The Midwest Conference released its 2018 Football Coaches Poll on Wednesday and Lake Forest College was ranked second in the South Division.
Voting is done by the MWC head football coaches. Each coach votes for the other five schools in the same division, as well as the six programs in the other half of the league. Points are assigned in reverse order of voting (six points for first, five for second, etc.). Coaches may not vote for their own teams.
The Foresters posted their second straight 8-2 season in 2017 and came out on top in four of five MWC South Division games to place second in that half of the league. Thirteen players on the team were named All-MWC South, including the conference's Offensive Skill MVP. Returning first team selections on offense include quarterback Jagan Cleary, wide receiver Chris Edomwande, and tackle Andrew Johnson, while linebacker Johnny Laponte and nose guard J.W. Windsor are back on defense. Seven starters return on offense and four on defense in Jim Catanzaro's 10th season as head coach.
Lake Forest will open the 2018 season with four non-conference games, the first against visiting Wisconsin Lutheran College on September 1. The Foresters will open MWC South play on October 6 at Knox College and will celebrate Homecoming a week later against Cornell College. After facing each member of the division, the team will be on the road for MWC Championship Week on November 10 against the team that finishes in the same place in the North standings.
2018 MWC Preseason Coaches Poll
| PLACE | SOUTH TEAM (First Place Votes) | POINTS |
| 1 | Monmouth College (11) | 66 |
| 2 | Lake Forest College | 53 |
| 3 | Illinois College (1) | 48 |
| 4 | Knox College | 32 |
| 5 | Cornell College | 31 |
| 6 | Grinnell College | 16 |
| PLACE | NORTH TEAM (First Place Votes) | POINTS |
| 1 | St. Norbert College (9) | 64 |
| 2 | University of Chicago (2) | 56 |
| 3 | Macalester College (1) | 44 |
| 4 | Ripon College | 40 |
| 5 | Lawrence University | 24 |
| 6 | Beloit College | 18 |