The Northwest Missouri State University football squad is ranked No. 8 in the preseason American Football Coaches Association poll.
Northwest is among six MIAA schools either ranked or receiving votes in the first poll of the 2026 season. Pittsburg State is ranked No. 4 and four other MIAA schools are receiving votes including Central Oklahoma, Fort Hays State, Central Missouri and Nebraska-Kearney.
2026 AFCA Division II Coaches Poll – August 18, 2026
| Rank |
School (1st votes) |
2025 Rec. |
Pts. |
2025 Rank |
Season Opener |
Head Coach |
| 1 |
Ferris St. (31) |
16-0 |
775 |
1 |
Aug. 27 at No. 4 Pittsburg St. |
Tony Annese |
| 2 |
Harding |
15-1 |
738 |
2 |
Sept. 3 vs. Northwestern Oklahoma St. |
Roddy Mote |
| 3 |
Kutztown |
14-1 |
684 |
3 |
Sept. 3 at Assumption |
Jim Clements |
| 4 |
Pittsburg St. |
10-3 |
647 |
6 |
Aug. 27 vs. No. 1 Ferris St. |
Tom Anthony |
| 5 |
Minnesota St. |
10-4 |
587 |
8 |
Aug. 27 at Colorado Mesa |
Todd Hoffner |
| 6 |
Colorado St.-Pueblo |
10-2 |
581 |
11 |
Aug. 27 vs. Central Missouri |
Philip Vigil |
| 7 |
Central Washington |
10-2 |
478 |
13 |
Sept. 5 at Cal Poly |
Scott Power |
| 8 |
Northwest Missouri St. |
9-3 |
470 |
17 |
Aug. 29 at Texas A&M-Kingsville |
John McMenamin |
| 9t. |
Grand Valley St. |
7-3 |
451 |
NR |
Aug. 27 at Charleston |
Scott Wooster |
| 9t. |
UIndy |
11-2 |
451 |
10 |
Aug. 27 vs. Marian |
Chris Keevers |
| 11 |
Western Colorado |
10-3 |
379 |
12 |
Aug. 27 at West Texas A&M |
Jas Bains |
| 12 |
Minnesota-Duluth |
10-2 |
372 |
16 |
Aug. 27 at Slippery Rock |
Curt Wiese |
| 13 |
Ashland |
10-3 |
328 |
15 |
Sept. 3 vs. No. 25 Indiana (Pa.) |
Doug Geiser |
| 14 |
Virginia Union |
9-3 |
318 |
21 |
Aug. 28 at Lenoir-Rhyne |
Alvin Parker |
| 15 |
Newberry |
12-2 |
276 |
4 |
Sept. 5 vs. Reinhardt |
Todd Knight |
| 16 |
Findlay |
10-2 |
250 |
19 |
Sept. 5 at No. 9t UIndy |
Tyler Johns |
| 17 |
Frostburg St. |
11-3 |
228 |
14 |
Sept. 5 at Shepherd |
Eric Wagoner |
| 18 |
UT Permian Basin |
11-3 |
197 |
5 |
Aug. 29 at UT Rio Grande Valley |
Chris Softley |
| 19 |
Wingate |
9-3 |
183 |
NR |
Aug. 27 at UNC Pembroke |
Rashaan Jordan |
| 20 |
Augustana (S.D.) |
9-2 |
181 |
25 |
Aug. 27 at Missouri Western |
Jerry Olszewski |
| 21 |
Albany St. |
12-2 |
172 |
7 |
Aug. 29 at Florida A&M |
David Bowser |
| 22 |
Western Oregon |
8-3 |
165 |
NR |
Aug. 29 at Colorado Mines |
Arne Ferguson |
| 23 |
Johnson C. Smith |
10-2 |
159 |
18 |
Aug. 29 at Benedict |
Maurice Flowers |
| 24 |
Ouachita Baptist |
7-4 |
146 |
NR |
Sept. 3 vs. East Central |
Todd Knight |
| 25 |
Indiana (Pa.) |
7-4 |
97 |
NR |
Sept. 3 at No. 13 Ashland |
Paul Tortorella |
*– Ranking in final AFCA Division II Poll of 2025
Others Receiving Votes: Valdosta St., 86; Chadron St., 83; Central Oklahoma, 64; North Greenville, 61; Slippery Rock, 56; California (Pa.), 53; Northwood, 50; Delta St., 33; Michigan Tech, 31; Assumption, 29; Bentley, 27; Benedict, 25; Lenoir-Rhyne, 21; Colorado Mines, 18; Northeastern St., 16; Southern Arkansas, 14; Charleston, 13; Fort Hays St., 13; Truman St., 13; West Texas A&M, 10; UNC Pembroke, 8; Central Missouri, 7; Edward Waters, 7; Henderson St., 6; Angelo St., 4; East Stroudsburg, 4; Nebraska-Kearney, 4; Upper Iowa, 3; Davenport, 2; Carson-Newman, 1.
