Courtesy: AFCA http://www.afca.com/ Muhlenberg is the new No. 2 in the Division III Coaches' Top 25 Poll.

Four upset losses, including No. 2 and No. 3 going down to defeat, and two ranked teams falling to ranked opponents have given this week’s AFCA Division III Coaches’ Poll a different look from a week ago.

Mount Union still holds down the No. 1 spot after recording a 55-0 win over Wilmington. The Purple Raiders picked up 39 of 40 first place votes. Muhlenberg vaults two spots to No. 2, its highest ranking ever in the AFCA Top 25, after a 17-6 win over Franklin & Marshall. Wabash is up to No. 3 after its 45-24 win over Wooster. North Central is up two spots to No. 4 after downing then-No. 7 Wheaton, 44-21. Washington & Jefferson climbs to No. 5 following a 34-7 win over Westminster (Pa.).

Cortland State moves up three spots to No. 6 after beating William Paterson, 48-0. No. 7 Millsaps was idle last week. Trinity (Texas) is up three spots to No. 8 after a 27-13 win over Sewanee. Mary Hardin-Baylor drops from No. 3 to No. 9 after falling to NAIA Southern Oregon, 40-28. Wisconsin-Whitewater drops from No. 2 to No. 10 following a 17-16 loss to Wisconsin-Stevens Point. The Warhawks received the remaining No. 1 vote this week.

Case Western is up one spot to No. 11 after a 50-13 win over Hiram. Willamette jumps three spots to No. 15 after downing then-No. 25 Linfield, 52-28. Hardin-Simmons remains at No. 13 after a 55-10 win over Sul Ross State. Wesley holds at No. 14 after a 42-13 win over NAIA Webber International. Otterbein is up three to No. 15 following a 38-9 win over Capital.

Wheaton tumbles to No. 16 after its loss to North Central in the Little Brass Bell game. Salisbury checks in at No. 17 after a 63-0 win over Becker. Occidental is up one to No. 18 following its 40-27 win over LaVerne. Wisconsin-Stevens Point vaults into this week’s rankings at No. 19 after its upset of Wisconsin-Whitewater. Monmouth holds steady at No. 20 after raising its record to 8-0 with a convincing 56-2 win over Lake Forest.

Rensselaer is up one spot to No. 21 following a 44-8 win over St. Lawrence. Ithaca is up one spot to No. 22 after racing past Utica, 42-7, on Saturday. No. 23 Wisconsin-Eau Claire rebounded from its upset loss to Wisconsin-River Falls a week ago with a 20-10 win over Wisconsin-Platteville on Saturday. Montclair State moves into the Top 25 this week after a 15-0 win over the College of New Jersey. Redlands moved into the Top 25 for the second time this season with a 48-0 blanking of Claremont-Mudd-Scripps.

Conference Breakdown: Wisconsin (Wisconsin-Whitewater, Wisconsin-Eau Claire, Wisconsin-Stevens Point), America Southwest (Mary Hardin-Baylor, Hardin-Simmons), Atlantic Central (Wesley, Salisbury), Illinois-Wisconsin (North Central, Wheaton), New Jersey (Cortland St., Montclair St.), Ohio (Mount Union, Otterbein), Southern California (Occidental, Redlands), Southern Collegiate (Trinity {Texas}, Millsaps), Centennial (Muhlenberg), Empire 8 (Ithaca), Liberty (Rensselaer), Midwest (Monmouth {Ill.}), North Coast (Wabash), Northwest (Willamette), Presidents (Washington & Jefferson), UAA (Case Western).

Top 2 Breakthrough
Muhlenberg’s No. 2 ranking marks the first time in 46 polls dating back to Sept. 14, 2004 that a school other than Mount Union, Wisconsin-Whitewater, Mary Hardin-Baylor, Linfield, St. John’s or Rowan has occupied one of the top two spots in the AFCA Top 25. Only 13 schools have been ranked No. 1 or 2 since the poll’s inception in 1999.

Head-to-Head
No. 7 Millsaps travels to No. 8 Trinity (Texas) in  a battle of the top  two teams in the SCAC. Trinity won last year’s meeting, 28-24, on its now-famous multiple-lateral “Mississippi Miracle” that resulted in a 60-yard touchdown scored by receiver Riley Curry after time expired.

No. 10 Wisconsin-Whitewater will be looking to rebound from its first WIAC loss since 2004 and its first loss overall in 19 games when it hosts No. 23 Wisconsin-Eau Claire. No. 14 Wesley visits No. 17 Salisbury in a battle for the top spot in the Atlantic Central Football Conference.
Wesley won last year’s meeting 20-13.

Poll Points
Wisconsin-Stevens Point and Wisconsin-Oshkosh will meet for the 106th time this weekend ... Jeff Bliss ran for a career-best 219 yards on 40 carries in Montclair State’s 15-0 win over the College of New Jersey ... Redlands held Claremont-Mudd-Scripps to just 71 yards in total offense in the Bulldogs’ 48-0 win.

