Ohio Northern
8-3 2025 finalOhio Northern is the OAC Cinderella story — picked fifth in the preseason polls, the Polar Bears went 8-2 with a 7-1 OAC record and won the Coach of the Year under Andy Fries.
The Bears are in the woods.
Ohio Northern is the OAC Cinderella story — picked fifth in the preseason polls, the Polar Bears went 8-2 with a 7-1 OAC record and won the Coach of the Year under Andy Fries.
After being picked to finish fifth in the OAC preseason polls, Ohio Northern surprised everyone with an 8-2 overall record and 7-1 conference mark, earning second place and a bowl berth in the ForeverLawn Bowl against Wabash. Head…
Offseason
69 days
until kickoff · Sun Aug 30 · 17:00 UTC
The 2026 Outlook
Ohio Northern sits 3rd in the Ohio Conference and 48th of 240 in the CFB Zeitgeist — on the at-large bubble — the conference title is the surer route.
| Team | Conf | Overall | Index | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | John Carroll University | 1-0 | 12-2 | 74.2 |
| 2 | University of Mount Union | 8-1 | 11-1 | 74.0 |
| 3 | Ohio Northern | 7-1 | 8-3 | 60.5 |
| 4 | Baldwin Wallace | 6-2 | 8-2 | 62.2 |
| 5 | Heidelberg | 5-3 | 6-4 | 54.2 |
| 6 | Muskingum University | 4-4 | 4-6 | 47.7 |
| 7 | Marietta | 3-5 | 5-5 | 51.8 |
| 8 | Wilmington (OH) | 1-7 | 3-7 | 43.2 |
Win the Ohio Conference for the automatic berth into the 40-team NCAA Division III bracket. Miss it and the path is an at-large bid, selected by NPI — the metric the CFB Index mirrors. Six wins survive the bracket to the Stagg Bowl.
Signature win 56-0 over Capital; toughest day 7-33 against University of Mount Union.
The Pulse on Ohio Northern
What moved it — offseason · last 30 days
Aspiration Ladder
Brief Part III §33.4 · Ohio Northern
The baseline for a successful season.
The primary goal and national bracket path.
One of 32 national tournament entries.
The Division III national championship game.
Ohio Northern · Next-Season Outcome Band
Floor / Base / Ceiling
Variance assumed at ±2 wins from last-season record. Replace with the season-path projection once preview data is built.
Who We Are
Home-Field Advantage · Ohio Northern · 2018-present
Above-Average
50% home win rate vs 50% on the road. margin runs +5.5 better at home.
Act IIILast Season Reviewed
2025 season · tap to expand
Recent Form · last 10 games
Mixed
Three of five. Trending up, not yet hot.
Schedule Strength · Ohio Northern · 2025
Balanced
Average opponent win rate 52% across 11 finalized games. Balanced slate across the conference slate.
Moment of the Year · Ohio Northern · 2025
Won 33-13 vs Heidelberg
Week 3 of 2025. The single game that defined the season's arc.
From the Archive — Ohio Northern
2025: Won 33-13 vs Heidelberg
In 2025, the program won 33-13 vs Heidelberg — a comfortable home result that left the 20-point margin on the books.
The Bears eat tonight.