CFB Zeitgeist
June 22, 2026 · Dead Period · Heritage Window · 2026 Outlook

Rockford

1-9 2025 final

The Regents of Rockford, a small private university in northern Illinois playing Division III football at Sam Greeley Field in the NACC.

The Regents bide their time.

Record
1-9
win% .100
Conference
9th of 9
NACC · 0-8
Index Rating
31.5
D3 #230 of 240
Playoff Path
Win the league
Dead PeriodOffseasonPatientPost-loss — diagnostic
The Long Wait·Offseason

The Regents of Rockford, a small private university in northern Illinois playing Division III football at Sam Greeley Field in the NACC.

Standard GapA small-city program where competing in the NACC, not contending for it…

Climb out of the NACC's cellar and string together a winning season — give Rockford a football team the city can rally around.

low signal
Read the full program story ↓

Offseason

69 days

until kickoff · Sun Aug 30 · 17:00 UTC

Act I

The 2026 Outlook

DIVISION III · THE PATH TO THE STAGG BOWL

Rockford sits 9th in the NACC and 230th of 240 in the CFB Zeitgeist — outside the at-large picture — the path runs through the conference title.

NACC · 2025
TeamConfOverallIndex
1Concordia-Wisconsin8-09-263.5
2Aurora6-28-360.0
3Benedictine University5-37-355.0
4St. Norbert5-35-549.8
5Wisconsin-Lutheran5-35-548.9
6Lakeland4-44-644.5
7Concordia University Chicago2-64-643.7
9Rockford0-81-931.5
31.5 CFB Zeitgeist#230 of 240 D347.0 strength of schedule

Win the NACC 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.

Source: CFB Zeitgeist — conference records + NPI-style rating from 2025 games · the field is 40 teams, NPI-selected
THE 2025 SEASON · 1-9
W 19-15 vs Beloit · Wk 2+4BeloitL 30-34 at Elmhurst · Wk 3-4ElmhurstL 20-40 vs Eureka College · Wk 4-20Eureka CL 7-35 vs Lakeland · Wk 5-28LakelandL 9-42 at Benedictine University · Wk 6-33BenedictL 0-48 at Aurora · Wk 7-48AuroraL 26-37 vs Concordia University Chicago · Wk 8-11ConcordiL 10-61 at St. Norbert · Wk 9-51St. NorbL 0-35 at Concordia-Wisconsin · Wk 10-35ConcordiL 3-48 vs Wisconsin-Lutheran · Wk 11-45Wisconsi

Signature win 19-15 over Beloit; toughest day 10-61 against St. Norbert.

The Pulse on Rockford

Quiet · dead period heritage · signal ramps back in camp
—
The Regents bide their time.

What moved it — offseason · last 30 days

June Dead-period quiet — official-visit + heritage window —
Camp Fall camp ~40 days out
"Go Rockford" — Rockford fanbase · recurring line
0 mentions · awaiting signal

Aspiration Ladder

Brief Part III §33.4 · Rockford

Winning record—

The baseline for a successful season.

Conference title—

The primary goal and national bracket path.

32-team bracket qualifierLocked—

One of 32 national tournament entries.

Stagg BowlLocked—

The Division III national championship game.

Rockford · Next-Season Outcome Band

Floor / Base / Ceiling

floor0-12Rebuild year. Below .500.
base1-11Mid-table finish.
ceiling4-8Conference title race. Bracket qualifier in range.

Variance assumed at ±2 wins from last-season record. Replace with the season-path projection once preview data is built.

Act II

Who We Are

Home-Field Advantage · Rockford · 2018-present

Above-Average

26% home win rate vs 14% on the road. margin runs +6.2 better at home.

Home5-14Away3-18
Act III

Last Season Reviewed

2025 season · tap to expand

Recent Form · last 10 games

Hibernating

Zero of five. Reset territory.

Streak L9Last 5 · 0-5Last 10 · 1-9

Schedule Strength · Rockford · 2025

Soft

Average opponent win rate 44% across 10 finalized games. Lighter schedule — the committee weighs wins against strength of field.

Opp Win %0.445

From the Archive — Rockford

2024: Lost 35-42 vs Concordia-Wisconsin

In 2024, the program lost 35-42 vs Concordia-Wisconsin — a close home result, 7 points either way.

Go Regents.