GAME DETAILS

COACHES

Bethel's Mike McElroy (3rd year at BU and as a head coach: 23-4) // North Central's Brad Spencer (5th year at NCC and as head coach: 58-2)

QUICK HITS

• In a battle between the top two teams in NCAA Division III, the No. 1 North Central (Ill.) will host No. 2 Bethel in a rematch of the 2025 NCAA Division III Quarterfinal. It will go down as the first ever season opener that will feature the top two teams on the D3football.com and AFCA Polls.
• The Royals will look to avenge a 35-21 loss to the Cardinals from last season's NCAA Quarterfinal in Naperville, Illinois on Saturday, September 5.
• Bethel landed four individuals on the 2026 D3football.com Preseason All-America Team. Senior wide receiver Albert Rundell (First Team Offense), senior defensive tackle Phil Conant (First Team Defense), senior center Jaegar Ash (Second Team Offense), and senior quarterback Cooper Drew (Third Team Offense) make up the four Royals on that squad.
• North Central landed three on the 2026 D3football.com Preseason All-America Team in junior quarterback Garet Wilson (First Team Offense), senior offensive lineman Cortez Jones (First Team Offense), and junior linebacker Matt Janiak (Third Team Defense). Janiak paced North Central (Ill.) with a team-leading 16 tackles, and one fumble recovery in their victory over Bethel in the 2025 NCAA Division III Quarterfinal.
• Another key returner for the Cardinals is junior running back Donovan McNeal, who finished with 144 yards and three touchdowns over 25 carries in their win over the Royals in last season's NCAA Quarterfinal.

ABOUT THE ROYALS

Bethel's No. 2 ranking on the AFCA and D3football.com Polls are the highest in school history.

The Royals return a bulk of their playmakers from 2025. The running game returns 81 percent of their production (2,382 yards out of 2,945 yard), led by returning leading rusher sophomore Taye Manns's 994 yards. Back is fifth year David Geebli, who returns 893 yards from last season, followed by senior quarterback Cooper Drews's 362 rushing yards. Drews commands a BU quarterback room that returns 96 percent of their passing yards as his 3310 ranked 10th in the country, while his 43 touchdown passes were second in the country. Also back are the top nine receivers from 2025. Leading that group is Alberrt Rundell, who led all levels of college football with 1597 yards receiving en route to being named a 2025 Gagliardi Trophy Finalist. Rundell finished the season with five school records, two of which were also MIAC records with 21 receptions in a game, and five touchdown grabs against Carleton on November 8, 2025.

Defensively, the Royals return 31.5 of their 37.0 sacks from 2025, led by senior Phil Conant's team-leading 10, followed by 5.5 from junior Marcus Whiting. Also back are three of their top five tacklers. Leading that group was Jake Borman's 96.0 tackles, and Jackson Braun's 83.0. Junior Nick Colyer highlights the returning defensive backfield as he led the Royals with four interceptions and seven pass breakups.

The special teams are also in good hands courtesy of senior kicker and punter Eli Nowacki, who carried a bulk of those duties as he averaged 39.86 per yards over 35 punts, and 55.2 yards over 106 kickoffs in 2025. Also back is Zach Bengtson, who converted 9-of-11 field goals and kicked the extra points. 

SERIES

Both teams will meet for the fourth time overall, and for the first time ever in the regular season. The Cardinals hold a 2-1 all-time record that includes a 35-21 win over the Royals in the 2025 NCAA Division III Quarterfinal. Bethel's lone victory over North Central was a 27-24 decision in the 2018 NCAA Division III Second Round. North Central kicked off the series with a 41-17 win over Bethel in the 2013 NCAA Division III Quarterfinal.