The Northwest Missouri State University football team came in at No. 5 in the preseason D2Football.com poll.

The Bearcats are coming off a 10-3 season. It marked the 27th straight winning season for Bearcat football, which ranks as the fourth-longest active streak among NCAA football programs. Linfield (Ore.) has had 66 straight winning seasons, Mount Union (Ohio) has 44 straight winning seasons and Wartburg (Iowa) has 29 straight winning seasons.

Head coach Rich Wright is entering his seventh year at the helm of the program and holds a 52-13 record with the Bearcats. Wright has guided Northwest to a 46-8 mark in MIAA play, which includes conference championships in 2018, 2019 and 2021.

Three MIAA teams are featured in the preseason poll with Pittsburg State at No. 4, Northwest at No. 6 and Emporia State at No. 19. Northwest will play host to both Pittsburg State (Oct. 21) and Emporia State (Sept. 7) at Bearcat Stadium.