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Setting the Scene:  Now in sole possession of first place in the CCIW standings, the Cardinals host a rugged WashU squad intent on bouncing back from its first loss of the season.

Series History: This is the 10th football meeting between the two institutions. North Central has won eight of the previous nine contests and all four since WashU joined the CCIW as an associate member for football in 2018.

The Cardinals celebrated a 31-0 victory over the Bears in St. Louis Oct. 22 of last season, becoming the first North Central team since 1946 to shut out three straight opponents.

Possessing the ball for more than 35 minutes and putting together scoring drives of more than 10 plays on its first three possessions, North Central forced two straight turnovers in the first half to deny the Bears any momentum. The Cardinals owned a 463-222 advantage in total yards.

DeAngelo Hardy caught nine passes for 160 yards and three touchdowns from Luke Lehnen, who went 16 for 20 passing. Ethan Greenfield gained a game-high 129 yards on 21 rushing attempts while BJ Adamchik recorded a team-high 10 tackles and forced a fumble deep in the Cardinals’ own territory.

This is the Bears third trip to Naperville and their first since 2018.

National Rankings: North Central was ranked No. 1 by D3football.com in this week’s NCAA Division III Top 25 Poll, receiving all 25 first-place votes.  

The Cardinals are the unanimous No. 1-ranked team in the American Football Coaches Association's (AFCA) first Top 25 Poll of the campaign, receiving 48 of 49 first-place votes.

North Central has been ranked No. 1 in 26 of D3football.com’s last 29 regular-season polls.

Scouting the Bears: WashU hosted Augustana Saturday and absorbed a 35-17 setback as the Vikings raced to a 28-3 advantage in the first half.

Augustana took advantage of two first-half turnovers, converting both into touchdowns, to prevail despite getting outgained by the Bears, 327-312. WashU closed the gap to 28-17 following Matt Rush’s 22-yard touchdown pass to Gabriel Sirek and Levi Moore’s five-yard scoring run, but a punt-return touchdown by Augustana early in the fourth period wound up putting the game out of reach.

The Bears lead the CCIW and rank 14th nationally in rushing defense (62.8 yards per game) and are tied with North Central for ninth in Division III in defensive touchdowns (3). WashU ranks second in the conference in total defense (300.5 ypg) and total offense (426.5 ypg) and are scoring just more than 40 points per game.

Linebacker Matthew Schmal is the Bears’ leading tackler (43) while quarterback Matt Rush has completed 65 percent of pass attempts for 1,307 yard with 11 touchdowns and just one interception. Collin Goldberg has caught six TD passes and returned a punt for a score.

This Week for the Cardinals: After getting stopped on its opening drive for the first time this season at Millikin, North Central scored on six straight possessions while adding defensive and special-teams scores to take a 55-0 lead into halftime before finishing off a 75-3 victory over the Big Blue.

The Cardinals gained 480 of their 646 yards in the first half and finished with more than 300 yards rushing (313) and passing (333). Luke Lehnen completed 10 of 14 passes for 309 yards and four TDs in one half of play, finding DeAngelo Hardy five times for 174 yards and three scores.

Joe Sacco ran for a game-high 117 yards and a touchdown on just seven carries as nine Cardinals recorded rushing attempts. Ethan Groark returned an interception for 30 yards to the end zone, one of four picks by the North Central defense, while Nic Rummell returned a punt 66 yards for a score.

The Cardinals have won 32 straight regular-season games, including 29 CCIW contests.

North Central has scored touchdowns on 35 of 39 first-half possessions thus  far this season and its outscoring opponents, 271-24, in the first two periods of play.  

CCIW Student-Athlete of the Week: e Student-Athlete of the Week for the second straight time Monday, making him the first CCIW player to receive the distinction twice in a row

Carroll's Nick Mantas was the CCIW's Defensive Student-Athlete of the Week, while North Park's Juan Nieves was awarded the honor on special teams.

D3football.com Team of the Week: Hardy also earned a spot on the D3football.com Team of the Week for the second straight game for his efforts against the Big Blue.

The Cardinals' offensive line was named to the Team of the Week following the Sept. 30 win at Wheaton, giving North Central spot on the Division III honor roll two straight weeks.

National Statistical Rankings: The Cardinals currently lead all Division III teams in total offense (575.8 yards per game), scoring offense (61.3 points per game), passing efficiency (285.8) and pass completion percentage (76.8), and are one of four teams yet to throw an interception in 2023.

North Central ranks second nationwide in rushing offense (312.8 ypg) and third in fewest turnovers lost (3) while sitting 18th in total defense (234.7 ypg) and scoring defense (12.5 ppg).

Hardy ranks second nationally in yards per reception (27.0), third in touchdown receptions (12), seventh in total touchdowns (12) and 13th in receiving yards (676).  Lehnen ranks eighth nationally in touchdown passes (20).

North Central Career Rankings:  Hardy ranks  second in North Central history in receptions (196), receiving yards (3,576) and touchdown receptions (50), third in total touchdowns 
(55), fourth in points scored (330) and sixth in all-purpose yards (4,342).

Lehnen is now tied with Athletic Hall of Famer Kam Kniss '07 for second in the Cardinals' history in passing touchdowns (91) while ranking fourth in passing yards (7,474) and completions (448). Lehnen currently sits first in passing efficiency (205.5) and completion percentage (.685).
Lehnen is also poised to join North Central's all-time leaders in rushing. He currently sits third in yards per rushing attempt (6.90) and ranks eighthin career rushing touchdowns (27). Julian Bell is tied for seventh all-time in pass breakups (25).

National Career Rankings: Lehnen is the current active leader among all players in college football in career passing efficiency. Among Division III players, Lehnen ranks second in touchdown passes and eighth in passing yards.

Hardy ranks second nationwide among all divisions in career touchdown receptions and fourth  in receiving yards  while sitting 21st in receptions.

This Week in Cardinal Football History: 1989 vs. Carthage - The Cardinals celebrated Homecoming with a 31-21 win over Carthage after heading into halftime tied, 3-3.

Sophomore running back Joe Sobin scored three touchdowns, including an 86-yard touchdown catch, as North Central led, 31-7, before Carthage rallied in the fourth quarter.   

Around the CCIW: North Central sits atop the CCIW with an unblemished 5-0 in-conference record, while Augustana, WashU and Wheaton are tied for second in the standings at 4-1.

Augustana hosts North Park this week, while Wheaton travels to Carroll, Illinois Wesleyan visits Carthage and Millikin plays at Elmhurst.

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