5 Things To Know About The FloSports D3 Football Preseason Rankings

North Central leads the 2026 FloSports D3 football rankings. See the Top 25, Week 1 matchups, Gagliardi candidates and teams to watch.

Sep 1, 2026 by Ajay Shah

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The 2026 D3 football season officially kicks off this week on Thursday, Sept. 3, and the latest FloSports Top 25 D3 rankings dropped today, offering us an early look at the teams expected to compete for the Division III national championship.

With a No. 1 vs. No. 3 matchup waiting in Week 1, five Gagliardi Trophy candidates playing for ranked teams and four Wisconsin programs inside the Top 25, there is plenty to know before the D3 football season kicks off.

Here are five things to know about the FloSports D3 football rankings:

What Are The FloSports D3 Football Rankings For 2026?

North Central
Mount Union
Bethel (Minn.)
UW-River Falls
Johns Hopkins
UW-Whitewater
Cortland
John Carroll
Wheaton
Saint John’s
UW-La Crosse
Trinity
UW-Platteville
Berry
Wartburg
DePauw
Salisbury
Susquehanna
Christopher Newport
Hope
Monmouth
Hardin-Simmons
Endicott
Coe
Randolph-Macon

No. 1 vs. No. 3 Clash In Week 1

Two of the top three teams in the FloSports D3 football rankings won't have to wait long to meet on the field.

The North Central Cardinals are No. 1 and the Bethel Royals are No. 3 in the FloSports preseason rankings, setting up a massive matchup between the two teams on Saturday, Sept. 5.

The Cardinals and Royals have already met three times in the NCAA Division III playoffs.

North Central defeated Bethel 35-21 in the 2025 Division III quarterfinals, ending the Royals' season at 12-1. North Central went on to reach the Stagg Bowl for the sixth consecutive season before falling to UW-River Falls 24-14.

Bethel enters 2026 with plenty of reason to believe it can challenge for the top spot. The Royals return quarterback Cooper Drews, who threw for 3,310 yards and 43 touchdowns while completing 66.8% of his passes in 2025.

Five Gagliardi Trophy Candidates In The Top 25

The Gagliardi Trophy is awarded annually to the most outstanding player in Division III football, and five of FloSports' 10 Gagliardi preseason candidates play for teams currently ranked in the Top 25.

The list includes:

Garret Wilson, North Central: No. 1
Cooper Drews, Bethel: No. 3
Mike Rescigno, Cortland: No. 7
Trey Feeney, Saint John’s: No. 10
Scott Ballentine, DePauw: No. 16

Wilson enters the season as the quarterback for the No. 1 team after throwing 42 touchdown passes in 2025, the third-most in Division III.

Drews was even more prolific statistically, throwing for 3,310 yards and 43 touchdowns for a Bethel team that reached the national quarterfinals.

Feeney is an intriguing candidate because 2026 will be his first season as St. John's starting quarterback, yet he already finds himself among FloSports' Gagliardi Trophy candidates.

Ballentine enters the season looking to build on a strong 2025 campaign in which he threw for 3,234 yards and 34 touchdowns at DePauw.

Rescigno gives No. 7 Cortland a star to watch. The dual-threat quarterback threw for 1,728 yards and 22 touchdowns while rushing for 1,068 yards and 12 scores in 2025, setting Cortland's single-season rushing record for a quarterback.

Four Wisconsin Teams In The FloSports Top 15

The Badger State will have a major presence in the D3 football rankings this season, with four Wisconsin-based teams appearing in the FloSports Top 25.

The group includes:

No. 4 UW-River Falls
No. 6 UW-Whitewater
No. 11 UW-La Crosse
No. 13 UW-Platteville

FloSports has highlighted the Oct. 17 matchup between UW-River Falls and UW-Platteville as one of the notable Division III games to watch in 2026.

UW-Platteville enters the season at No. 13 in the FloSports rankings after going 9-3 in 2025 and winning the WIAC championship. Head coach Ryan Munz has guided the Pioneers to three straight winning seasons, including back-to-back nine-win campaigns. The Pioneers also are set to return eight starters on both offense and defense.

Meanwhile, No. 6 UW-Whitewater and No. 11 UW-La Crosse give the WIAC two more highly ranked programs to watch as the conference race unfolds.

The Defending National Champion Is Ranked No. 4

UW-River Falls enters the season as the defending national champion, but the Falcons begin the year at No. 4 in the FloSports rankings.

The Falcons finished 14-1 in 2025 and won the first national championship in program history by defeating North Central 24-14 in the Stagg Bowl.

The preseason ranking is mostly about what River Falls must replace.

River Falls lost head coach Matt Walker and 2025 Gagliardi Trophy-winning quarterback Kaleb Blaha. Those are significant losses for the program, as Blaha won the Gagliardi Trophy after throwing for 4,971 yards and 41 touchdowns in 2025.

Jake Wissing, who previously served as River Falls' defensive coordinator, takes over as interim head coach. The Falcons therefore enter 2026 trying to defend their national title with a new coach and without the quarterback who helped lead them to the championship.

The Top D3 Football Coaches To Know In 2026

The players receive plenty of attention throughout the season, but several coaches will play major roles in leading their teams up or down the D3 football rankings.

Brad Spencer, North Central: Spencer has led North Central since 2022 after spending almost two decades on the Cardinals' coaching staff as a player and assistant. He has guided the program to national championships in 2022 and 2024 and four straight Stagg Bowl appearances as head coach. North Central reached its sixth consecutive national championship game in 2025.
Mike McElroy, Bethel: McElroy enters his third season as Bethel's head coach with a 23-4 record. He has taken the Royals to the NCAA quarterfinals in each of his first two seasons and was named the 2025 MIAC Coach of the Year. Now he gets an immediate opportunity to challenge No. 1 North Central in Week 1.
Ryan Munz, UW-Platteville: Munz enters his fifth season at UW-Platteville after building the Pioneers into one of the country's nationally ranked programs. Platteville has posted three consecutive winning seasons, including back-to-back nine-win seasons, and returns eight starters on each side of the ball in 2026.
Jake Wissing, UW-River Falls: Wissing takes over as interim head coach after spending 15 seasons with the Falcons, including five as defensive coordinator. His first season in charge comes with the unusual challenge of defending a national championship while replacing both Walker and Blaha.

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