CHADRON, Neb. – After a 2025 season that ranked as the most successful in the recent history of Chadron State football, the Eagles (8-4, 8-1 RMAC in 2025) return to the gridiron this Thursday when they travel to Northern State at 5 p.m. MT (6 p.m. CT/local) and play the Wolves (7-4, 6-4 NSIC in 2025) in Aberdeen, South Dakota. 

Numbers to Know

• 21: Chadron State's preseason national ranking according to the D2Football.com media poll
• 6-0: Preseason All-RMAC quarterback Aidan Thompson's career record as a starter at Chadron State College
• 410: Miles between Elliott Field at Don Beebe Stadium in Chadron and Dacotah Bank Stadium in Aberdeen, S.D.
• 1987: The year of the most recent football meeting between Chadron State and Northern State
• 4: Chadron State's ranking in the Preseason RMAC Coaches Poll, the number of CSC Preseason All-RMAC selections and the number of consecutive years with a Chadron State defensive player as part of the national Elite 100 watchlist

How to Go
For tickets to Thursday's game, Eagle fans can purchase General Admission tickets, which will give access to the seating on the visiting side, which is all GA seating.

Purchase tickets by clicking this link.

In order to enter the stadium, fans can walk through the Barnett Center or down the sidewalk of State Street, or enter through the main entrance.

For parking, fans should plan to park in the Orange Lot. The parking lot entrance is off State Street and the price to park is $10.

How to Tune In
The game will be livestreamed behind a paywall on MIDCO Sports Plus, which is the pay-per-view provider associated with the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference. Thursday's game is the only CSC 2026 football game not covered under an RMAC Network subscription.

PURCHASE: Single-Game Pass

Single-game passes are available for $10 from the Midco Sports Plus site.

A radio stream of the game will take place on Double Q Country 97.5/105.9 FM and doubleqcountry.com, with Dave Collins on the call. Finally, Eagle fans can follow along via live stats for free or keep track on social media (@cscfootball on X/Twitter and Instagram) for updates.

Tailgate Til' Tipoff
Chadron State will host an official Eagle tailgate outside Dacotah Bank Stadium for fans attending the game in Aberdeen.

The tailgate will take place in the Orange Lot parking area at 4 p.m. until shortly before kickoff. Please look for the Eagle Flag. Food and limited beverages will be available, but fans are encouraged to bring their own to add to the atmosphere!

Looking Back
Chadron State is looking to sustain momentum from a breakout season that saw the Eagles go 8-3 in the regular season and 8-1 in RMAC play, staying in contention for the conference championship until the final week of the regular season and ultimately finishing second in the league.

Last year's team also earned a selection bid to the NCAA Division II Football Championships, where the Eagles lost 21-17 in the first round to Pittsburg State, a top-five team in the country at the time and again a top-five national preseason pick this year. The 2025 playoff game marked CSC's first time competing in the football postseason since 2012.

In total, the Eagles played four games against ranked opponents and went 2-2, beating No. 23 Colorado School of Mines and No. 11/9 Western Colorado while falling in double overtime to No. 5/7 CSU Pueblo and then losing in the playoffs to No. 6/4 Pittsburg State. 

All four of those contests were one-score games, as CSC went 4-2 overall in games decided by seven or less. The two ranked wins were Chadron State's first two over ranked opposition since the 2018 season.

Chadron State is projected to return 13 starters from that 8-4 team and boasted four selections to the RMAC's Preseason All-Conference Team. However, new stars will need to emerge, as all four CSC players that won some form of All-American honors last season (RMAC Defensive Player of the Year Logan O'Brien, RMAC Special Teams Player of the Year Brodie Eisenbraun, wide receiver Tommy Thomas and placekicker Wilson Yee) have graduated and do not return.

RMAC Network Update
For the second straight year, the RMAC Network is under a pay-per-view model, with single-game, monthly and annual subscription options to watch all of Chadron State's home games and away conference games.
 
IMPORTANT NOTE: Because this Thursday's game is hosted by a non-RMAC institution (Northern State), it is not included with any purchased RMAC Network subscriptions. After this week, all 10 of CSC football's remaining regular season games will be included with RMAC Network annual subscription purchases.

Fans can purchase monthly subscriptions to the RMAC Network for $25 or annual passes for $130. Those prices are both unchanged from the 2025-26 season.

PURCHASE: RMAC NETWORK

Wednesday, August 26 is the final day of the RMAC's "Peak Pricing Sale" for the RMAC Network. Fans can enter the promo code "RMACELEVATE26" at checkout to receive $10 off an "All-Access Pass" annual subscription.

Long Tenure
Head Coach Jay Long returns for his 15^th season at the helm of CSC Football in 2026. In his previous 14 seasons at Chadron State, Long boasts a 70-68 record. He is 85-83 overall in his 17-season head coaching career.