Rank	School (1st votes)	Rec.	Pts.	Prev.	Last Week	Next Game
1.	Mount Union (Ohio) (39)	7-0	999	1	D. Wilmington (Ohio), 55-0	Nov. 1. vs. John Carroll (Ohio)
2.	Muhlenberg (Pa.)	7-0	896	4	D. Franklin & Marshall (Pa.), 17-6	Nov. 1 at Dickinson (Pa.)
3.	Wabash (Ind.)	7-0	883	5	D. Wooster (Ohio), 45-24	Nov. 1 vs. Oberlin (Ohio)
4.	North Central (Ill.)	7-0	881	6	D. No. 7 Wheaton (Ill.), 44-21	Nov. 1 vs. Illinois Wesleyan
5.	Washington & Jefferson (Pa.)	7-0	792	8	D. Westminster (Pa.), 34-7	Nov. 1 at Thomas More (Ky.)
6.	Cortland St. (N.Y.)	7-0	746	9	D. William Paterson (N.J.), 38-0	Nov. 1 at College of New Jersey
7.	Millsaps (Miss.)	7-0	696	10	Idle	Nov. 1 at No. 8 Trinity (Texas)
8.	Trinity (Texas)	7-0	649	11	D. Sewanee (Tenn.), 27-13	Nov. 1 vs. No. 7 Millsaps (Miss.)
9.	Mary Hardin-Baylor (Texas)	6-1	647	3	Lost to Southern Oregon, 40-28	Nov. 1 at East Texas Baptist
10.	Wis.-Whitewater (1)	6-1	634	2	Lost to Wis.-Stevens Point, 17-16	Nov. 1 vs. No. 23 Wis.-Eau Claire
11.	Case Western (Ohio)	7-0	576	12	D. Hiram (Ohio), 50-13	Nov. 1 vs. Chicago (Ill.)
12.	Willamette (Ore.)	8-0	552	15	D. No. 25 Linfield (Ore.), 52-28	Nov. 8 vs. Puget Sound (Wash.)
13.	Hardin-Simmons (Texas)	7-1	522	13	D. Sul Ross St. (Texas), 55-10	Nov. 1 at Texas Lutheran
14.	Wesley (Del.)	5-1	498	14	D. Webber International (Fla.), 42-13	Nov. 1 at No. 17 Salisbury (Md.)
15.	Otterbein (Ohio)	7-0	407	18	D. Capital (Ohio), 38-9	Nov. 1 vs. Marietta (Ohio)
16.	Wheaton (Ill.)	6-1	388	7	Lost to No. 6 North Central (Ill.), 44-21	Nov. 1 at Elmhurst (Ill.)
17.	Salisbury (Md.)	7-1	375	16	D. Becker (Maine), 63-0	Nov. 1 vs. No. 14 Wesley (Del.)
18.	Occidental (Calif.)	6-0	306	19	D. LaVerne (Calif.), 40-27	Nov. 1 at California Lutheran
19.	Wis.-Stevens Point	6-1	285	NR	D. No. 2 Wis.-Whitewater, 17-16	Nov. 1 vs. Wis.-Oshkosh
20.	Monmouth (Ill.)	8-0	261	20	D. Lake Forest (Ill.), 56-2	Nov. 1 at Illinois College
21.	Rensselaer (N.Y.)	6-0	214	22	D. St. Lawrence (N.Y.), 44-8	Nov. 1 vs. Union (N.Y.)
22.	Ithaca (N.Y.)	6-1	186	23	D. Utica (N.Y.), 42-7	Nov. 1 vs. Springfield (Mass.)
23.	Wis.-Eau Claire	5-2	134	24	D. Wis.-Platteville, 20-10	Nov. 1 at No. 10 Wis.-Whitewater
24.	Montclair St. (N.J.)	6-1	83	NR	D. College of New Jersey, 15-0	Nov. 1 at Western Connecticut
25.	Redlands (Calif.)	5-1	79	NR	D. Claremont-Mudd-Scripps (Calif.), 48-0	Nov. 1 at Pomona-Pitzer (Calif.)

Dropped Out: Hampden-Sydney (Va.) (17), Curry (Mass.) (21), Linfield (Ore.) (25).

Others Receiving Votes: Trine (Ind.), 49; Rowan (N.J.), 34; Trinity (Conn.), 34; Hampden-Sydney (Va.), 31; Concordia-Moorhead (Minn.), 24; Huntingdon (Ala.), 23; Hartwick (N.Y.), 21; Franklin (Ind.), 16; Thomas More (Ky.), 15; Christopher Newport (Va.), 14; Curry (Mass.), 11; Wartburg (Iowa), 8; Linfield (Ore.), 7; Catholic (D.C.), 7; St. John’s (Minn.), 6 Buena Vista (Iowa), 4; LaGrange (Ga.), 3; Ripon (Wis.), 2; Ferrum (Va.), 2; Northwestern (Minn.), 1; St. John Fisher (N.Y.), 1.