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

Wooster

5-5 2025 final

The Fighting Scots of Wooster, an Ohio liberal-arts college playing since 1889 and a charter North Coast Conference member — the team that beat Ohio State 64-0 in the Buckeyes' first-ever home game.

The Fighting Scots hold the line.

Record
5-5
win% .500
Conference
5th of 9
North Coast · 4-3
Index Rating
49.9
D3 #123 of 240
Playoff Path
Win the league
Dead PeriodOffseasonPatientPost-loss — diagnostic
The Long Wait·Offseason

The Fighting Scots of Wooster, an Ohio liberal-arts college playing since 1889 and a charter North Coast Conference member — the team that beat Ohio State 64-0 in the Buckeyes' first-ever home game.

Standard GapA selective, history-rich small college whose football identity runs on…

Win the North Coast Conference and remind the league that one of its founding members can still play — turn 130-plus years of heritage into a modern title.

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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

Wooster sits 5th in the North Coast Conference and 123rd of 240 in the CFB Zeitgeist — outside the at-large picture — the path runs through the conference title.

North Coast · 2025
TeamConfOverallIndex
1Depauw7-010-268.8
2Hiram College1-03-739.7
3Wabash College6-19-264.1
4Denison University5-26-456.5
5Wooster4-35-549.9
6Wittenberg3-44-648.4
7Ohio Wesleyan2-53-743.7
8Kenyon1-61-936.3
49.9 CFB Zeitgeist#123 of 240 D350.4 strength of schedule

Win the North Coast 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 · 5-5
L 35-59 at Wilmington (OH) · Wk 2-24WilmingtW 28-14 vs Saint Vincent · Wk 3+14Saint ViL 7-34 vs Wabash College · Wk 4-27Wabash CW 38-0 at Oberlin · Wk 5+38OberlinW 14-12 vs Wittenberg · Wk 6+2WittenbeL 7-28 vs Denison University · Wk 7-21Denison W 24-20 at Ohio Wesleyan · Wk 8+4Ohio WesL 7-66 at John Carroll University · Wk 9-59John CarW 49-6 vs Kenyon · Wk 10+43KenyonL 0-59 at Depauw · Wk 11-59Depauw

Signature win 49-6 over Kenyon; toughest day 7-66 against John Carroll University.

The Pulse on Wooster

Quiet · dead period heritage · signal ramps back in camp
The Fighting Scots hold the line.

What moved it — offseason · last 30 days

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

Aspiration Ladder

Brief Part III §33.4 · Wooster

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.

Wooster · Next-Season Outcome Band

Floor / Base / Ceiling

floor3-9Rebuild year. Below .500.
base5-7Mid-table finish.
ceiling8-4Conference 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 · Wooster · 2018-present

Strong

50% home win rate vs 40% on the road. margin runs +9.5 better at home.

Home10-10Away8-12
Act III

Last Season Reviewed

2025 season · tap to expand

Recent Form · last 10 games

Cooling

Two of five. Schedule has caught up.

Streak L1Last 5 · 2-3Last 10 · 5-5

Schedule Strength · Wooster · 2025

Soft

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

Opp Win %0.441

Moment of the Year · Wooster · 2025

Won 28-14 vs Saint Vincent

Week 3 of 2025. The single game that defined the season's arc.

Decisive Margin

From the Archive — Wooster

2024: Lost 22-34 vs Ohio Wesleyan

In 2024, the program lost 22-34 vs Ohio Wesleyan — a one to file away home result, 12 points either way.

Go Fighting Scots.