PRESS RELEASE
The Northern State football team is receiving votes in the initial American Football Coaches Association poll, while standout Hank Kraft received a national honor.
D2Football Release: https://www.d2football.com/d2football.com-players-of-the-week17888892820596/
Following back-to-back NSIC Offensive Player of the Week awards and two wins for the Wolves, Northern State running back Hank Kraft is the D2Football.com National Offensive Player of the Week as released by the organization.
For the second week in a row, Northern State’s Hank Kraft led the NSIC in rushing. He carried the ball 21 times and amassed 247 yards while also scoring three total touchdowns. Kraft kicked off the scoring with a 92-yard scoring run in the first quarter. He added a 53-yard scoring rush in the fourth quarter. In between, he also caught a 3-yard pass for a touchdown. It was one of six pass receptions on the day. Kraft has rushed for 482 yards and six touchdowns through only two games. He currently ranks first in the nation in all-purpose yards per game (280.50), total rushing yards (482), rushing touchdowns (6), and rushing yards per game (241.0), as well as third in scoring (21.0/gm) and ninth in total points scored (42).
In the first regular season poll of the 2026 season released by the American Football Coaches Association, the Northern State Wolves are receiving votes. Northern last received votes in the week 8 and week 9 polls of the 2025 season. The Wolves are joined by NSIC counterparts No. 4 Minnesota State, No. 15 Minnesota Duluth, No. 22 Augustana, and (RV) MSU Moorhead.
WEEK 1 – AFCA TOP-25 POLL
| Rank | School (1st votes) | Rec. | Pts. | Prev. |
| 1 | Ferris St. (31) | 2-0 | 775 | 1 |
| 2 | Harding | 1-0 | 744 | 2 |
| 3 | Kutztown | 1-0 | 707 | 3 |
| 4 | Minnesota St. | 2-0 | 666 | 4 |
| 5 | CSU Pueblo | 2-0 | 647 | 5 |
| 6 | Grand Valley St. | 2-0 | 626 | 7 |
| 7 | Northwest Missouri St. | 1-0 | 579 | 8 |
| 8 | Western Colorado | 2-0 | 536 | 11 |
| 9 | Central Washington | 0-1 | 480 | 6 |
| 10 | Findlay | 1-0 | 477 | 15 |
| 11 | Newberry | 1-0 | 463 | 13 |
| 12 | Western Oregon | 2-0 | 421 | 17 |
| 13 | Slippery Rock | 1-0 | 361 | 18 |
| 14 | Indiana (Pa.) | 1-0 | 329 | 22 |
| 15 | Minnesota-Duluth | 1-1 | 316 | 19 |
| 16 | Valdosta St. | 2-0 | 284 | 23 |
| 17 | UIndy | 1-1 | 247 | 9 |
| 18 | Northeastern St. | 2-0 | 225 | 24 |
| 19 | Ashland | 0-1 | 170 | 12 |
| 20 | Michigan Tech | 2-0 | 127 | NR |
| 21 | Benedict | 2-0 | 115 | NR |
| 22 | Augustana (S.D.) | 1-1 | 112 | 16 |
| 23 | Frostburg St. | 0-1 | 71 | 14 |
| 24 | Emporia St. | 2-0 | 60 | NR |
| 25 | Pittsburg St. | 0-2 | 57 | 10 |
Dropped Out: Ouachita Baptist (20), Lenoir-Rhyne (21), Fort Hays St. (25)
Others Receiving Votes: West Alabama, 55; Central Oklahoma, 52; Fort Hays St., 41; Carson-Newman, 38; UT Permian Basin, 36; Northwood, 35; California (Pa.), 30; Virginia St., 24; Davenport, 23; Lenoir-Rhyne, 20; East Stroudsburg, 18; Shepherd, 18; North Greenville, 17; Henderson St., 14; Ouachita Baptist, 9; Concord, 8; Virginia Union, 7; East Central, 6; Black Hills St., 5; Fayetteville St., 4; MSU Moorhead, 4; Wingate, 4; Northern St., 3; Walsh, 3; Saginaw Valley St., 2; Arkansas Tech, 1; Assumption, 1; Lincoln (Mo.), 1; Wayne St. (Neb.), 1.
