Contact: Clark Teuscher, Sports Information Director, 630-637-5302

D3football.com Week 5 Top 25 Poll
AFCA Week 5 Top 25 Poll

Oct. 3, 2022 - The North Central College football team continues its run as the No. 1-ranked NCAA Division III team in the nation for yet another week, as the Cardinals continue to claim the majority of the first-place votes in the D3football.com and American Football Coaches Association (AFCA) Top 25 Polls.

The Cardinals (4-0, 3-0 College Conference of Illinois & Wisconsin) hosted local rival Wheaton College at Benedetti-Wehrli Stadium Saturday and defeated the Thunder, 33-20, to retain the Little Brass Bell for the second straight season. Wheaton entered the game ranked 11th by D3football.com and 13th by the AFCA. North Central has now won 14 consecutive home games and 20 straight non-conference contests. The Cardinals received 18 of 25 first-place votes this week in D3football.com's poll, while the University of Mount Union (Ohio) received five first-place votes and sits at No. 2.

The University of Wisconsin-Whitewater is ranked third, followed by the University of Mary Hardin-Baylor (Texas), Trinity University (Texas), St. John's University (Minnesota), Linfield College (Oregon), Johns Hopkins University (Maryland), the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse and Hardin-Simmons University (Texas).

The Cardinals received 38 of 47 first-place votes in the AFCA Poll. Mount Union is ranked second, followed by Wisconsin-Whitewater, Mary Hardin-Baylor, Linfield, Trinity, Johns Hopkins, St. John's, Delaware Valley University (Pennsylvania) and the State University of New York at Cortland.

North Central  travels to face Carroll University (3-1, 2-1 CCIW) Saturday. Kickoff at Schneider Stadium is scheduled for 1:00 p.m. Click HERE for the full 2022 schedule.

Download the free North Central Cardinals app, available for iOS and Android devices, to receive up-to-the-minute news, scores and updates on your favorite North Central teams. Click HERE for more information.