For the past few years, Inside NU has ranked Northwestern's opponents in terms of "winnability" as a preseason exercise. To us, that means how "winnable" each game is or, on the flipside, how tough does each game looks. Northwestern's 12 regular season opponents are listed below in order from "most winnable" to "least winnable," with each staff members' votes included. Have a difference of opinion? Let us know in the comments.
1
Eastern Illinois Panthers
WEEK 2 | SEPT. 12, 2015
EVANSTON, ILLINOIS 2014 RECORD: 5- 7
Henry Bushnell
Josh Rosenblat
Zach Pereles
Kevin Dukovic
Michael Odom
Ian McCafferty
Lyndsey Armacost
Sam Brief
Zach Wingrove
AVERAGE
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
2
Ball State Cardinals
WEEK 4 | SEPT. 26, 2015
EVANSTON, ILLINOIS 2014 RECORD: 5- 7
Henry Bushnell
Josh Rosenblat
Zach Pereles
Kevin Dukovic
Michael Odom
Ian McCafferty
Lyndsey Armacost
Sam Brief
Zach Wingrove
AVERAGE
3
2
3
2
3
2
3
2
2
2.44
3
Purdue Boilermakers
WEEK 11 | NOV. 14, 2015
EVANSTON, ILLINOIS 2014 RECORD: 3- 9
Henry Bushnell
Josh Rosenblat
Zach Pereles
Kevin Dukovic
Michael Odom
Ian McCafferty
Lyndsey Armacost
Sam Brief
Zach Wingrove
AVERAGE
2
3
2
3
2
3
2
3
3
2.56
4
Illinois Fighting Illini
WEEK 13 | NOV. 28, 2015
CHICAGO (SOLDIER FIELD) 2014 RECORD: 6- 7
Henry Bushnell
Josh Rosenblat
Zach Pereles
Kevin Dukovic
Michael Odom
Ian McCafferty
Lyndsey Armacost
Sam Brief
Zach Wingrove
AVERAGE
4
4
4
4
4
4
6
4
4
4.22
5
Iowa Hawkeyes
WEEK 27 | OCT. 17, 2015
EVANSTON, ILLINOIS 2014 RECORD: 7- 6
Henry Bushnell
Josh Rosenblat
Zach Pereles
Kevin Dukovic
Michael Odom
Ian McCafferty
Lyndsey Armacost
Sam Brief
Zach Wingrove
AVERAGE
6
6
5
5
5
5
5
5
5
5.22
6
Duke Blue Devils
WEEK 3 | SEPT. 19, 2015
DURHAM, NORTH CAROLINA 2014 RECORD: 9- 4
Henry Bushnell
Josh Rosenblat
Zach Pereles
Kevin Dukovic
Michael Odom
Ian McCafferty
Lyndsey Armacost
Sam Brief
Zach Wingrove
AVERAGE
5
9
8
9
6
6
4
7
6
6.67
7
Minnesota Golden Gophers
WEEK 5 | OCT. 3, 2015
EVANSTON, ILLINOIS 2014 RECORD: 8- 5
Henry Bushnell
Josh Rosenblat
Zach Pereles
Kevin Dukovic
Michael Odom
Ian McCafferty
Lyndsey Armacost
Sam Brief
Zach Wingrove
AVERAGE
7
5
9
6
7
8
7
8
7
7.11
8
Penn State Nittany Lions
WEEK 10 | NOV. 7, 2015
EVANSTON, ILLINOIS 2014 RECORD: 7- 6
Henry Bushnell
Josh Rosenblat
Zach Pereles
Kevin Dukovic
Michael Odom
Ian McCafferty
Lyndsey Armacost
Sam Brief
Zach Wingrove
AVERAGE
8
7
6
7
10
11
11
6
8
8.22
9
Michigan Wolverines
WEEK 6 | OCT. 10, 2015
ANN ARBOR, MICHIGAN 2014 RECORD: 5- 7
Henry Bushnell
Josh Rosenblat
Zach Pereles
Kevin Dukovic
Michael Odom
Ian McCafferty
Lyndsey Armacost
Sam Brief
Zach Wingrove
AVERAGE
10
8
7
8
8
7
10
10
9
8.56
10
Nebraska Cornhuskers
WEEK 8 | OCT. 24, 2015
LINCOLN, NEBRASKA 2014 RECORD: 9- 4
Henry Bushnell
Josh Rosenblat
Zach Pereles
Kevin Dukovic
Michael Odom
Ian McCafferty
Lyndsey Armacost
Sam Brief
Zach Wingrove
AVERAGE
9
11
11
10
9
9
8
9
10
9.56
11
Stanford Cardinal
WEEK 1 | SEPT. 5, 2015
EVANSTON, ILLINOIS 2014 RECORD: 8- 5
Henry Bushnell
Josh Rosenblat
Zach Pereles
Kevin Dukovic
Michael Odom
Ian McCafferty
Lyndsey Armacost
Sam Brief
Zach Wingrove
AVERAGE
11
12
12
12
12
10
9
11
11
11.11
12
Wisconsin Badgers
WEEK 12 | NOV. 21, 2015
MADISON, WISCONSIN 2014 RECORD: 11- 3
Henry Bushnell
Josh Rosenblat
Zach Pereles
Kevin Dukovic
Michael Odom
Ian McCafferty
Lyndsey Armacost
Sam Brief
Zach Wingrove
AVERAGE
12
10
10
11
11
12
12
12
12
11.33