2026 Johns Hopkins vs Randolph-Macon College

D3 Football Rankings 2026: UW-River Falls Climbs To No. 2 After Week 1

North Central Football remains No. 1 in the FloCollege D3 Football Rankings, while UW-River Falls and Wheaton climb into the top three after statement wins.

Sep 9, 2026 by Leanza Pieroni

D3 Football Rankings 2026: UW-River Falls Climbs To No. 2 After Week 1

Opening weekend did not take long to shake up the inaugural FloCollege D3 Football Rankings.

North Central remains at No. 1 after opening the season with a convincing 44-21 victory over preseason No. 3 Bethel. The Cardinals forced four turnovers and scored 24 points off those takeaways to take control of the first-ever Division III season opener between the nation’s top two teams.

Quarterback Garret Wilson passed for a career-high 325 yards and four touchdowns, while David Ballard III finished with 160 receiving yards and two scores. Sean Ryniec connected on three field goals, including a 56-yarder that tied the second-longest made field goal in program history.

Defending national champion UW-River Falls moves from No. 4 to No. 2 after overwhelming Southern Virginia 73-7. The Falcons scored five touchdowns in the first quarter and led 56-0 at halftime in interim head coach Jake Wissing’s first victory.

Peter McDevitt completed 13 of 15 passes for 231 yards and five touchdowns in his UW-River Falls debut, adding another score on the ground. The Falcons generated 526 yards of offense and held Southern Virginia to 172, including only 24 rushing yards on 41 attempts.

Wheaton makes the largest jump inside the top 10, climbing six places from No. 9 to No. 3 after its 24-23 victory over preseason No. 2 Mount Union.

The Thunder led 17-7 at halftime before Mount Union rallied to tie the game in the third quarter. Wheaton moved back in front with 5:28 remaining and preserved the victory by blocking the potential tying extra point after the Purple Raiders scored with 22 seconds left. The result ended Mount Union’s streaks of 38 consecutive season-opening wins and 85 straight regular-season victories.

Johns Hopkins rises one spot to No. 4 following a 30-21 win over Ithaca. First-time starting quarterback Luke Baker completed 18 of 31 passes for 325 yards and three touchdowns, with Cole Crotty catching five passes for 101 yards and two scores.

The Blue Jays built a 23-0 advantage before Ithaca cut the margin to nine in the fourth quarter. Jack Smith’s first career interception stopped the Bombers near midfield with just over 90 seconds remaining and secured Johns Hopkins’ 15th consecutive season-opening victory. The Blue Jays finished with more than 460 yards of total offense.

John Carroll completes the new top five, moving up three spots from its preseason position.

There was significant movement beyond the first five teams. UW-Platteville and Berry each climb seven places, while Susquehanna rises six spots to No. 12. Coe moves from No. 24 to No. 18.

Mount Union falls to No. 13 after its one-point loss to Wheaton, one place ahead of Bethel. The Purple Raiders now turn their attention to a home opener against Grove City on Sept. 12 at 1:30 p.m.

Four teams enter the Top 25 after beginning the season outside the preseason rankings. Linfield leads the group at No. 19, followed by Mary Hardin-Baylor at No. 22, LaGrange at No. 24 and Muhlenberg at No. 25.

Early-season rankings tend to move quickly. One impressive performance—or one difficult opening matchup—can produce a substantial change before each team has built a complete résumé.

Week 2 should provide more clarity, beginning with two games between ranked teams. No. 1 North Central visits No. 11 Wartburg, while No. 2 UW-River Falls travels to No. 18 Coe.

The first weekend gave us a new top three. The next one could change it again.

See the full FloCollege Top 25 Rankings below, ahead of Week 2 of the D3 football season.

D3 Football Rankings 2026: Week 1 Top 25

North Central
UW-River Falls
Wheaton
Johns Hopkins
John Carroll
UW-Platteville
Berry
St. John’s
UW-Whitewater
Trinity (Texas)
Wartburg
Susquehanna
Mount Union
Bethel
Hardin-Simmons
Christopher Newport
Salisbury
Coe
Linfield
Hope
DePauw
Mary Hardin-Baylor
UW-La Crosse
LaGrange
Muhlenberg

D3 Football Rankings: Receiving Votes

Listed in ranking order:

Endicott
Cortland
Springfield
Franklin & Marshall
UW-Stout
Carroll (Wisconsin)
Augustana (Illinois)
UW-Stevens Point
Macalester
Luther

How The FloCollege D3 Football Rankings Are Determined

The FloCollege Division III football rankings are driven by objective data, with an emphasis on winning, strength of schedule and quality victories.

Ranking factors include:

Wins
Strength of schedule
Quality wins
Total margin of victory
Away wins
Current streak

Preseason positioning established the foundation for the inaugural rankings. As the season progresses, results, quality wins and overall performance will take on a greater role in determining each week’s Top 25.

How To Watch D3 Football In 2026

Hundreds of Division III football games will stream live on FloCollege and the FloSports app.

Game replays, highlights and breaking news also will be available on both platforms.

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