Northwestern College opens the 2018 season in a tie for seventh in the NAIA Football Coaches’ preseason poll released earlier today by the national office.
The Red Raiders totaled 268 points and is tied with Georgetown (Ky.) for seventh in the initial rating. This is the highest national ranking for the Red Raiders since the 2014 season (7th in the Nov.3 poll). Northwestern is one of two teams from the Great Plains Athletic Conference (GPAC) in the top 25 (Morningside-3rd).
Saint Francis ((Ind.) earned all 16 first place votes and holds down the top spot in the preseason coaches poll, followed by national runner-up Reinhardt (Ga.). Morningside, Southern Oregon and Lindsey Wilson (Ky.) round out the top five.
Matt McCarty, in his third year as the Red Raiders’ head coach, and his staff return 16 starters and 26 letterwinners from a 2017 team that finished with a 10-2 record and ranked eighth in the final postseason poll. They finished second in the conference with a 7-1 record and qualified for the NAIA Football Championship Series (FCS) for the first time since 2014 and 19th overall. The Red Raiders defeated Langston (Okla.) in the first round and lost to two-time defending champion University of Saint Francis (Ind.) in the quarterfinals.
2018 NAIA Football Coaches’ Top 25 Poll – Preseason (August 6, 2018)
| RANK | PREVIOUS | SCHOOL (1st PLACE VOTES) | RECORD | POINTS |
| 1 | 1 | Saint Francis (Ind.) (16) | 14-0 | 366 |
| 2 | 2 | Reinhardt (Ga.) | 12-1 | 349 |
| 3 | 3 | Morningside (Iowa) | 13-1 | 340 |
| 4 | 4 | Southern Oregon | 12-1 | 324 |
| 5 | 5 | Lindsey Wilson (Ky.) | 11-1 | 310 |
| 6 | 6 | Saint Xavier (Ill.) | 10-2 | 296 |
| 7 | 7 | Georgetown (Ky.) | 9-2 | 268 |
| 7 | 8 | Northwestern (Iowa) | 10-3 | 268 |
| 9 | 9 | Baker (Kan.) | 10-2 | 259 |
| 10 | 11 | Grand View (Iowa) | 9-3 | 231 |
| 11 | 10 | Southeastern (Fla.) | 8-2 | 227 |
| 12 | 12 | Benedictine (Kan.) | 9-3 | 197 |
| 13 | 14 | Dickinson State (N.D.) | 9-2 | 178 |
| 14 | 13 | Langston (Okla.) | 10-1 | 177 |
| 15 | 18 | Marian (Ind.) | 7-3 | 167 |
| 16 | 15 | Concordia (Mich.) | 9-2 | 163 |
| 17 | 16 | Sterling (Kan.) | 9-3 | 159 |
| 18 | 17 | Tabor (Kan.) | 8-2 | 95 |
| 19 | 20 | Campbellsville (Ky.) | 8-2 | 86 |
| 20 | NR | Rocky Mountain (Mont.) | 6-5 | 75 |
| 21 | 21 | Kansas Wesleyan | 8-3 | 67 |
| 22 | 19 | SAGU (Texas) | 8-3 | 51 |
| 22 | NR | Arizona Christian | 7-3 | 51 |
| 24 | 22 | Faulkner (Ala.) | 7-3 | 46 |
| 25 | 23 | Dakota State (S.D.) | 8-3 | 44 |
Dropped from the Top 25: Oklahoma Panhandle State, Evangel (Mo.)
Others Receiving Votes: Montana Tech (44), Evangel (Mo.) (17), Oklahoma Panhandle State (15), St. Francis (Ill.) (12), College of Idaho (10), William Penn (Iowa) (10), Missouri Valley (9), Midland (Neb.) (8), Bluefield (Va.) 3
