The Northwestern College Raiders Football team have been one of the top NAIA programs in the country for decades. Head Coach Matt McCarty is in his 10th season as the Red Raiders’ head coach entering the 2025 season with a 70-13 record. The Raiders won the NAIA National Championship in 2022 and finished second nationally in 2020 and 2023. McCarty was the Raiders defensive coordinator for 11 years and also served as assistant head coach from 2012 to 2015. Coach McCarty is a Raider through and through and has helped maintain and build one of the best NAIA programs in the country.
The standards in Orange City are so high that last year’s 9-3 record that ended in the NAIA quarterfinals was likely considered a below-average season.
Quarterback Colby Duncan is back for the Red Raiders, who look for their first national championship since 2022, The Raiders are bringing back six starters on both sides of the ball. Quarterback Colby Duncan split time last season with Hayden Groos, returns to give the Raiders valuable experience at the position. Top receiver Austyn Gerard returns 42 receptions, 872 yards, and eight receiving touchdowns from a season ago.
Northwestern is certainly what we would call a Power 5 NAIA program with 125 players on the roster, including 72 former Iowa High School players.
Northwestern College has it’s top 2 rivals right down the road – Dordt picked #3 (11 miles between campuses) in the preseason Great Plains Athletic Conference (GPAC) and Morningside College (44 miles between schools) is picked #1 preseason. Northwestern is ranked #2 preseason and Number #7 nationally. Morningside is #3 and Dordt is #19 which is pretty amazing to have three top 20 football teams all within 45 miles of each other.
When we look at the schedule – Northwestern has all ten games scheduled in the GPAC with big games against Dordt #19, Morningside #3, and to close the season against Concordia #21. Getting both Dordt and Morningside at home this year is an advantage.
So, our SGI team sets the floor at seven wins with an upside of ten wins in the regular season. We think it is highly unlikely that the Raiders will not make the NAIA playoffs for the ninth year in a row.
The Raiders will look to advance far in the playoffs and likely have a legitimate shot at the national title again this year. The Raiders are a likely contender to have another great season in Orange City, and if they stay healthy and get on a roll, they might be ready to make a trip to Fort Worth, Texas for the NAIA title game for the 4th time in the last 6 years.
It is going to be fun to follow the Raiders in the always rugged GPAC Conference this year. Four ranked teams in one NAIA conference is impressive and shows that if you can compete in the GPAC you can compete nationally.
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