The Mount Union Purple Raiders became the first team to go wire-to-wire as the No. 1 team in the AFCA Division III Coaches' Poll in 2001. The Purple Raiders captured their sixth NCAA Division III national championship with a 30-27 win over Bridgewater (Va.) in the Amos Alonzo Stagg Bowl in Salem, Va. on Saturday.
The Purple Raiders received all 47 first place votes and 1,175 points in the final poll of 2001. Mount Union set three Stagg Bowl records and three playoff records during the 2001 tournament. Bridgewater (Va.) finishes No. 2 with a 12-1 record after dropping the title game to Mount Union. Rowan, which fell to Bridgewater in the semifinals, comes in at No. 3 with an 11-2 record. Widener, another Bridgewater victim, is No. 4. Last year’s runner-up, St. John’s (Minn.), fell to Mount Union, 35-14, in the semifinals and is the No. 5 team in the final poll.
Wittenberg comes in at No. 6 after advancing to the quarterfinals in 2001. Washington & Jefferson ended the season with an 11-1 record and is No. 7. Trinity rolled to another Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference title before falling in the second round of the playoffs and is No. 8. No. 9 Ithaca recorded 11 wins against only two losses and advanced to the quarterfinals. No. 10 Hardin-Simmons captured yet another American Southwest Conference crown this season.
No. 11 Pacific Lutheran had another great road run in 2001. The Lutes won two road games before falling to St. John’s in Fargo, N.D. in the quarterfinals. Central (Iowa) won yet another Iowa Conference title and finished with a 9-2 record to earn the No. 12 ranking in the final poll. No. 13 Wisconsin-Stevens Point won the Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference title and got by one Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference school in the first round, but fell to another — St. John’s — in the second round. Augustana (Ill.) rolled to another Illinois-Wisconsin title and finishes at No. 14. No. 15 Bethel earned a second-straight playoff berth and finished 9-2.
The four-year old program at Mary Hardin-Baylor finished No. 16 after earning its first playoff berth in 2001. Lycoming did not qualify for the playoffs, but the Warriors’ 8-1 record earned the team the No. 17 spot in the poll. Thomas More recorded a perfect regular season and advanced to the second round to come in at No. 18. Brockport State is No. 19 after posting a solid 9-2 record. Perennial playoff participant Western Maryland finishes at No. 20.
Montclair State finished 9-2 and ranks No. 21 in the poll. Rensselaer was 8-1 and is at No. 22. St. Norbert won another Midwest Conference title and is at No. 23. Ohio Wesleyan posted a 9-1 mark to finish No. 24. No. 25 Western Connecticut defeated Curry in the ECAC playoffs and is No. 25 in the final poll.
Conference Breakdown: American Southwest Conference (Hardin-Simmons, Mary Hardin-Baylor), Middle Atlantic (Lycoming, Widener), Minnesota (Bethel, St. John’s), New Jersey (Rowan, Montclair State), North Coast (Wittenberg, Ohio Wesleyan), Centennial (Western Maryland), Freedom (Western Connecticut), Illinois-Wisconsin (Augustana), Iowa (Central), Midwest (St. Norbert), Northwest (Pacific Lutheran), Ohio (Mount Union), Old Dominion (Bridgewater), Presidents (Washington & Jefferson), Southern Collegiate (Trinity (Texas)), Upstate (Rensselaer), Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (Wisconsin-Stevens Point). Thomas More, Brockport State and Ithaca are the independents in this week’s poll.
Poll Points: Mount Union’s Chuck Moore rushed for a Stagg Bowl record 273 yards in the Purple Raiders’ 30-27 win over Bridgewater (Va.) on Saturday ... Bridgewater posted a 12-1 record and advanced to the Stagg Bowl just three years after an 0-10 season in 1998 ... Rowan quarterback Tony Racioppi threw for 257 yards and three touchdowns in the Profs’ 29-24 semifinal loss to Bridgewater ... Widener has a 24-3 record over the last two seasons ... St. John’s (Minn.) has won or shared eight of the last 11 MIAC titles and has won a record 25 overall ... Wittenberg’s 41-0 win over Thomas More was the Tigers’ third-ever shut out in the program's playoff history ... Washington & Jefferson tied school records for most wins in a season (11) and most consecutive wins (11) ... Trinity’s .857 winning percentage is the fourth-best in Division III since 1994 ... Ithaca ranks No. 2 in wins (24) and games played (34) in NCAA Division III playoff history ... Hardin-Simmons receiver Kirk Rogers set American Southwest Conference career records for receiving yards (4,117), touchdown receptions (50) and yards per catch (20.7) ... Pacific Lutheran’s Trevor Roberts ended his career having played in every one of PLU’s offensive snaps in the NCAA playoffs (753 plays) ... Central (Iowa) made its 16th NCAA playoff appearance in 2001 ... Wisconsin-Stevens Point recorded its first-ever NCAA playoff win with a first-round victory over Bethel (Minn.) ... Augustana (Ill.) has now won a CCIW record 19 league titles ... Bethel fullback Mike Johnson set school single-season records for rushing yards (1,462) and rushing touchdowns (20).
