Football Opens at Second in GPAC Preseason Poll

SIOUX CITY, Iowa – On the heels of their eighth consecutive trip to the NAIA playoffs and fifth-straight appearance in the NAIA FCS Quarterfinals, the Northwestern football team was picked to finish second in the 2025 GPAC Preseason Coaches' Poll.

Voted on by the league's head coaches, the Raiders received a second-place nod after tying for second in the conference standings last season. The Red Raiders picked up 89 points in the poll with two first-place votes. Coaches could not vote for their own team.

Morningside led the poll with 99 points and nine first-place votes. Following Northwestern was Dordt with 84 points and Concordia with 68 points to round out the top four.

The Raiders went 9-3 overall last season with an 8-2 conference mark, closing at No. 7 in the NAIA Top 25 Coaches' Poll. The 2025 campaign culminated with an NAIA Second Round win at No. 8 Montana Tech on a last-second, 51-yard field goal by Eli Stader. Northwestern returns NAIA and AFCA Second Team All-American defensive lineman Trystin Voss, and five all-conference selections return to the lineup in Voss, Jacob Dragstra, Austyn Gerard, Ben Egli, and Korver Hupke.

Below are the full results of the preseason coaches' poll.

Place	Team	Total	1st Place Votes
1	Morningside Mustangs	99	9
2	Northwestern Red Raiders	89	2
3	Dordt Defenders	84
4	Concordia Bulldogs	68
5	Midland Warriors	64
6	Mount Marty Lancers	58
7	Hastings Broncos	43
8	Doane Tigers	35
9	Dakota Wesleyan Tigers	32
10	Briar Cliff Chargers	23
11	Waldorf Warriors	10

Northwestern will open the 2025 season under the lights at De Valois Stadium, hosting Waldorf on August 30 at 6:00 p.m.

Don't forget to follow Northwestern College Athletics on Facebook @nwcraiders, Twitter @nwcraiders, and Instagram @nwcraiders! #RaidersStandOut

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Players Mentioned

#9 Jacob Dragstra: DL; 6' 0"; Junior

#34 Ben Egli: LB; 6' 1"; Junior

#7 Austyn Gerard: WR; 5' 11"; Sophomore

#77 Korver Hupke: OL; 6' 3"; Sophomore

#9 Eli Stader: K; 6' 0"; Senior

#5 Trystin Voss: DL; 6' 2"; Junior

Players Mentioned

#9 Jacob Dragstra
: 6' 0"; Junior
: DL

#34 Ben Egli
: 6' 1"; Junior
: LB

#7 Austyn Gerard
: 5' 11"; Sophomore
: WR

#77 Korver Hupke
: 6' 3"; Sophomore
: OL

#9 Eli Stader
: 6' 0"; Senior
: K

#5 Trystin Voss
: 6' 2"; Junior
: DL