Contact: Nicholas Osterloo, Director of Athletics Communication, 630-637-5324

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

Oct. 6, 2025 - Following the fifth straight win over No. 14/15 Wheaton College and the first shutout of the Thunder since 1964, the North Central College football team remains atop the D3football.com and American Football Coaches Association Top 25 polls.

North Central took care of business Saturday, holding onto the Little Brass Bell. The Cardinals racked up 451 yards of total offense while holding Wheaton to just 148. The North Central defense stymied the Thunder's ground game as they recorded -2 net rushing yards. The Cardinals tallied five sacks and 10 tackles for loss.

The Cardinals rank fourth in the nation in both scoring offense (46.5 points scored per game) and scoring defense (7 points allowed per game) while being sixth in third-down conversion percentage (55.6%) and seventh in team sacks (3.75 per game).

The Cardinals earned all 51 first-place votes from the AFCA poll and 23 of the possible 25 first-place votes in the D3football.com poll. Following North Central is the University of Mount Union, Johns Hopkins University, the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse and Salisbury University in both rankings. Wheaton fell to No. 19 in the D3football poll and to No. 24 in the AFCA rankings.

The Cardinals return to Benedetti-Wehrli Stadium for another night game, this time hosting Millikin University (2-2, 1-2 CCIW). Kickoff is set for 6 p.m. North Central has won each of the past 19 games over the Big Blue.