USee beat me to it...what a great schedule for NCC.  2 years in a row homecoming against Wheaton sure is something.  Bethel and Wartburg to start the season also is great, wish they had the opportunity for 2 OOC games every year...

https://x.com/elmhurst_u/status/2018456929727644099?s=20

Arizona Cardinals new head coach played at Elmhurst which I did not realize

Quote from: CCIWFan69 on January 30, 2026, 07:52:34 PM

Quote from: USee on January 30, 2026, 04:48:54 PMWheaton AA Linebacker Luca Torti committed to USC: https://x.com/LucaTorti12/status/2016659278640402671

Pretty impressive jump.

Also, I have heard (though not confirmed) AA QB Mark Forcucci along with Wheaton's top tow WR's Seth Kortenhoeven and Caleb Titherington are returning to Wheaton next year. Big news for the Thunder.

Great news, if true.  Could this make Wheaton the favorite in the CCIW next year with what NCC is losing? 

They should crack the top 5 in the preseason Top 25, IMO, based on that news

Congrats to JP Sullivan on winning the Cliff Harris Award

https://northcentralcardinals.com/news/2026/1/15/football-sullivan-becomes-first-cardinal-to-win-cliff-harris-award.aspx

McAtee entering the portal was notable mainly because he's the first guy to leave that actually saw playing time.  In previous years, guys like Lehnen, Hardy, Sullivan etc, could've left but chose to stay. 

I'm guessing we will see more starters enter the portal but this is a first for NCC in the portal era. 

Quote from: WRMUalum13 on January 12, 2026, 03:33:26 PM

Quote from: hsbsballcoach7 on January 11, 2026, 11:30:21 AM

Quote from: D3fanboy on January 11, 2026, 10:45:06 AMCongrats to Kaleb Brown on his commitment to Tarleton State (FCS).  The Texans just ended the season ranked 6th.  Damn good program, hopefully he gets the playing time and shows out.

Things don't seem to be going as well for the other Mount guys in the portal.  Nick Turner is participating in "All Star" combines and all quiet on the Davion Grant front.  I bet that his "agents" are just working really hard behind the scenes.....

I noticed that Kaleb Brown had some offers and I'm happy for him. He's earned that opportunity...I still wonder if he was even allowed an extra year if he wouldn't stayed at Mount Union.

Kappas brings some energy back to the program. He's already out there recruiting. If you didn't listen to the interview he did with Kenny Roda, it's worth a listen to great his excitement level to be back and trust he has in Dartt.

I think if he could have stayed at Mount he would, based on his post-JCU press conference comments. I'm still of the theory that guys can get an extra year at a different level but not entirely sure.

I believe how it works is that if there is a year in which you do not travel or dress for games and only practice, then you can count it as a redshirt season for D1 eligibility. At least, that's how UWRF's receiver who just entered the portal worded it.

https://x.com/blakerohrerr/status/2010874871861964817?s=20

Quote from: robertgoulet on January 12, 2026, 09:26:03 PMThe portal has come for NCC, for what I believe is the 1st time (probably not the last time)

Grant McAtee announced he's entering the portal today.

Believe this is the first time a player has entered that was a contributor/starter. I anticipated Ashiru entering the portal as well but haven't seen him announce that yet.

In other news, I did get word that Jack Rummell does in fact have another year of eligibility and plans on playing next season.

Quote from: robertgoulet on January 05, 2026, 08:56:14 AMOne thing that completely missed me when I was thinking about this matchup was that Wilson is in his 1st season as starting QB, is only a true sophomore and has not really been tested for more than 1/2 a game. Should have expected some growing pains, I guess.

Going to take a look at the NCC 2 deep and see what they lose going into next year, at some point.

Rough estimate of the returning starters for next season, obviously subject to change:

OFFENSE:
QB - Wilson
RB - McNeal
WR1 - Rummell (depends if he redshirted at Tennessee Tech as a freshman or not, he's only played 3 seasons at NCC)
WR2 -
WR3 -
TE - McAtee
LT - Cramer
LG -
C -
RG - Golden
RT - Cortez

Losing 2 lineman and then possibly the top 2 WRs.  The coaching staff is very high on 3 freshman WRs, David Ballard III, Jake Vitel, and Amir Khan, so I think the receiving corps will be up to the usual standard.

DEFENSE:
DE - Medina
DT - Ohle
DT -
DE -
LB - Janiak
LB -
OLB/Nickel -
CB -
S - Garrigan
S - Green
CB -

Losing a lot more on defense. This year's team was carried by the defense IMO and next year will need to be more of the offense driving the show, which has been the case for NCC teams essentially the entire Thorne era

Quote from: Pat Coleman on January 05, 2026, 01:52:35 PMYes, two non-conference games. Last we heard, North Central is playing Wartburg but still needs a second non-conference game for 2026.

Field was tough, for sure. Very surprised it wasn't better cared for. It snowed here on Thursday and never got above freezing after that. Also, the big south grandstand kept the field in shadows the whole time, not the the sun ever came out.

They ought to have tarped the field, clearly.

