14‑11) |
2 | Maryland Wins | X | X | X | X | X | X | <1% | <1% | <1% | 1% | 2% | 3% | 5% | 8% | 11% | 71% |
| Current Probabilities | X | X | X | X | X | X | <1% | <1% | <1% | 1% | 2% | 3% | 5% | 7% | 11% | 72% | ||
| USC Wins | X | X | X | X | X | X | <1% | <1% | <1% | <1% | 1% | 2% | 4% | 8% | 11% | 73% | ||
| Wisconsin (20‑5) vs Illinois (17‑9) |
0 | Wisconsin Wins | X | X | X | X | X | X | <1% | <1% | <1% | 1% | 2% | 3% | 5% | 7% | 11% | 72% |
| Current Probabilities | X | X | X | X | X | X | <1% | <1% | <1% | 1% | 2% | 3% | 5% | 7% | 11% | 72% | ||
| Illinois Wins | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | <1% | <1% | 1% | 2% | 3% | 5% | 7% | 11% | 72% | ||
| Washington (13‑12) vs Rutgers (12‑14) |
0 | Washington Wins | X | X | X | X | X | X | <1% | <1% | <1% | 1% | 2% | 3% | 5% | 8% | 10% | 72% |
| Current Probabilities | X | X | X | X | X | X | <1% | <1% | <1% | 1% | 2% | 3% | 5% | 7% | 11% | 72% | ||
| Rutgers Wins | X | X | X | X | X | X | <1% | <1% | <1% | 1% | 1% | 3% | 5% | 7% | 12% | 72% | ||
| Michigan St. (20‑5) vs Purdue (19‑7) |
0 | Michigan St. Wins | X | X | X | X | X | X | <1% | <1% | <1% | 1% | 2% | 3% | 5% | 7% | 11% | 72% |
| Current Probabilities | X | X | X | X | X | X | <1% | <1% | <1% | 1% | 2% | 3% | 5% | 7% | 11% | 72% | ||
| Purdue Wins | X | X | X | X | X | X | <1% | <1% | <1% | 1% | 2% | 3% | 5% | 7% | 11% | 72% | ||