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

Carleton College

6-4 2025 final

Carleton is the program where the Goat Trophy matters more than the scoreboard—a school that plays for the love of the game and a rivalry 105 years old.

The Knights polish their armor.

Record

6-4

win% .600

Conference

4th of 10

Minnesota · 6-3

Index Rating

55.4

D3 #79 of 240

Playoff Path

Win the league

Dead PeriodOffseasonPatientPost-loss — reckoning

The Long Wait·Offseason

Carleton is the program where the Goat Trophy matters more than the scoreboard—a school that plays for the love of the game and a rivalry 105 years old.

Title DroughtSince 2025

Carleton went 6-4 (6-3 MIAC) in 2025 and won the Goat Trophy (35-28 over St. Olaf), validating the season in Northfield tradition. QB Jack Curtis, who set program records (824 completions, 8,599 yards, 83 TDs) while undergoing Hod…

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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

Carleton College sits 4th in the Minnesota Conference and 79th of 240 in the CFB Zeitgeist — outside the at-large picture — the path runs through the conference title.

Minnesota · 2025

	Team	Conf	Overall	Index
1	Bethel (MN)	9-0	12-1	73.6
2	Saint John's (MN)	8-1	10-2	66.0
3	Concordia Moorhead	6-3	7-3	58.6
4	Carleton	6-3	6-4	55.4
5	Gustavus Adolphus	5-4	5-5	52.3
6	Augsburg	4-5	4-6	49.3
7	St. Olaf	3-6	4-6	46.4
8	St. Scholastica	2-7	3-7	43.5

55.4 CFB Zeitgeist#79 of 240 D353.4 strength of schedule

Win the Minnesota 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.

Source: CFB Zeitgeist — conference records + NPI-style rating from 2025 games · the field is 40 teams, NPI-selected

THE 2025 SEASON · 6-4

Signature win 63-14 over Hamline University; toughest day 7-49 against Bethel (MN).

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The Knights polish their armor.

What moved it — offseason · last 30 days

June Dead-period quiet — official-visit + heritage window —

Camp Fall camp ~40 days out

"Go Carleton" — Carleton College fanbase · recurring line

3 mentions · awaiting signal

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.

Floor 4-8

Base 6-6

Ceiling 9-3

floor4-8Rebuild year. Below .500.

base6-6Mid-table finish.

ceiling9-3Conference 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 · Carleton College · 2018-present

Elite

80% home win rate vs 42% on the road. margin runs +24.2 better at home.

Home16-4Away8-11

Act III

Last Season Reviewed

2025 season · tap to expand

Recent Form · last 10 games

Cooling

Two of five. Schedule has caught up.

Streak L2Last 5 · 2-3Last 10 · 6-4

Schedule Strength · Carleton College · 2025

Balanced

Average opponent win rate 51% across 10 finalized games. Balanced slate across the conference slate.

Opp Win %0.518

Moment of the Year · Carleton College · 2025

Won 51-7 vs Macalester

Week 4 of 2025. A statement margin. Recruiting boards re-rendered overnight.

Decisive Margin

Postseason History

Recent postseason (2023): 1-0

Most recent: 2023 — win 25-41 (away). Last 5 postseason: 1-0.

2023

From the Archive — Carleton College

2024: Won 24-14 at Hamline University

In 2024, the program won 24-14 at Hamline University — a tight road result that left the 10-point margin on the books.

Knights claim the day.