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

Ripon College

5-5 2025 final

The Wisconsin school that won two perfect seasons (1957, 1963) and now competes in the Midwest Conference knowing excellence is possible in any given November.

Quiet weeks in Red Hawks country.

Record

5-5

win% .500

Conference

5th of 10

Midwest · 5-4

Index Rating

47.3

D3 #144 of 240

Playoff Path

Win the league

Dead PeriodOffseasonPatientPost-win — basking

The Long Wait·Offseason

The Wisconsin school that won two perfect seasons (1957, 1963) and now competes in the Midwest Conference knowing excellence is possible in any given November.

Title DroughtSince 1963 · 62 yrs

LIVE as of 2025: Ripon went 5–5 overall, 5–4 MWC in 2025, with 4 players earning All-MWC honors. The Red Hawks are competing in the Midwest Conference with the memory of two perfect seasons (1957, 1963) as proof that excellence is…

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Offseason

69 days

until kickoff · Sun Aug 30 · 17:00 UTC

Act I

The 2026 Outlook

DIVISION III · THE PATH TO THE STAGG BOWL

Ripon College sits 5th in the Midwest Conference and 144th of 240 in the CFB Zeitgeist — outside the at-large picture — the path runs through the conference title.

Midwest · 2025

	Team	Conf	Overall	Index
1	Monmouth (IL)	9-0	9-2	63.2
2	Illinois College	7-2	8-3	56.7
3	Chicago	7-2	7-3	56.0
4	Lake Forest College	7-2	7-3	55.0
5	Ripon	5-4	5-5	47.3
6	Cornell College (IA)	4-5	4-6	45.7
7	Knox College	2-6	2-7	37.3
8	Grinnell	2-7	2-8	35.1

47.3 CFB Zeitgeist#144 of 240 D345.4 strength of schedule

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

THE 2025 SEASON · 5-5

Signature win 49-0 over Beloit; toughest day 3-58 against Monmouth (IL).

—

Quiet weeks in Red Hawks country.

What moved it — offseason · last 30 days

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

Camp Fall camp ~40 days out

"Go Red Hawks." — Ripon 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 3-9

Base 5-7

Ceiling 8-4

floor3-9Rebuild year. Below .500.

base5-7Mid-table finish.

ceiling8-4Conference title race. Bracket qualifier in range.

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 · Ripon College · 2018-present

Strong

65% home win rate vs 50% on the road. margin runs +10.1 better at home.

Home13-7Away10-10

Act III

Last Season Reviewed

2025 season · tap to expand

Recent Form · last 10 games

Cooling

Two of five. Schedule has caught up.

Streak W1Last 5 · 2-3Last 10 · 5-5

Schedule Strength · Ripon College · 2025

Soft

Average opponent win rate 41% across 10 finalized games. Lighter schedule — the committee weighs wins against strength of field.

Opp Win %0.417

Moment of the Year · Ripon College · 2025

Won 50-7 at Knox College

Week 3 of 2025. A statement margin. Recruiting boards re-rendered overnight.

Decisive Margin

From the Archive — Ripon College

2024: Lost 0-66 at Lake Forest College

In 2024, the program lost 0-66 at Lake Forest College — a stinging road result, 66 points either way.

Go Red Hawks.