Northwestern College has earned the No. 11 spot in the College Football America Yearbook NAIA Preseason Poll released earlier this week.
The Red Raiders finished the 2017 season with a 10-2 record, reaching the NAIA Football Championship Series (FCS) where they defeated then unbeaten Langston (Okla.) 55-7 in the first round before losing to eventual national champion, University of Saint Francis (Ind.) in the quarterfinals. 16 starters (6 offense, 6 defense, 4 special teams) and 26 letterwinners return from last year’s squad.
Matt McCarty is set to begin his third year as the Red Raiders head coach and 14th as a coach within the program. McCarty guided the 2017 team to a second place finish in the GPAC and a No.8 ranking in the final NAIA Coaches’ poll, the highest ranking since the 2014 season. McCarty and his staff welcome the 2018 team to campus the weekend of Aug. 10-11 and begin practice on the 13th.
The Red Raiders are one of four teams from the Great Plains Athletic Conference (GPAC) in the preseason top 30, joining Morningside (1), Dakota Wesleyan (25) and Concordia (30). Two-time defending champion Saint Francis is second, followed by national runner-up Reinhardt, Baker and Marian.
Northwestern opens the 2018 season with back-to-back road games in North Dakota, beginning with Valley City State on Sept. 1.
2018 College Football America NAIA Preseason Top 30
1. Morningside
2. Saint Francis (Ind.)
3. Reinhardt (Ga.)
4. Baker (Kan.)
5. Marian (Ind.)
6. Southern Oregon
7. Saint Xavier (Ill.)
8. Grand View (Iowa)
9. Lindsey Wilson (Ky.)
10. Georgetown (Ky.)
11. Northwestern
12. Southeastern (Fla.)
13. Rocky Mountain (Mont.)
14. Langston (Okla.)
15. Arizona Christian
16. Campbellsville (Ky.)
17. Concordia (Mich.)
18. Tabor (Kan.)
19. Sterling (Kan.)
20. Dickinson State (N.D.)
21. Montana Tech
22. College of Idaho
23. Benedictine (Kan.)
24. Kansas Wesleyan
25. Dakota Wesleyan (S.D.)
26. Saint Francis (Ill.)
27. Dakota State (S.D.)
28. SAGU
29. Faulkner (Ga.)
30. Concordia (Neb.)
