There are still 13 teams with unblemished records in the American Football Coaches Association Division II Coaches’ Poll, with near unanimous No. 1 Valdosta State sitting at 4-0 after a 33-14 win over West Alabama. The Blazers received 21 first-place votes and have been ranked No. 1 for all six polls this year.
No. 2 Grand Valley State built a 45-0 halftime lead against Michigan Tech and rolled to a 52-6 win, as did No. 3 North Alabama, who was ahead 49-0 at halftime against Harding and shutout the Bison 52-0. No. 4 Abilene Christian is 4-0 after dominating Eastern New Mexico, 56-11. West Texas A&M moves up a spot to No. 5 and is 5-0 after outlasting Texas A&M-Kingsville, 55-35.
Pittsburg State is also 5-0 and moved up one position to No. 6 after the Gorillas handed then-No. 19 Central Missouri a 49-28 loss. Northwest Missouri State traveled to then-No. 5 Nebraska-Omaha and left town with a 42-0 shutout, jumping the Bearcats in the poll from No. 8 to No. 7. No. 8 Bloomsburg is 5-0 after beating C.W. Post, 13-6. California (Pa.) upset then-No. 12 Indiana (Pa.), 21-19, and moved up five spots to No. 9, as did Minnesota-Duluth, who jumped from No. 15 to No. 10 this week after a 44-7 win over Mary.
No. 11 Tuskegee is 4-0 on the year after the Golden Tigers outlasted Fort Valley State, 20-16. Central Washington fell three spots to No. 12 after its loss to FCS member Montana, 38-35, while Tarleton State moved up three to No. 13 after a 24-21 win over Southwestern Oklahoma State. Delta State and Chadron State also jumped three spots in the poll this week. No. 14 Delta State beat Ouachita Baptist, 35-17, while No. 15 Chadron State handed Nebraska-Kearney a 17-14 loss.
Nebraska-Omaha fell 11 spots to No. 16 after its loss to Northwest Missouri State, while Midwestern State jumped up four to No. 17 after a 17-3 victory over Angelo State. No. 18 Wingate is 5-0 on the year after beating Tusculum, 37-33. Indiana (Pa.) dropped seven places to No. 19 after its loss to California (Pa.). Catawba rounds out the Top 20 after the Indians moved its record to 3-1 after a 24-7 win over Mars Hill.
Edinboro blanked Lock Haven, 31-0, and jumped three spots to No. 21, while Central Missouri dropped three spots to No. 22 after its loss to Pittsburg State. Carson-Newman lost an overtime decision to Newberry, 27-21, and fell from No. 11 to No. 23. No. 24 West Virginia State was idle this past week, but moves up a spot. Ferris State jumps back into the Coaches’ Poll at No. 25 after a week layoff. The Bulldogs are 4-1 after a 31-24 victory over Northern Michigan.
Conference Breakdown: Lone Star-4 (Abilene Christian, West Texas A&M, Tarleton St., Midwestern St.); MIAA-4 (Nebraska-Omaha, Pittsburg St., Northwest Missouri St., Central Missouri); Pennsylvania State Athletic-4 (Bloomsburg, California (Pa.), Indiana (Pa.), Edinboro); Gulf South-3 (Valdosta St., North Alabama, Delta St.); South Atlantic-3 (Wingate, Catawba, Carson-Newman); Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic-2 (Grand Valley St., Ferris St.); Great Northwest Athletic-1 (Central Washington); Northern Sun Intercollegiate-1 (Minnesota-Duluth); Rocky Mountain Athletic-1 (Chadron St.); Southern Intercollegiate Athletic-1 (Tuskegee); West Virginia Intercollegiate Athletic-1 (West Virginia St.).
Head-to-Head
Three games featuring teams ranked in the AFCA Division II Coaches’ Poll highlight this weekend’s action. The first Top 25 match-up has No. 1 Valdosta State hosting No. 14 Delta State. Both teams are undefeated in Gulf South Conference play with identical 2-0 records. These two squads have split their last 10 meetings, 5-5.
The second match-up has No. 17 Midwestern State traveling to No. 5 West Texas A&M. The Buffs have won the last three meetings, and own the series lead over Midwestern State, 12-9.
In the third Top 25 match-up, No. 6 Pittsburg State and No. 7 Northwest Missouri State will meet in The Fall Classic at Arrowhead VII with first-place on the line in the MIAA standings. Northwest has won four of the six games in Kansas City, including a 37-34 overtime victory this past season.
Poll Points
With its 52-0 blanking of Harding this past Saturday and a shutout over West Georgia last week, North Alabama has back-to-back shutouts for the first time since 1995 ... Northwest Missouri State’s 42-0 shutout of Nebraska-Omaha became the largest margin of victory for the Bearcats against a ranked team in program history. With its 49-0 blanking of Truman State last week, Northwest has posted back-to-back shutouts for the first time since 1984 ... West Texas A&M quarterback Keith Null recorded his first 500-plus passing yards outing of his career, completing 35-of-49 for 545 yards and four TDs in the Buffs’ 55-35 win over Texas A&M-Kingsville.
