THREE TOP 10 LOSSES CAUSE SHAKEUP IN DIVISION II COACHES’ POLL
--Release courtesy of the AFCA (Vince Thompson)--
Click here for full release and poll
WACO, TEX.-- Losses by Carson-Newman, California (Pa.) and Chadron State cause a reshuffling of teams in the American Football Coaches Association Division II Coaches' Poll. Valdosta State received 23 first-place votes and still holds down the top spot after being idle this past week.
No. 2 Grand Valley State started its season on a good note, beating Indianapolis 49-21. North Alabama stays in the third spot after surviving its Top 5 match-up with then-No. 4 Carson-Newman, defeating the Eagles 20-13. Abilene Christian was idle, but jumped two spots to No. 4 thanks to losses by Carson-Newman and California (Pa.). No. 5 Nebraska-Omaha opened its 2008 season with a 49-21 victory over in-state rival Nebraska-Kearney.
No. 6 West Texas A&M moved up three positions after the Buffs had a dominating, 49-18, victory over Central Oklahoma. Pittsburg State tied for the biggest move in the poll, jumping seven spots to No. 7 after the Gorillas upset then-No. 8 Chadron State, 38-31. Central Washington handed Mesa State a 48-14 loss and moves up to No. 8 this week. No. 9 Northwest Missouri State rebounded from its opening week loss to beat Southwest Baptist, 63-28, while No. 10 Shepherd blanked Bowie State, 14-0.
Bloomsburg tied Pittsburg State for the biggest move in the poll, moving from No. 18 to No. 11 after upsetting then-No. 5 California (Pa.), 24-17. Carson-Newman fell eight spots to No. 12 after its loss to No. 3 North Alabama, while Indiana (Pa.) moved up three to No. 13 after a 41-0 shutout of new conference member C.W. Post. No. 14 Tuskegee opened its season with a 34-0 win over Miles. Minnesota-Duluth dominated Missouri Western State, 47-18, and moves up to No. 15 this week.
California (Pa.) dropped 11 places to No. 16 after its loss to Bloomsburg, while Delta State fell seven spots to No. 17 after its 52-27 loss to FCS member McNeese State. No. 18 Washburn dispatched its FCS opponent, Missouri State, 35-27, and rose four places in the poll. Tarleton State stays at No. 19 this week after beating Northeastern State, 38-10. Chadron State dropped 12 spots to No. 20 after its loss to Pittsburg State.
Albany State blanked Lane, 28-0, and moves up four to No. 21, while Newberry fell one spot to No. 22 after being idle last week. West Chester handed Lock Haven a 37-6 loss and remains No. 23 in the Coaches' Poll. Central Missouri is 2-0 on the season after beating Arkansas Tech, 49-13, and jumps into the poll at No. 24. Saginaw Valley State is another newcomer this week at No. 25 after the Cardinals beat Wayne State (Mich.) 23-17.
Conference Breakdown: MIAA-5 (Nebraska-Omaha, Pittsburg St., Northwest Missouri St., Washburn, Central Missouri); Pennsylvania State Athletic-4 (Bloomsburg, Indiana (Pa.), California (Pa.), West Chester); 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., Saginaw Valley 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
There is only one game featuring teams ranked in the AFCA
Division II Coaches' Poll that highlight this weekend's action. In
that match-up, No. 2 Grand Valley State travels to conference
rival, No. 25 Saginaw Valley State. The Lakers have won the last
four meetings, with Saginaw Valley State's last win coming in 2004,
31-20.
Poll
Points
With its 49-21 win over Indianapolis, Grand Valley State
has won a league record 31 straight GLIAC games dating back to the
2004 season ... Nebraska-Omaha quarterback Zach Miller was just
5-for-8 passing, but finished with 175 yards and one touchdown
through the air to go with 120 yards and two touchdowns on the
ground to help lead the Mavericks to a 49-21 win over
Nebraska-Kearney ... With its 49-18 win over Central Oklahoma, West
Texas A&M ran its consecutive road winning streak to 19 games,
dating back to the final game of the 2004 season ... Central
Washington quarterback Mike Reilly broke the 10,000-yard mark for
total offense in his career, becoming just the second player in
Wildcat history to do so. He passed for 293 yards and ran for 64
more in Central Washington's 48-14 win over Mesa State. With at
least nine games remaining in 2008, he has 10,334 yards and needs
2,573 yards to catch current Detroit Lions quarterback Jon Kitna
for the all-time record ... With its 34-0 shutout of Miles,
Tuskegee extended its win-streak to 17 straight games, having lost
their last game on Oct. 28, 2006.
