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

Franklin & Marshall

9-2 2025 final D3 TOP 25 #22

Franklin & Marshall just made its first NCAA Division III playoff appearance in program history in 2025 — a breakthrough that rewrites what a 15-conference-championship school thought it could be.

The Diplomats keep the faith.

Record

9-2

win% .818

Conference

1st of 7

Centennial · 6-0

Index Rating

67.4

TOP 25 #22 · D3 #15 of 240

Playoff Path

In the field

Dead PeriodOffseasonPatientPost-loss — reckoning

The Long Wait·Offseason

Franklin & Marshall just made its first NCAA Division III playoff appearance in program history in 2025 — a breakthrough that rewrites what a 15-conference-championship school thought it could be.

Title DroughtSince 2025

Franklin & Marshall made its first NCAA Division III playoff appearance in 2025 under newly elevated head coach Michael Phelan, winning the Centennial Conference championship with a dramatic 33–30 OT upset of #3-ranked Johns Hopki…

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

Franklin & Marshall sits 1st in the Centennial Conference and 15th of 240 in the CFB Zeitgeist — in the projected field with a seedable rating.

Centennial · 2025

	Team	Conf	Overall	Index
1	Franklin & Marshall	6-0	9-2	67.4
2	Johns Hopkins University	5-1	12-2	75.4
3	Muhlenberg	4-2	9-3	64.3
4	Dickinson (PA)	3-3	5-6	51.3
5	Ursinus	2-4	7-4	55.1
6	Gettysburg	1-5	1-9	38.5
7	McDaniel College	0-6	1-9	36.8

67.4 CFB Zeitgeist#15 of 240 D354.4 strength of schedule4 quality wins

Win the Centennial 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 · 9-2

Signature win 42-7 over Catholic; toughest day 7-27 against Westminster (PA).

—

The Diplomats keep the faith.

What moved it — offseason · last 30 days

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

Camp Fall camp ~40 days out

"Go Franklin & Marshall" — Franklin & Marshall fanbase · recurring line

0 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 7-5

Base 9-3

Ceiling 12-0

floor7-5Competitive but likely outside bracket contention.

base9-3Conference title contender. Bracket bid realistic.

ceiling12-0Deep playoff run. Program-defining year.

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 · Franklin & Marshall · 2018-present

Above-Average

71% home win rate vs 65% on the road. margin runs +1.7 better at home.

Home15-6Away13-7

Act III

Last Season Reviewed

2025 season · tap to expand

Recent Form · last 10 games

Warming

Four of five. The board favors this trend.

Streak L1Last 5 · 4-1Last 10 · 8-2

Schedule Strength · Franklin & Marshall · 2025

Balanced

Average opponent win rate 53% across 11 finalized games. Balanced slate across the conference slate.

Opp Win %0.532

Moment of the Year · Franklin & Marshall · 2025

Postseason · Lost 24-28 vs Eastern University

Week 14 of 2025. The single game that defined the season's arc.

Postseason

Postseason History

Recent postseason (2025): 0-1

Most recent: 2025 — loss 24-28 (home). Last 5 postseason: 0-1.

2025

From the Archive — Franklin & Marshall

2025: Won 23-20 at Dickinson (PA)

In 2025, the program won 23-20 at Dickinson (PA) — a tight road result that left the 3-point margin on the books.

Go Diplomats.