NAPERVILLE, Ill. - North Central College and Wheaton College represent the College Conference of Illinois & Wisconsin as the top two teams in Division III in the Week 1 D3Football.com Top 25 following their statement wins in week 1 against top 5 opponents.
North Central College remained the No. 1 team in NCAA Division III following a statement 44-21 win over then-No. 2 Bethel University in the Cardinals’ season opener. North Central forced four turnovers and built a 34-7 third-quarter lead in the first-ever season-opening matchup between the No. 1 and No. 2 teams in Division III, reinforcing its spot atop the national rankings.
The Cardinals return to action Saturday on the road against No. 9 Wartburg College in Waverly, Iowa. Kickoff is scheduled for 1 p.m. at Walston-Hoover Stadium.
Wheaton College climbed to No. 2 nationally following a dramatic 24-23 win over then-No. 3 University of Mount Union in the Thunder’s season opener. With Mount Union scoring with 22 seconds remaining to pull within one, All-American Aiden Byrne blocked the ensuing PAT attempt to preserve the victory. The win marked Wheaton’s first in eight all-time meetings with the Purple Raiders and snapped Mount Union’s 85-game regular season winning streak.
The Thunder return to action Saturday on the road against Albion College. Kickoff is scheduled for noon ET in Albion, Michigan.
All home contests are streamed live and free on the CCIW Network. While the nation’s top two teams hit the road this weekend, fans can still catch plenty of CCIW football action from across the conference live on the CCIW Network.
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The College Conference of Illinois & Wisconsin (CCIW) was founded in 1946 and currently services nine member institutions including Augustana College (Rock Island, Ill.), Carroll University (Waukesha, Wis.), Carthage College (Kenosha, Wis.), Elmhurst University (Elmhurst, Ill.), Illinois Wesleyan University (Bloomington, Ill.), Millikin University (Decatur, Ill.), North Central College (Naperville, Ill.), North Park University (Chicago, Ill.) and Wheaton College (Wheaton, Ill.).