Notably, the Eagles' 8-4 record in 2025 was a substantial turnaround from a 3-8 record in 2024. Chadron State's eight wins in 2025 is tied officially for the most in a single season during Long's tenure, alongside eight-win seasons in 2013 and 2014.

For his efforts last season, Long was voted by his head coaching peers as both the RMAC Coach of the Year and the AFCA Region Five Coach of the Year, each for the first time in his career. Coach Long was one of only five AFCA award recipients in Division II and one of only 25 recipients among all levels of college football.

The Staff
Chadron State's head coach (Jay Long) and all three coordinators – Micah Smith (offense), Clint Sasse (defense) and Mitch Collicott (special teams) are all Chadron State football alumni. 

Smith, entering his seventh season as OC, presided over an offense in 2025 that averaged 34.6 points per game last season against RMAC opponents, scoring 27 points or more in every conference game. Prior to CSC, Smith spent five seasons on staff at Division I FCS Eastern Illinois. His father, Brad Smith, is a former CSC head football coach who is in the Chadron State Hall of Fame and was named the head coach of the RMAC's All-Centennial Football Team.

Sasse, entering his sixth season as defensive coordinator but his eighth season on staff, has had one of the best statistical defenses in the RMAC in recent years. Last season, the CSC defense allowed a league-low 308 yards per game and 20.7 points per game (second-fewest in the RMAC). The defense also led the league in fewest passing yards allowed (182.8), fewest first downs allowed (210) and fumbles recovered (10). Sasse returned to his alma mater after beginning his coaching career at Montana Tech.

Mitch Collicott is making a return to the Chadron State coaching staff after serving as a coaching assistant from 2018-2022. After three seasons at Wisconsin-LaCrosse (DIII) and one season as the special teams coordinator at standout Division II program Minnesota State Mankato, Collicott is back in Chadron as the program's new special teams coordinator and defensive line coach. Collicott has made the playoffs with his various schools in four consecutive seasons.

Quarterbacks coach and recruiting coordinator Tommy Wilson also returns for a fourth season at CSC, while coaching assistant for defensive backs Deunte Moody returns for a second season. 

In year one on the CSC staff are coaching assistants Cole Cartwright (running backs), Reed Henkel (linebackers), Abe Hestdalen (defensive line), Seth Moore (offensive line) and Fred Pillivant (wide receivers). Henkel makes a move to the coaching staff after playing for the Eagles from 2022-25.

In the Polls
Chadron State enters Week 0 with a preseason national ranking for the first time since the 2013 season. The Eagles earned a No. 21 national ranking from the D2Football.com media poll, then had the second-most votes out of teams in the "receiving votes" category of the AFCA Coaches Poll, just missing the Top 25. 

STORY: Eagle Football Ranked No. 21 in D2Football.com Poll
STORY: Eagles Just Outside AFCA Preseason Top 25

In the RMAC Preseason Coaches Poll, released July 22, Chadron State was picked to finish fourth out of 10 RMAC programs. The Eagles received one first-place vote, one second-place vote and three third-place votes in the poll. 
Last year, the Eagles were picked seventh in the preseason and went on to finish second in the conference standings.

Preseason Plaudits
The RMAC released a Preseason All-RMAC team alongside their preseason polls back on July 22, based on the leading vote-getters from last year's all-conference voting that return to the league. 

Chadron State had four players honored, tied for the third-highest total in the RMAC – quarterback Aidan Thompson, offensive lineman Dominic Castanon, linebacker Cooper Walton and defensive end/edge rusher William Stemler.

Stemler also made an appearance on the D2Football.com Elite 100 watchlist as a "squad" member of the defense, one of six RMAC honorees across the national 100-player listing.

Stemler's selection marks the fourth consecutive year that an Eagle defensive player has made the Elite 100 preseason list, joining alumni Dax Yeradi (2025) and Hunter O'Connor (2023, 2024).

From the Start
Quarterback Aidan Thompson is the RMAC's Preseason All-Conference quarterback, but is slated to be the opening-game starter for the Eagles for the first time ahead of his second season at Chadron State. 

The Oklahoma Baptist transfer and Texas native stepped in as an injury replacement and went 6-0 as the Eagle starter last year before missing CSC's final three games with an injury of his own. In 2025, Thompson completed 62.3 percent of his passes for 1,260 yards, tossing 18 touchdowns against four interceptions. 

Thompson was named the RMAC Player of the Week after his first Chadron State start, an upset victory over then-No. 23 Colorado School of Mines, when Thompson threw three touchdown passes and rushed for 120 yards and two scores, including a highlight-reel 73-yard scamper to the end zone. 

