North Central College football team enters the 2026 season as the number one ranked team in Division III in both the d3football.com and the American Football Coaches Association (AFCA) preseason polls.
A top-tier early-season showdown
The Cardinals finished the 2025 season with a 14-1 record after falling in the Stagg Bowl to UW-River Falls 24-14. It was the sixth consecutive championship game appearance for North Central, which has not lost a regular-season game since October of 2019.
The Week one opponent for North Central football is a familiar one, Bethel University from Minnesota. The Royals are searching for revenge after being eliminated by NCC 35-21 in last year’s quarterfinal round. Bethel enters the season as the number two-ranked team in both preseason polls.
The Cardinals and Royals open the season with a noon kickoff at Benedetti-Wehrli Stadium on Saturday, September 5.
The path back to the Stagg Bowl does not get easier
If the Cardinals hope to reach a seventh straight Stagg Bowl, they will face multiple tough tests in the first five weeks of the season. NCC will travel to Waverly, Iowa, to face Wartburg, another top-ten opponent in Week two. On October 10th, North Central hosts the fifth-ranked Wheaton College Thunder for the annual “Battle for the Little Brass Bell“.
North Central hopes to take home a sixth consecutive CCIW championship. The team has earned at least a share of the conference title in 16 of the past 19 seasons, setting a new CCIW record along the way with 51 consecutive conference victories.
Quarterback Garrett Wilson and offensive lineman Cortez Jones earned d3football.com preseason First Team All-American honors, while linebacker Matt Janiak was named to the Third Team.
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