RFC Small College Preview: North Coast Athletic Conference (NCAC)--(NCAA Division III)

North Coast Athletic Conference (NCAC)


2014 NCAC Football Standings

2014 NCAC Media Guide


Looking back: The 2014 North Coast Athletic Conference (NCAC) football season was dominated by two teams starting the letter "W", in the form of the Wabash College Little Giants from Indiana, and the Wittenberg University Tigers from Ohio.  In the end, it was the Tigers who captured the NCAC championship, as well as the automatic bid to the NCAA Division III playoffs that came with it, as they handed the Little Giants their first and only loss of the regular season in a 21-15 win on November 8. With that win, Wittenberg finished NCAC play unbeaten at 9-0 (9-1 overall).


Postseason play, however, was a different story, as the Tigers were "one and done" in the D-III dance. Wittenberg's season ended at the hands of Washington & Jefferson, with the visiting Presidents from Pennsylvania ousting the Tigers, 41-25, in the first round. As for Wabash, the Little Giants rolled past Franklin, 33-14, in the first round, before falling to eventual national champion Wisconsin-Whitewater, 38-14, in the second round.


Looking ahead: Will the race for the 2015 NCAC crown come down to Wittenberg and Wabash, or will another team step up, and take charge? Those are the biggest questions to be answered as another football season arrives.

Predicted order of finish (2014 overall record in parentheses):

1. Wabash (10-2): Can the Little Giants make another run at the playoffs in 2015? If they're do to just that, they must replace All-America defensive end Corey Buresh, among the many seniors lost due to graduation.

2. Wittenberg (9-2): Not only that, they must also overtake a Tigers team that returns 15 starters and 40 letterwinners from last year's NCAC championship team, including rising senior quarterback Zack Jenkins, who passed for almost 3,000 yards and 25 touchdowns last fall. 

3. DePauw (7-3): After enjoying one of their better seasons in several years, the Tigers hope to break the stranglehold that Wittenberg and Wabash have had on the NCAC over the last two years.

4. Denison (6-4): Speaking of "best seasons", cautious optimism reigns in Big Red nation after a season-ending four-game winning streak led to their first back-to-back winning seasons since the 1980's, when they finished with a combined overall record of 33-6 from 1983-1986.

5. Ohio Wesleyan (6-4): The Battling Bishops will face one of the toughest schedules in program history, as they open the 2015 season with back-to-back games against 2014 NCAA Division III playoff opponents Mary Hardin-Baylor at home on September 5, as well as the NCAC opener at Wittenberg on September 19.

6. Hiram (5-5): The Terriers accomplished something they haven't accomplished on the football field in nearly three decades: finish a season at .500 or better. Now the key will be to build on what happened in 2014.

7. Wooster (4-6): The Scots hope to rebound after slipping back below .500 following a 7-3 mark in 2013.

8. Oberlin (2-8): The Yeomen face a long, uphill battle following a season-ending four-game losing streak.

9. Allegheny (1-9): The Gators are in rebuilding mode after winning just one game over the past two seasons.

10. Kenyon (1-9): The Lords are also looking to start over after posting a 6-4 overall record in 2012.  

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