Fully Loaded
While all-time CSC receptions and touchdowns leader Tommy Thomas has graduated, Chadron State figures to have a well-rounded compliment of offensive weapons around Thompson. 

In the running game, senior Daytuawn Pearson returns after averaging 5.5 yards per carry on 98 attempts last season. Senior Jake Marschall, CSC's leading rusher in 2024 who was limited to 44 carries in 2025, is at full strength and should be part of the rushing rotation, alongside Fresno State transfer Devon Rivers and Chase Nelson, who will also likely handle the return game for the Eagles. 

At wideout, Garet Schlabs returns after ranking second behind Thomas on the team with 25 catches, 311 yards and three receiving touchdowns last year. Deep threat Devon Sundgren, who had a team-high 22.8 yards per reception last season, is back while redshirt senior Koye Gilbert will handle the tight end position.

Illinois native Parker Schwarting (five catches in 2025) and Coloradoan Richard Okuno (four catches in 2025) are returners in line for bigger roles who could make a similar jump as Schlabs, who had three catches in three years before his 2025 emergence. Former University of Memphis Tiger and juco transfer Darias James could also supplement the receiver group.

Chadron State will have two returning starters on the offensive line who started every game last season – Preseason All-RMAC center Dominic Castanon and Corben Holler. Redshirt sophomores DeAndre Berry, Wyatt Anderson and Brady Dahlberg – who all started one game apiece last year – have the inside track to fill out the starting five, while transfers Tycen Breckner (Peru State), Misael Silva (Hartnell College) and Dedrick Payne (College of the Sequoias) will also be competing for playing time.

D-D-D-Defense
Chadron State's calling card has been its defense over the past few seasons, and despite losing the reigning RMAC Defensive Player of the Year, the Eagles have a veteran group expecting big things. 

William Stemler will anchor the pass rush after recording six sacks, 11.5 tackles for loss and three forced fumbles a season ago. Stemler earned a Second-Team All-RMAC selection last year alongside fellow returner Ryder True (53 tackles, 4.5 sacks) while a now-healthy Griffin Clubb (11 tackles, forced fumble in three games), Tucker McGinnis, Andrew Calderon and more will rotate through the defensive line. 

A deep linebacker group features returners Cooper Walton (Second Team All-RMAC, 83 tackles, 5.5 sacks), Reese Jacobs (50 tackles, three fumble recoveries), Liam Blaser (27 tackles) and Jarred Marquez (15 tackles, pass breakup). 

The secondary will feature the most turnover in terms of new starters, but still have familiar faces. Senior AJ Scurlock should hold down one cornerback spot after recording five pass breakups and an interception last year while fourth-year players Jaydin Jackson and Aiden Kuester should have expanded roles after emerging late in the year.

Scouting the Wolves
Northern State will host the Eagles after putting together a 7-4 record a season ago with a 6-4 mark in the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference (NSIC). The Wolves went 1-1 against ranked teams, enjoying a signature win at home when they knocked off then-No. 10 Minnesota Duluth 34-31 before losing 27-14 to then-No. 5 Augustana, part of an end to the season where the Wolves lost two of their final three games. 

Northern State has been picked to finish sixth in a deep 14-team conference, according to the NSIC Preseason Coaches Poll. The Wolves were picked to finish second in the NSIC's North Division, behind Minnesota Duluth. 

The Wolves boast both the NSIC North Division Preseason Offensive and Defensive Player of the Year. Linebacker Jake Adams, a D2Football.com Elite 100 First Team Defense watchlist member, is a two-time All-American and the lynchpin of the NSU defense. Adams broke a Northern State single-season record and ranked second in the nation with 147 tackles in 2024, then tallied 93 tackles in just seven games in 2025 while breaking NSU's career tackles record. 

The Preseason Offensive Player of the Year is running back Hank Kraft. Like Adams, Kraft had a big 2024 with 620 rushing yards and seven touchdowns on 5.4 yards per carry. He was limited to just four games in 2025, but racked up 195 rushing yards, 116 receiving yards and three total touchdowns in those contests.

Northern State will have a new quarterback under center for 2026, with fifth-year Presbyterian College transfer Ty Englehart a possible starter. The Wolves also have multiple Division I transfers at receiver in Jessie Campbell (McNeese State) and Jacoby Boykins (Abilene Christian, 14 catches for 198 yards for NSU last year).

The game against Chadron State will be NSU's only nonconference regular season game of 2026. Northern State has won 5 of 6 all-time meetings against Chadron State, with two apiece taking place in the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s with the most recent in 1987.

The Wolves are coached by Mike Schmidt, in his seventh season (including the cancelled 2020 season). Schmidt has a 31-24 record at Northern State entering Thursday's game and has won between five and seven games in every season in charge of the Wolves.