No surprise to see NC at #1 in this preseason ranking. Wheaton (who has both #1 and #2 on its schedule) comes in at #17.

https://www.d3football.com/top25/2025/preseason

A bit of off season Wheaton news

https://x.com/wheaton_thunder/status/1944823562839146700?s=42

Wheaton up 26-0 at the half against the Portuguese All Star team. So far the game looks pretty much like that sounds.

For those who are interested you can catch the Wheaton game in Portugal here on Saturday here:

https://m.youtube.com/live/GFkjQIulg7U?si=acu3uj1EJ-7D5UvQ

"Finally, Quincy is hiring Millikin (D-III - IL) offensive line coach Jeff Fantuzzi to the same position, sources told FootballScoop. Fantuzzi joined the Millikin staff in January after spending 2024 as the offensive line coach and run game coordinator at Adams State (D-II - CO" from footballscopp.com

Very glad to see Wheaton escape with a 35-32 win. Will never complain about a win over a quality opponent and very happy for the Seniors. Props to Stout for continuing to play hard after getting down early. I will say, the periodically sloppy and undisciplined play that has been a problem for Wheaton at many points this year, but that didn't matter much against most opponents, almost cost them a game they should have been able to put away much sooner. Would have been great to see this team get a playoff bid, but I think this game (ending in a win), was about as good as one could hope for given this teams strengths and weaknesses.

Wheaton up 14-0 at end of the 1st quarter. Dominating time of possession, thanks in part to some key 3rd down conversions. So far defense is really flying to the ball.

At the half - Wheaton 49, North Park 7

64-10 Wheaton over Milikin. Thunder ended the game taking a knee inside the 10. In some ways they really didn't play that well despite the score. If NP plays to their potential next week it could be interesting. I'm flying in just for the game, and looking forward to a good one.

An obviously important 27-20 win for Wheaton today. But the failure of the Thunder to put together a complete game was still frustrating. Turnovers (some inexplicable) and penalties (several the result of a pretty inexcusable lack of discipline), made the end result much closer than it probably should have been. Props to Wash U for fighting to the end! I think our playoff hopes are still very uncertain, but we have lots of room to improve between now and then in any event. Still, grateful for the big road win today!

At risk of violating the board's ridged standards for what counts as interesting , this is really something for this D3 school from a neighboring conference:

https://footballscoop.com/news/video-division-iii-program-finishes-one-of-the-largest-indoor-facilities-in-college-football

I guess be interested or not, as you prefer. A bit larger than last year's class, more focus on California, some other subtle regional shifts, and a couple transfers from noteworthy programs.

Interesting list of 42 incoming players for Wheaton.

https://athletics.wheaton.edu/news/2024/6/24/football-the-thunder-football-program-announces-42-newcomers-for-the-2024-season.aspx

Wow!! What a conclusion to the Wheaton WashU game. Wheaton down 7 scores on a 40 yard Hail Mary as time expires. Then gets the 2pt conversion to clinch it. Nice exciting game for Parents Weekend and Senior Day.

Please but a bit surprised by the size of the 52-6 victory for Wheaton at Carroll today. It seemed like the Thunder were playing with a short field all day, but have to give them credit for applying pressure to help create those situations. In any event, an impressive win.