Week 0 is in the books and 51 games dot the schedule for Week 1, Sept. 3-5, beginning Thursday night with four contests. One of those games, Dickinson State (N.D.) at Valley City State (N.D.), kicks off a 12-game slate of this week’s Featured Series, four on NAIA Network and eight on the Urban Edge Network.
Dive in to NAIA Football with the Week 1 edition of the NAIA Football Notebook.
Thursday, 6 p.m. CT
VCSU picked up its first win of the 2026 campaign, holding on to beat Dickinson State 28-25. DSU put up 15 fourth-quarter points, but the Vikings would recover the on-side kick. Valley City State had its seventh win in eight Ag Bowls, including the last four.
Saturday, 1 p.m. ET
Defiance is at home for a second-straight week, this time it’s a top 15 opponent coming to Justin F. Coressel Stadium, as No. 12 Marian looks to get in the win column after a loss last week at UIndy. Defiance quarterback Jordan Southall matched a program record last week with six TD passes, throwing for 333 yards in the Yellow Jackets’ 58-23 win over Rio Grande (Ohio).
Saturday, 1 p.m. MT
Montana Tech makes a repeat appearance on NAIA Network after last week’s 48-0 win over OUAZ (Ariz.) that saw Jarrett Wilson account for four touchdowns, three on the ground, with 143 punt return yards from Levi Torgerson. Carroll also got its season going last week, knocking off Montana State-Northern 30-14.
Saturday, 6 p.m. ET
Pikeville and Campbellsville both look to get to 2-0, and it’s a second-straight week of opponents in the polls for Campbellsville. The Tigers topped 16th-ranked Saint Francis (Ind.) 45-14 last week, scoring jumping out to a 24-point lead at the half. Pikeville opened on the road, at Arkansas Baptist, putting up 31 in the first half and coasting to a 51-7 win. Kicker Isaac Smith posted 15 points on a perfect night with three field goals and six PATs.
Eight featured games appear on the Urban Edge Network, all Saturday, including five with teams in the NAIA Coaches’ Top 25. The highlight of the day could be No. 24 Northwestern (Iowa) at No. 7 Morningside (Iowa), one week removed from the Mustangs’ one-score win over No. 3 Benedictine (Kan.). Another GPAC game, Hastings (Neb.) at No. 8 Dordt (Iowa) will have something to say, though, after Hastings nearly upset the Defenders last season in Nebraska.
The week also features a program with the second-most wins in NAIA history, Missouri Valley with 647 wins, at a surging program ranked No. 13, William Penn (Iowa), 1-0 after last week’s win on UEN over Graceland (Iowa). The week also sees Missouri Baptist travel to St Ambrose (Iowa) in the Heart, the conference’s Clash of the Week, along with two games in the KCAC – Bethany (Kan.) at Kansas Wesleyan, in one of the NAIA’s oldest rivalries, and Bethel (Kan.) at No. 21 McPherson.
The Sooner Athletic Conference closes things out with two games, including OUAZ (Ariz.) at Wayland Baptist (Texas), and the home opener for Louisiana Christian, after a win over FCS Northwestern State, hosting Langston (Okla.) in one of the final NAIA games of the night. Visit UrbanEdgeNetwork.net, or click on the schedule below to watch on UEN.
Missouri Valley at William Penn (Iowa), Noon CT
Hastings (Neb.) at Dordt (Iowa), 6 p.m. CT
Missouri Baptist at Saint Ambrose (Iowa), 7 p.m. CT
Northwestern (Iowa) at Morningside (Iowa), 7 p.m. CT
Bethany (Kan.) at Kansas Wesleyan, 7 p.m. CT
Bethel (Kan.) at McPherson (Kan.), 7 p.m. CT
OUAZ (Ariz.) at Wayland Baptist (Texas), 7 p.m. CT
Langston (Okla.) at Louisiana Christian, 7:30 p.m. CT
Concordia (Neb.) signal caller Gideon Stark jumped out to a commanding lead on the passing touchdowns list for 2026, finding five different CUNE receivers for eight total TDs in a 70-point win.
Four of Stark’s TDs went to Jonny Puelz, who finished with 105 of Stark’s 388 yards on the day. CUNE ended the game with 681 yards of total offense, best in the NAIA in Week 0 – 392 passing and 289 rushing.
Defiance (Ohio) QB Jordan Southall wasn’t far behind Stark, tossing a program record six touchdown passes in a 58-23 win over Rio Grande (Ohio).
In Louisiana Christian’s well-documented win over NCAA Division I Northwestern State, Datlan Cunningham opened the second half with a 37-yard touchdown run, sparking the Wildcats’ come-from-behind effort in the historic 42-37 win over the Demons. Cunningham ended the game with 117 yards and a pair of scores.
The Week 0 rushing list saw one 200+ effort, and that was Indiana Wesleyan’s Ryan Whitwell, who ended with 226 yards on 36 carries, scoring twice and adding a TD reception in the Wildcats’ 38-31 win in a top-10 matchup with Dordt (Iowa). The effort put Whitwell third on the NAIA’s all-purpose yards in 2026.
Kam Bohnsack has the lead in NAIA all-purpose yards for St. Ambrose (Iowa), claiming 273 yards on 11 receptions, scoring three times. He added another 57 yards on kick returns as the only NAIA player with 300 or more all-purpose yards, entering Week 1 with 330.
Montana Tech’s Levi Torgerson, last season’s all-purpose yards leader in the NAIA, is third on the list going into Week 1, and he’s the only player in the top 10 to register yardage in all four categories – rushing, receiving, punt returns, and kick returns. He caught seven passes for 57 yards receiving, but left his mark on the win over OUAZ (Ariz.) with 143 yards on seven punt returns. He also had 13 kick-return yards and three yards rushing.
In one of the week’s top games, Morningside (Iowa) QB Colin Gordon was 11 yards shy of 300, throwing for four scores in a 35-28 win over No. 3 Benedictine (Kan.).
KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Trezell Patterson of The College of Idaho was the spark for the Yotes over the weekend on special teams averaging 63.5 yards per return as he adds PrestoSports-NAIA Football Special Teams Player of the Week honors to his name. The senior put on a show over the weekend with 127 return […]
KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Jaylan Davis of McPherson (Kan.) did it all for the Bulldogs during their win over Ottawa (Kan.) to remain undefeated as he earns PrestoSports-NAIA Football Defensive Player of the Week honors. The sophomore put down nine solo tackles, two assisted, a tackle for a loss, and a 19-yard interception return. in […]
KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Max Gainey of Lindsey Wilson (Ky.) went for a program record 230 yards on nine receptions as he also catches this weeks PrestoSports-NAIA Football Offensive Player of the Week honors. Gainey averaged 25.6 yards per reception during the game last weekend while adding 53 all-purpose yards on a pair of kick […]
KANSAS CITY, Mo. – The STADIONIC NAIA Football Coaches’ Top 25 Poll is here and the top eight teams and bottom ten teams are on the move once again. This week features a tie at No. 1, No. 7 through No. 15 holding steady, and a new team climbs in at No. 25 this week. College […]