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Setting the Scene:  Fresh off a thrilling victory at Wheaton, the Cardinals look to ground a high-performing passing attack on Homecoming Weekend.

Series History: This is the 59th football meeting between the two institutions. Carroll owns a 34-22-2 advantage in the all-time series, though the Cardinals have won all six encounters since Carroll rejoined the CCIW in 2016.

North Central traveled to face the Pioneers Oct. 8 of last season and departed Schneider Stadium with a 73-0 victory, owning a 56-0 advantage by halftime. The Cardinals took the lead for good just 14 seconds after play began, as Terrence Hill returned the opening kickoff 92 yards for a touchdown.

North Central gained 573 yards, 363 of which came from the running game. Ethan Greenfield ran for 137 yards and two scores on just 10 carries, while Luke Lehnen completed 10 of 12 passes for 210 yards and threw TD passes to four different receivers.

North Central limited the Pioneers to 164 total yards as Antwain Walker and BJ Adamchik led the way with eight and seven tackles, respectively. Dan Lester made three tackles for loss and Brandon Greifelt finished with two tackles for loss including a quarterback sack.

The Cardinals have scored at least 59 points in each of their last six games against Carroll.

National Rankings: North Central was ranked No. 1 by D3football.com in this week’s NCAA Division III Top 25 Poll, receiving 24 of 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 24 of D3football.com’s last 27 regular-season polls.

Scouting the Pioneers: Carroll absorbed its first loss of the season Saturday as Augustana rallied from a fourth-quarter deficit to defeat the Pioneers, 23-19.

Carroll owned a 19-10 lead after kicker Jacob Laurent’s fourth field goal of the game early in the fourth period. The Vikings closed the gap to 19-17 on the ensuig drive before driving 98 yards for a go-ahead touchdown with 3:14 to play.  

Carroll ranks first in the CCIW and 13th in the nation in passing yards (329.8). Quarterback Josh Raby is completing 61.1 percent of his passes, primarily to wide receiver Austin Eichstaedt, who hauled in 12 passes for 216 yards against the Vikings. Eichstadt ranks third nationwide in yards per game (154.0).

The Pioneers’ defense ranks first in the conference and 15th nationally in quarterback sacks (3.25 per game). Linebacker Will Campbell is Carroll’s leading tackler.

This Week for the Cardinals: North Central jumped out to a 35-7 halftime lead before holding on for a 54-35 victory over Wheaton in the annual Battle for the Little Brass Bell, prevailing over the Thunder for the third straight year.

The Cardinals scored on four plays of more than 40 yards early in the contest and led throughout, posting their highest point total against Wheaton since 1917.

Luke Lehnen ran for a career-high 170 yards and two touchdowns while passing for 166 yards and another score as North Central gained 447 of its 613 yards on the ground. Joe Sacco ran for a career-best 138 yards and two scores on just six attempts.

The Cardinals’ defense was led by Danny Nuccio and Antwain Walker, each of whom recorded eight tackles.

North Central has scored touchdowns on 23 of 25 first-half possessions thus  far this season and its outscoring opponents, 167-7, in the first two periods of play. 
 

CCIW Student-Athlete of the Week: Lehnen was named the CCIW Offensive Student-Athlete of the Week for his efforts at Wheaton, giving him the award for the second time and marking the third straight week a Cardinal has received the distinction.

Carroll's Jacob Laurent was named the conference's Student-Athlete of the Week on special teams and Illinois Wesleyan's Zach McNees claimed the award on defense.

D3football.com Team of the Week: North Central's starting offensive line, consisting of left tackle Jeske Maples, left guard Nick Fehrle, center Jarod Thornton, right guard Sam Pryor and right tackle Zach Fortier, was named to the D3football.com Team of the Week as the top-performing unit among all NCAA Division III teams.

The Cardinals' 447-yard rushing effort at Wheaton ranks as the second-highest achieved by a Division III team this season.

North Central Career Rankings:  Hardy ranks  second in North Central history in receptions (184), receiving yards (3,124) and touchdown receptions (43), third in total touchdowns (48), fourth in points scored (288) and seventh in all-purpose yards (3,878).

Lehnen ranks third in the Cardinals' history in passing touchdowns (82) while ranking fourth in passing yards (6,780) and fifth in completions (426). Lehnen currently sits first in passing efficiency (196.8) and completion percentage (.679).

Lehnen is also poised to join North Central's all-time leaders in rushing. He currently sits third in yards per rushing attempt (6.94) and ranks eighthin career rushing touchdowns (27).

Julian Bell is tied for eighth all-time in pass breakups (24).

National Statistical Rankings: The Cardinals currently rank second nationally in rushing offense (313.5 yards per game), third in scoring offense (56.0 points per game) and sixth in total offense (528.5 yards per game) while sitting 11th in total defense (211.2 ypg) and 16th in scoring defense (12.0 ppg).

Joe Sacco is the current Division III national leader in yards per rush attempt (11.5) and ranks ninth in rushing touchdowns (7), while Joey Lombardi sits 10th in yards per reception (25.3). 

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 third in touchdown passes and tenth in passing yards.

Hardy ranks fourth nationwide among all divisions in career touchdown receptions and seventh in receiving yards  while sitting 22nd in receptions.

This Week in Cardinal Football History: 2017 vs. North Park - The Cardinals recorded their first shutout in four years and broke an 11 year-old program record for fewest yards allowed (92) in a 33-0 win at North Park.

Broc Rutter threw touchdown passes to Andrew Kamienski and Austin Breunig within three minutes of another in the first half to break the game open, completing 16 of 23 passes for 231 yards while Kamienski hauled in six passes for 110 yards and Talha Ayhan totaled three quarterback sacks. 

Around the CCIW: North Central and WashU share first place in the CCIW standings with identical 3-0 records, while Augustana, Carroll and Wheaton are a game behind at 2-1.

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

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