Next game
vs Buena Vista
Sat Oct 24 · 2 pm ET
Ron and Joyce Schipper Stadium · series 4-0, won the last 4
Central College 96% to win · our ratings after 6 games
Central College
3-3American Rivers · Ron and Joyce Schipper Stadium · 1,000 seats
Last game · Sat Oct 17
W 44-11 at Nebraska Wesleyan
Our model gave Central College 72% before kickoff
The rest of the season
Two real tests left: Wartburg 27%, Simpson (IA) 61%
Win out 11% · expect 2.5 of 4 more wins
Central College's chance to win each game left, from our model: Buena Vista 96%, Loras 71%, Wartburg 27%, Simpson (IA) 61%Bar height is our model’s chance in each game left. Dashed line: 50%.
The nationunrankedAP / Coaches
The marketno line yetBetting line vs Buena Vista · our model 96% Central College
Updated Sat Oct 24 · through week 7
Schedule and results
Central College · 2026 schedule and results3-3Balanced slateAverage opponent win rate 50%.Our rank entering each game: #464 to #505
| Wk | Date | Our rank | Opp rank | Line | Opponent | Result | Record | Conf | Top performers |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Sep 5 | #464 | #494 | — | @Gustavus Adolphus | L 3-29 | 0-1 | 0-0 | |
| 2 | Sep 12 | #467 | #558 | — | @Northwestern (MN) | W 51-27 | 1-1 | 0-0 | |
| 3 | Sep 19 | #467 | #499 | — | @Belhaven | W 31-17 | 2-1 | 0-0 | |
| 4 | Bye week | ||||||||
| 5 | Oct 3 | #469 | #532 | — | Dubuque | L 13-35 | 2-2 | 0-1 | |
| 6 | Oct 10 | #494 | #472 | — | @Coe | L 13-31 | 2-3 | 0-2 | |
| 7 | Oct 17 | #505 | #647 | — | @Nebraska Wesleyan | W 44-11 | 3-3 | 1-2 | |
| 8 | Oct 24 | #493 | #656 | Buena Vista | 2 pm ET96% to win | ||||
| 9 | Oct 31 | #493 | #573 | @Loras | 2 pm ET71% to win | ||||
| 10 | Nov 7 | Wartburg | 2 pm ET27% to win | ||||||
| 11 | Nov 14 | @Simpson (IA) | 3 pm ET | ||||||
How to read this table
Win chances are our model for Central College, through 6 games. This week's game comes from the playoff simulation, later games from the rating model. They are estimates and move every week.
Line is the closing point spread for Central College: a minus number means favored. A green check means the team covered it, by the number beside it. A red cross means it fell short by that much.
Ahead
The forecast
The games that decide the season
The games that decide the season
Recent form · last 10 games
Central College has won three of its last five.
5-5 over the last 10, and won the last one.
Streak W1Last 5 · 3-2Last 10 · 5-5
Range of outcomes · Central College · 2026
Range of outcomes · Central College · 2026Central College’s most likely regular season is 6-4. 90% of outcomes land from 5-5 to 7-3.
Regular-season wins: chance of each total, from the game chances above
4 wins 9%; 5 wins 36%; 6 wins 43%; 7 wins 11%What a title game and a playoff run could add
Floor4-8Rebuild year. Below .500.
Base6-6Mid-table finish.
Ceiling9-3Conference title race. Bracket qualifier in range.
Bars are the chance of each regular-season win total, from our model's chance in each game left, through 6 games. Paler bars are the outer 10% at each end. The closed row comes from the season-path projection, which also plays out conference title games and the CFP.
More in this tab
Worth watching
What it is like to watch them2026 · 3-3
Game feel51rock fightscombined pts / game7th highest-scoring of 8 in the American Rivers
Heart rate0-0rarely closein one-score games (0 of 6)7th most one-score games of 8 in the American Rivers
Margin+0.8competitiveavg scoring margin5th best margin of 8 in the American Rivers
Measured from 6 games · ranks are among American Rivers teams the same season
Team story
The weekly grind
The Dutch of Pella, Iowa, who won the 1974 NCAA Division III national championship under legendary coach Ron Schipper and stacked Iowa Conference titles at Schipper Stadium — one of the Midwest's proudest small-college programs.
Standard GapA national-champion program with decades of league titles, measured…
Central won a national championship and built an Iowa-Conference dynasty, yet the program rarely gets named among Division III's historic powers.
Game day
The experience
The Dutch of Pella, Iowa, who won the 1974 NCAA Division III national championship under legendary coach Ron Schipper and stacked Iowa Conference titles at Schipper Stadium — one of the Midwest's proudest small-college programs.
Playoff path
Central College sits 5th in the American Rivers Conference and 102nd of 245 in the CFB Zeitgeist — outside the at-large picture — the path runs through the conference title.
American Rivers · 2026
| Team | Conf | Overall | Index | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Dubuque | 3-0 | 4-2 | 59.5 |
| 2 | Wartburg | 3-0 | 4-2 | 57.4 |
| 3 | Coe | 3-0 | 4-2 | 53.6 |
| 4 | Simpson (IA) | 2-1 | 3-3 | 50.0 |
| 5 | Central College | 1-2 | 3-3 | 52.6 |
| 6 | Loras | 0-3 | 2-4 | 44.6 |
| 7 | Buena Vista | 0-3 | 1-5 | 36.4 |
| 8 | Nebraska Wesleyan | 0-3 | 0-6 | 34.8 |
52.6 CFB Zeitgeist#102 of 245 D350.4 strength of schedule
Win the American Rivers Conference for the automatic berth into the 40-team NCAA Division III bracket. Miss it and the path is an at-large bid, selected by NPI — the metric the CFB Index mirrors. Six wins survive the bracket to the Stagg Bowl.
Source: CFB Zeitgeist — conference records + NPI-style rating from 2026 games · the field is 40 teams, NPI-selected
The 2026 season · 3-3
Signature win 44-11 over Nebraska Wesleyan; toughest day 3-29 against Gustavus Adolphus.
Recruiting buzz
Community pulse
No high-engagement r/cfb discussions tracked for this program in the last year.
This page may include content derived from public news sources, social media, and fan communities. We relay these sources as-is — we are not reporting them. Sources may be summarized or quoted imperfectly; for anything that matters, go look at the original source directly. The original source may also be wrong. Text written by our model says so in a line beneath it, and it can get facts wrong. All analysis is editorial opinion, not professional reporting. Data sources · About this site