Grand Valley State Claims Top Spot in AFCA Division II Coaches' Poll
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WACO, TEX.-- Valdosta State's run at No. 1 in the American Football Coaches Association Division II Coaches' Poll ended in a double overtime loss to conference rival Delta State, 27-24. With the loss, the Blazers dropped to No. 10 in this week's poll while Delta State rose seven spots to No. 7.
Grand Valley State moves into the top spot with 19 first place votes. The Lakers improved to 5-0 on the season after blanking Tiffin, 49-0. North Alabama is ranked No. 2 and received four first place votes. The Lions beat Arkansas Tech, 45-24 and moved its record to 6-0. No. 3 Abilene Christian received the final three first place votes after demolishing East Central, 66-7. Fellow Lone Star Conference member West Texas A&M is the new No. 4 team after the Buffs handed then-No. 17 Midwestern State a 42-14 loss. Northwest Missouri State beat then-No. 6 Pittsburg State, 35-10, in the seventh Fall Classic at Arrowhead, and moves up two places to No. 5.
Bloomsburg is 6-0 on the season after dominating Millersville, 49-24, and moved up two places to No. 6, while conference rival California (Pa.) jumped one spot to No. 8 after beating Clarion, 52-20. No. 9 Minnesota-Duluth is also sitting at 6-0 after 52-10 thrashing of Minnesota State-Moorhead.
Central Washington and Tuskegee flip-flopped places in the poll this week. The Wildcats are 11th after a 49-14 victory over Dixie State while Tuskegee sits 12th despite a 34-24 win over FCS member Alabama A&M. No. 13 Chadron State move up two places after a 56-14 win over New Mexico Highlands while Pittsburg State dropped eight spots to No. 14 after its loss to Northwest Missouri State. No. 15 Wingate beat Brevard, 44-13, and is 6-0 on the season.
No. 16 Indiana (Pa.) had to use two overtime periods before finally beating Slippery Rock, 23-16. Central Missouri jumped up five spots to No. 17 after its 42-14 win over Emporia State. Edinboro also moved up in the poll, from No. 21 to No. 18, after a dominating 40-3 win over Gannon. Tarleton State fell six places to No. 19 after its loss to Texas A&M-Kingsville, 27-16, while West Virginia State jumped up four spots to No. 20 after a 41-7 victory over Concord.
No. 21 Carson-Newman survived a shootout with Mars Hill, 61-49, and moved up two places while No. 22 Midwestern State dropped five spots after its loss to West Texas A&M. Albany State jumps back into the poll at No. 23 after a 35-14 win over Stillman. Seton Hill makes its first appearance in the AFCA Division II Coaches' Poll at No. 24 for the first time in school history. The Griffins are 6-0 after a 35-32 win over West Virginia Wesleyan. No. 25 Newberry also jumps back into the poll after posting a 33-14 victory over then-No. 20 Catawba.
Conference Breakdown: Lone Star-4 (Abilene Christian, West Texas A&M, Tarleton St., Midwestern St.); Pennsylvania State Athletic-4 (Bloomsburg, California (Pa.), Indiana (Pa.), Edinboro); Gulf South-3 (North Alabama, Delta St., Valdosta St.); MIAA-3 (Northwest Missouri St., Pittsburg St., Central Missouri); South Atlantic-3 (Wingate, Carson-Newman, Newberry); Southern Intercollegiate Athletic-2 (Tuskegee, Albany St.); West Virginia Intercollegiate Athletic-2 (West Virginia St., Seton Hill); Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic-1 (Grand Valley St.); Great Northwest Athletic-1 (Central Washington); Northern Sun Intercollegiate-1 (Minnesota-Duluth); Rocky Mountain Athletic-1 (Chadron St.).
Head-to-Head
Four games featuring teams ranked in the AFCA Division II
Coaches' Poll highlight this weekend's action. The first Top 25
match-up has No. 5 Northwest Missouri State facing its third
straight Top 25 opponent when the Bearcats travel to No. 17 Central
Missouri. Northwest Missouri State has won the last four meetings.
The second match-up has No. 16
Indiana (Pa.) traveling to No. 18 Edinboro in a key PSAC West
Division game. The Crimson Hawks won last year's meeting with
Edinboro, 27-7.
In the third Top 25 match-up, Lone Star Conference South division
rivals face off when No. 22 Midwestern State hosts No. 19 Tarleton
State. The Texans hold the series advantage over Midwestern State,
12-4, and have won the last five meetings.
The final Top 25 match-up is for at least a tie for the top spot in the West Virginia Intercollegiate Athletic Conference as No. 20 West Virginia State travels to No. 24 Seton Hill. West Virginia State won the only meeting between the two schools last year, 21-13.
Poll Points
Central Washington quarterback Mike Reilly threw for four
touchdowns in the Wildcats' 49-14 win over Dixie State. His final
scoring pass was the 99th of his career, tying current NFL
signal-caller Jon Kitna for the school's career record ...
Carson-Newman and Mars Hill combined for 1,076 total yards of
offense, and the Eagles had six touchdown plays that were 43 yards
or longer in their 61-49 victory.