Don't they have the 2nd half of their home and home @ Oshkosh next year?  Love the Wartburg matchup, that's a great one.

Congrats to UWRF! Great game plan and execution, deserved the win and the trophy!

Tough one for the Cardinals...difference in the game was obviously losing the turnover battle 3-0.  I thought the defense played exceptionally well.  Offense...Wilson just never seemed comfortable after the zone read fumble going into to possibly make it 14-0.  This is basically what he looked like against WashU, made one early turnover and then lost confidence and kept trying to make up for it which lead to more turnovers.  The pick into the endzone before the half just cant happen, I assume the coaches told him not to throw it unless absolutely wide open.  The last pick was just a great play by the UWRF defensive lineman, kudos to him.


Also, this had no outcome on the result whatsoever but how was the field in such poor shape? Guys were slipping all over the place, especially in the redzone and near the sidelines.  The athletes deserved a better playing surface for the biggest game of the season.

The biggest mismatch for JCU will be their interior offensive line against JP Sullivan and Maverick Ohle. I'm not sure if they have injuries or not, but the starting center and right guard on the depth chart are listed as freshmen. Mount Union was routinely getting penetration and pressure up the middle, and I expect NCC will be able to as well.

Montgomery and Rawls are obviously great athletes and threats in the passing game, and Semptimphelter will certainly be one of the top four QBs they have faced this season. But I think the NCC front will control the line of scrimmage.

As USee noted, JCU's defensive front is also very stout, and their defense overall is very disciplined. I think this will definitely be a lower-scoring game than the previous two games for NCC.

Hoping for a good turnout at the game—the weather is looking good, all things considered.

Quote from: unionpalooza on December 17, 2025, 11:52:05 AMMan, the NCC fans seem to be running hard to keep up with the Mt. Union guys in the joyless department.  They've hit Twitter to express their outrage that ESPN+ has brought in two outside players by play guys, one of whom is a John Carroll alum, instead of using NCC's house guys, for Saturday's game. Putting aside the fact that (i) of course ESPN+ is going to use guys who have worked with ESPN+ crews instead of guys who have never done so and (ii) you can't coherently complain the JCU guy will bring bias and then argue it should be two NCC guys instead, it just baffles me that NCC fans can watch their teams win a bunch of nattys and still whine about stuff this small and dumb.

It's the same 3 or 4 NCC fans who constantly complain and troll about everything related to the team on X (one in particular who is the WORST). It's unfortunate that this poorly represents the rest of the fanbase, but not much can be done to stop them. The one who complains the most only became a fan in 2021, so he hasn't even been around for the entire program turnaround—it's frustrating, to say the least.

Quote from: CarollFan on December 16, 2025, 08:41:29 AMLet's not forget the OL. I seem to recall some questions early in the season. They seem to be performing well.

Without a doubt, the biggest difference between the start of the season and now is the performance of the offensive line. They have gotten better and more cohesive as the season has progressed, which should be expected since they had four new starters to incorporate.

I still remember NCC not scoring on four straight tries from inside the 2-yard line against Carthage in their second game of the season.

Kudos to OC/offensive line coach Eric Stuedemann—he consistently develops top-tier offensive linemen.

Quote from: hazzben on December 15, 2025, 02:31:45 PMCongrats to NCC. First half was a really fun back and forth battle. Your run game clearly got the better of us in the second half and set the tone. NCC Oline was really impressive, the ability to sustain blocks was absolutely elite. Coupled with McNeal's patience, knowing he could wait, find where the crease was going to open, and then hit it with a full head of steam. He's also a load for anyone to bring down one on one.

Your kicker is also an absolute weapon in the post-season. Our kicker has been very accurate, but anything outside of 42 and it's probably a no go. That lack of leg strength, combined with a rock hard ball, really limited our kicking game. Meanwhile NCC's kicker just kept crushing it. In good weather he probably makes that first one, but he was really effective.

It was a great opportunity to go toe to toe with the cream of D3 over the last 6-7 years. Those measuring sticks are helpful for a program. You were the better, deeper team this year. The championship pedigree and experience was also visible in the second half. I'm encouraged by how young this Bethel team is.

I was wondering about the Bethel kicking situation when the coach went for it on the 4th and 6 play the refs ended up completely botching. It would have been a 31-yard FG attempt, and the score would have been 14-10 at the half with Bethel getting the ball to start the second half. I just assumed they didn't trust their kicker. I understand being aggressive when playing a team like NCC, but converting a 4th and 6 against this defense has to be a pretty low-percentage play.

I thought one of the biggest plays of the game was the Bethel kick returner dropping the second-half kickoff, which led to them starting at their own 10. Four plays later, the punt only went 28 yards, and that left NCC with a short field they capitalized on shortly after.

Bethel was a great team and seemingly has most of their key guys back next season—they should be a force to be reckoned with again.

The refs completely botched that play...

1. I thought he was short of the first (up for debate)

https://x.com/fftmag/status/1999923330858766829?s=46&t=2LpDHlmLWW7A7c0oIFbv5Q

2. Progress was clearly stopped before the fumble

3. How is it then overturned ?