American Football Coaches Association Division II Coaches’ Poll
September 30, 2008
| Rank | School (1st votes) | Rec. | Pts. | Prev. | Last Week | Next Game |
|---|
| 1. | Valdosta St. (Ga.) (21) | 4-0 | 640 | 1 | D. West Alabama, 33-14 | Oct. 2 vs. No. 14 Delta St. (Miss.) |
| 2. | Grand Valley St. (Mich.) (2) | 4-0 | 619 | 2 | D. Michigan Tech, 52-6 | Oct. 4 at Tiffin (Ohio) |
| 3. | North Alabama (1) | 5-0 | 601 | 3 | D. Harding (Ark.), 52-0 | Oct. 4 at Arkansas Tech |
| 4. | Abilene Christian (Texas) (2) | 4-0 | 578 | 4 | D. Eastern New Mexico, 56-11 | Oct. 4 vs. East Central (Okla.) |
| 5. | West Texas A&M | 5-0 | 535 | 6 | D. Texas A&M-Kingsville, 55-35 | Oct. 4 vs. No. 17 Midwestern St. (Texas) |
| 6. | Pittsburg St. (Kan.) | 5-0 | 512 | 7 | D. No. 19 Central Missouri, 49-28 | Oct. 4 vs. No. 7 Northwest Missouri St. |
| 7. | Northwest Missouri St. | 4-1 | 498 | 8 | D. No. 5 Nebraska-Omaha, 42-0 | Oct. 4 vs. No. 6 Pittsburg St. (Kan.) |
| 8. | Bloomsburg (Pa.) | 5-0 | 462 | 10 | D. C.W. Post (N.Y.), 13-6 | Oct. 4 at Millersville (Pa.) |
| 9. | California (Pa.) | 4-1 | 381 | 14 | D. No. 12 Indiana (Pa.), 21-19 | Oct. 4 at Clarion (Pa.) |
| 10. | Minnesota-Duluth | 5-0 | 374 | 15 | D. Mary (N.D.), 44-7 | Oct. 4 at Minnesota St.-Moorhead |
| 11. | Tuskegee (Ala.) | 4-0 | 365 | 13 | D. Fort Valley St. (Ga.), 20-16 | Oct. 4 vs. Alabama A&M |
| 12. | Central Washington | 4-1 | 345 | 9 | Lost to Montana, 38-35 | Oct. 4 vs. Dixie St. (Utah) |
| 13. | Tarleton St. (Texas) | 5-0 | 331 | 16 | D. Southwestern Oklahoma St., 24-21 | Oct. 4 vs. Texas A&M-Kingsville |
| 14. | Delta St. (Miss.) | 3-1 | 297 | 17 | D. Ouachita Baptist (Ark.), 35-17 | Oct. 2 at No. 1 Valdosta St. (Ga.) |
| 15. | Chadron St. (Neb.) | 4-1 | 269 | 18 | D. Nebraska-Kearney, 17-14 | Oct. 4 at New Mexico Highlands |
| 16. | Nebraska-Omaha | 3-1 | 258 | 5 | Lost to No. 8 Northwest Missouri St., 42-0 | Oct. 4 at Truman St. (Mo.) |
| 17. | Midwestern St. (Texas) | 4-0 | 211 | 21 | D. Angelo St. (Texas), 17-3 | Oct. 4 at No. 5 West Texas A&M |
| 18. | Wingate (N.C.) | 5-0 | 190 | 22 | D. Tusculum (Tenn.), 37-33 | Oct. 4 at Brevard (N.C.) |
| 19. | Indiana (Pa.) | 3-1 | 185 | 12 | Lost to No. 14 California (Pa.), 21-19 | Oct. 4 vs. Slippery Rock (Pa.) |
| 20. | Catawba (N.C.) | 3-1 | 131 | 23 | D. Mars Hill (N.C.), 24-7 | Oct. 4 at Newberry (S.C.) |
| 21. | Edinboro (Pa.) | 4-1 | 127 | 24 | D. Lock Haven (Pa.), 31-0 | Oct. 4 vs. Gannon (Pa.) |
| 22. | Central Missouri | 4-1 | 88 | 19 | Lost to No. 7 Pittsburg St. (Kan.), 49-28 | Oct. 4 vs. Emporia St. (Kan.) |
| 23. | Carson-Newman (Tenn.) | 2-2 | 82 | 11 | Lost to Newberry (S.C.), 27-21 OT | Oct. 4 vs. Mars Hill (N.C.) |
| 24. | West Virginia St. | 4-0 | 81 | 25 | Idle | Oct. 4 vs. Concord (W.Va.) |
| 25. | Ferris St. (Mich.) | 4-1 | 65 | NR | D. Northern Michigan, 31-24 | Oct. 4 at Michigan Tech |
Dropped Out: Albany St. (Ga.), (20).
Others Receiving Votes: Newberry (S.C.), 31; Albany St. (Ga.), 30; Seton Hill (Pa.), 30; West Chester (Pa.), 28; Colorado School of Mines, 26; Ashland (Ohio), 15; Virginia Union, 15; Western Oregon, 13; Minnesota St.-Mankato, 12; Wayne St. (Mich.), 11; Slippery Rock (Pa.), 8; Fayetteville St. (N.C.), 2; American International (Mass.), 1; Arkansas Tech, 1; Benedict (S.C.), 1; East Stroudsburg (Pa.), 1.
Courtesy: AFCA
