Secondary Contact: Alex Mielcarz, Athletics Communication Graduate Assistant, ajmielcarz@noctrl.edu
NAPERVILLE, Ill. (Nov. 9, 2026) – After its fourth consecutive convincing victory this past weekend, the North Central College football program jumped from No. 5 to No. 4 in both the D3Football.com and American Football Coaches Association (AFCA) polls.
The top five teams in the D3Football.com poll are the same as last week, but in a different order: Wheaton College maintained its top spot, while the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater leapfrogged into the No. 2 spot after its victory over the University of Wisconsin-Platteville on Saturday. St. John's University held steady at No. 3, while North Central moved from No. 4 to No. 5 and Platteville fell from No. 2 to No. 5 after its top-five loss to Whitewater.
The reigning national champs, University of Wisconsin-River Falls, dropped out of the poll entirely after their loss to the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse.
The AFCA poll saw a new team enter its top five as Platteville dropped to No. 6 in its rankings. Hardin-Simmons University moved into the No. 5 slot, while Wheaton held steady at No. 1. Whitewater, as it did in the D3Football.com poll, finds itself at No. 2 in the AFCA poll, while St. John's remained at No. 3. North Central moved up one spot from No. 5 to No. 4, mirroring the D3Football.com poll.
North Central's Week 11 opponent and fellow College Conference of Illinois & Wisconsin member Illinois Wesleyan received votes in the AFCA poll, totaling five points, while future CCIW member Concordia University Wisconsin received votes in both polls.
Nationally, the Cardinals continue to be among the best on third down defensively, ranking eighth in the nation (24.4%) while also allowing just 105 first downs on the season, the fifth least in the country.
The North Central offense has picked up the ninth most first downs in the country (227) while boasting the sixth-best total offense (503.1 yards per game) in addition to the top red zone offense in the land (96.2%). North Central scores the 10th most points per game in Division III (45.9) while conceding just 10.6 points per game, the eighth-best mark in the country.
Coach Brad Spencer and the Cardinals conclude the regular season on Saturday afternoon with a 12 p.m. kickoff against Illinois Wesleyan inside Benedetti-Wehrli Stadium.
