ALLIANCE, Ohio—The 2026 Mount Union football team has been ranked second in the Lindy's Sports Magazine national preseason poll.

The article said, "The Purple Raiders played in two of the last four title games. Junior quarterback Mikey Maloney (Concord Township, OH/Painesville Riverside) projects as one of the top quarterbacks in the nation and could be in for a big fall."

Maloney will be rejoined by fellow All-Ohio Athletic Conference (OAC) returnees senior offensive linemen Fred Fevrier (Lehigh Acres, FL/Lehigh Senior) and Mitch Coffee (Salem, OH/West Branch) for the 2026 campaign.

Mount Union opens its 129th season on Saturday, September 5, at the Thunder of Wheaton, who was picked No. 8 in Lindy's poll, in Wheaton, Illinois, about 30 miles west of Chicago. Kickoff is set for 1 p.m. EST. 

North Central was selected first. Bethel was third, followed by Wartburg in fourth. Rounding out the top 10 were John Carroll, Johns Hopkins, UW-Platteville, Wheaton, St. John's, and UW-La Crosse.