Top Nine Remain Unchanged In Division II Coaches’ Poll
--Release courtesy of the AFCA (Vince Thompson)--
Click here for full release and poll
TOP NINE REMAIN UNCHANGED IN DIVISION II COACHES' POLL
WACO, TEX.-- There was very little movement in the American Football Coaches Association Division II Coaches' Poll as the Top 9 teams remained in their same positions from a week ago. Valdosta State's game with Southern Arkansas was postponed due to weather concerns from Hurricane Ike, but the Blazers still hold the top spot in the poll.
No. 2 Grand Valley State received two first-place votes this week after its 36-0 blanking of then-No. 25 Saginaw Valley State. North Alabama remained in the third spot after its dominating, 45-20, win over Henderson State. No. 4 Abilene Christian beat Texas A&M-Commerce, 45-14, and received two first-place votes this week. No. 5 Nebraska-Omaha won its first MIAA game, defeating Emporia State, 41-20.
West Texas A&M dismantled NAIA member Azusa Pacific, 75-13, and remains at No. 6. Pittsburg State needed a late score to up-end Missouri Southern State, 21-14, but stays seventh in the poll. No. 8 Central Washington extended its record to 3-0 after its 31-24 win over Western Oregon. No. 9 Northwest Missouri State held off a late Missouri Western State surge to win its MIAA opener, 42-35. Bloomsburg jumps into the Top 10 this week after blanking Mercyhurst, 24-0.
Carson-Newman dominated Bentley, 59-18, and moved up one spot to No. 11, as did Indiana (Pa.), who moved one notch to No. 12 after a 63-3 thrashing of Millersville. Tuskegee beat Benedict, 37-14, and is ranked No. 13. No. 14 California (Pa.) blanked Lake Erie, 54-0, and jumped two spots in the poll. No. 15 Minnesota-Duluth is 3-0 this season after beating Southwest Minnesota State, 43-21.
Tarleton State moved up three places to No. 16 after the Texans moved to 3-0 with a 38-6 win over East Central. Delta State beat conference rival Arkansas-Monticello, 37-31, and remains at No. 17 in the poll. No. 18 Chadron State rebounded from its first loss of the season to beat Adams State, 37-26. Albany State jumped two places to No. 19 after its 41-27 victory over Kentucky State. Central Missouri moves up to No. 20 this week after the Mules edged past Truman State, 31-28.
Newberry moved up a spot to No. 21 after a dominating 41-3 win over North Greenville, while Shepherd tumbled 12 places to No. 22 after its loss to Glenville State. Edinboro jumps into the poll at No. 23 after the Fighting Scots beat C.W. Post, 31-7, and moved its record to 3-0. Ferris State is another newcomer this week, coming in at No. 24 after its 14-0 shutout of Findlay. Washburn fell seven spots to No. 25 after its loss to Fort Hays State.
Conference Breakdown: MIAA-5 (Nebraska-Omaha, Pittsburg St., Northwest Missouri St., Central Missouri, Washburn); Pennsylvania State Athletic-4 (Bloomsburg, Indiana (Pa.), California (Pa.), Edinboro); Lone Star-3 (Abilene Christian, West Texas A&M, Tarleton St.); Gulf South-3 (Valdosta St., North Alabama, Delta St.); Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic-2 (Grand Valley St., Ferris St.); South Atlantic-2 (Carson-Newman, Newberry); Southern Intercollegiate Athletic-2 (Tuskegee, Albany St.); Great Northwest Athletic-1 (Central Washington); Northern Sun Intercollegiate-1 (Minnesota-Duluth); Rocky Mountain Athletic-1 (Chadron St.); West Virginia Intercollegiate Athletic-1 (Shepherd).
Head-to-Head
Three games featuring teams ranked in the AFCA Division II
Coaches' Poll that highlight this weekend's action. In the first
match-up, No. 2 Grand Valley State faces its second straight Top 25
opponent when the Lakers host No. 24 Ferris State. Grand Valley
State has a seven-game winning streak coming into the game. Ferris
State last beat the Lakers in 1999. The second match-up is a
Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference West Division contest as No.
14 California (Pa.) travels to No. 23 Edinboro. The Vulcans lead
the all-time series against Edinboro by a 37-35-2 margin after
having won the last three meetings. The third Top 25 match-up pits
MIAA rivals together as No. 20 Central Missouri hosts No. 25
Washburn. The Mules own the series lead, 20-17-2, but Washburn got
its last win in the series in 2006 at Warrensburg, Mo., the site of
Saturday's contest.
Poll
Points
Northwest Missouri State junior runningback LaRon Council
rushed for a career-high 144 yards and four touchdowns in the
Bearcats 42-35 win over Missouri Western State ... With its 31-7
win over C.W. Post, Edinboro earned its school record third
straight road victory. The Fighting Scots are 3-0 to start the
season ... Ferris State blanked Findlay, 14-0, which was the first
shutout win in a 71-game stretch since recording a 35-0 triumph at
home over Michigan Tech in 2001. The win also gave the Bulldogs'
their first 3-0 start since the 1996 season.
