June 22, 2026 · Dead Period · Heritage Window · 2026 Outlook

North Central College

14-1 2025 final D3 TOP 25 #2

The Cardinals of Naperville, Illinois, the reigning dynasty of Division III football — three national championships since 2019, a string of Stagg Bowl appearances, and a league-record run of consecutive CCIW wins.

Cardinals country waits.

Record

14-1

win% .933

Conference

1st of 10

CCIW · 9-0

Index Rating

76.9

TOP 25 #2 · D3 #2 of 240

Playoff Path

#2 seed

Dead PeriodOffseasonPatientPost-loss — reckoning

The Long Wait·Offseason

Standard GapA national champion whose own brutal standard is the Stagg Bowl — anythi…

Keep the dynasty rolling — another undefeated CCIW season, another Stagg Bowl, and more national championships to add to 2019, 2022, and 2024.

low signal

Read the full program story ↓

Offseason

69 days

until kickoff · Sun Aug 30 · 17:00 UTC

Act I

The 2026 Outlook

DIVISION III · THE PATH TO THE STAGG BOWL

North Central College sits 1st in the CCIW and 2nd of 240 in the CFB Zeitgeist — in the projected field with a seedable rating.

CCIW · 2025

	Team	Conf	Overall	Index
1	North Central College	9-0	14-1	76.9
2	Wheaton	8-1	11-3	68.7
3	Washington University (St. Louis)	7-2	8-3	60.8
4	Augustana (IL)	6-3	7-3	59.9
5	Illinois Wesleyan	4-5	4-6	48.8
6	Carroll University (WI)	4-5	4-6	48.3
7	Carthage	3-6	4-6	47.7
8	North Park	2-7	3-7	44.3

76.9 CFB Zeitgeist#2 of 240 D358.1 strength of schedule8 quality wins

Win the CCIW 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 2025 games · the field is 40 teams, NPI-selected

THE 2025 SEASON · 14-1

Signature win 75-0 over North Park; toughest day 14-24 against Wisconsin-River Falls.

—

Cardinals country waits.

What moved it — offseason · last 30 days

June Dead-period quiet — official-visit + heritage window —

Camp Fall camp ~40 days out

"Go Cardinals." — North Central College fanbase · recurring line

0 mentions · awaiting signal

Winning record—

The baseline for a successful season.

Conference title—

The primary goal and national bracket path.

32-team bracket qualifierLocked—

One of 32 national tournament entries.

Stagg BowlLocked—

The Division III national championship game.

Floor 12-0

Base 12-0

Ceiling 12-0

floor12-0Competitive but likely outside bracket contention.

base12-0Conference title contender. Bracket bid realistic.

ceiling12-0Deep playoff run. Program-defining year.

Variance assumed at ±2 wins from last-season record. Replace with the season-path projection once preview data is built.

Act II

Who We Are

Home-Field Advantage · North Central College · 2018-present

Average

97% home win rate vs 100% on the road. margin runs -3.1 weaker at home.

Home33-1Away22-0

Act III

Last Season Reviewed

2025 season · tap to expand

Recent Form · last 10 games

Warming

Four of five. The board favors this trend.

Streak L1Last 5 · 4-1Last 10 · 9-1

Schedule Strength · North Central College · 2025

Hard

Average opponent win rate 58% across 15 finalized games. Strong conference slate — wins here carry full weight in Super Region selection.

Opp Win %0.587

Moment of the Year · North Central College · 2025

Postseason · Won 41-21 vs John Carroll University

Week 17 of 2025. Postseason win — the season-defining moment.

Decisive MarginPostseason

Postseason History

Recent postseason (2022-2025): 8-2

Most recent: 2025 — loss 14-24 (home). Last 5 postseason: 3-2.

20252025202420242023

From the Archive — North Central College

2022: Won 31-0 at Washington University (St. Louis)

In 2022, the program won 31-0 at Washington University (St. Louis) — a blowout road result that left the 31-point margin on the books.

Go Cardinals.