American Football Coaches Association Division III Coaches’ Poll
December 18, 2001
| Rank | School (1st votes) | Rec. | Pts. | Prev. | Postseason Result | Head Coach | | 1. | Mount Union (Ohio) (47) | 14-0 | 1,175 | 1 | D. Bridgewater (Va.), 30-27, in Stagg Bowl | Larry Kehres | | 2. | Bridgewater (Va.) | 12-1 | 1,125 | 4 | Lost to Mount Union (Ohio), 30-27, in Stagg Bowl | Mike Clark | | 3. | Rowan (N.J.) | 11-2 | 1,054 | 5 | Lost to Bridgewater (Va.), 29-24, in semifinals | K.C. Keeler | | 4. | Widener (Pa.) | 12-1 | 992 | 2 | Lost to Bridgewater (Va.), 57-32, in quarterfinals | Bill Zwaan | | 5. | St. John’s (Minn.) | 11-3 | 962 | 18 | Lost to Mount Union (Ohio), 35-14, in semifinals | John Gagliardi | | 6. | Wittenberg (Ohio) | 11-2 | 934 | 7 | Lost to Mount Union (Ohio), 49-21, in quarterfinals | Joe Fincham | | 7. | Washington & Jefferson (Pa.) | 11-1 | 832 | 3 | Lost to Widener (Pa.), 46-30, in second round | John Banaszak | | 8. | Trinity (Texas) | 9-2 | 819 | 8 | Lost to Bridgewater (Va.), 41-37, in second round | Steve Mohr | | 9. | Ithaca (N.Y.) | 11-2 | 650 | 19 | Lost to Rowan (N.J.), 48-0, in quarterfinals | Mike Welch | | 10. | Hardin-Simmons (Texas) | 8-2 | 646 | 6 | Lost to Wittenberg (Ohio), 38-35 (OT), in first round | Jimmie Keeling | | 11. | Pacific Lutheran (Wash.) | 8-3 | 640 | 24 | Lost to St. John’s (Minn.), 31-6, in quarterfinals | Frosty Westering | | 12. | Central (Iowa) | 9-2 | 577 | 9 | Lost to Pacific Lutheran (Wash.), 27-21 (OT), in first round | Rich Kacmarynski | | 13. | Wis.-Stevens Point | 8-3 | 525 | 22 | Lost to St. John’s (Minn.), 9-7, in second round | John Miech | | 14. | Augustana (Ill.) | 10-2 | 475 | 16 | Lost to Mount Union (Ohio), 32-7, in first round | Jim Barnes | | 15. | Bethel (Minn.) | 9-2 | 423 | 13 | Lost to Wis.-Stevens Point, 37-27, in first round | Steve Johnson | | 16. | Mary Hardin-Baylor (Texas) | 8-2 | 413 | 11 | Lost to Trinity (Texas), 30-6, in first round | Pete Fredenburg | | 17. | Lycoming (Pa.) | 8-1 | 393 | 10 | DNQ playoffs | Frank Girardi | | 18. | Thomas More (Ky.) | 11-1 | 370 | 12 | Lost to Wittenberg, 41-0, in second round | Dean Paul | | 19. | Brockport St. (N.Y.) | 9-2 | 335 | 14 | Lost to Rowan (N.J.), 40-17, in first round | Rocco Salomone | | 20. | Western Maryland | 8-3 | 319 | 20 | Lost to Wash. & Jeff. (Pa.), 24-21, in first round | Tim Keating | | 21. | Montclair St. (N.J.) | 9-2 | 309 | 15 | Lost to Ithaca (N.Y.), 35-23, in first round | Rick Giancola | | 22. | Rensselaer (N.Y.) | 8-1 | 272 | 17 | Lost to Ithaca, 27-10, in second round | Joe King | | 23. | St. Norbert (Wis.) | 8-2 | 235 | 25 | Lost to St. John’s (Minn.), 27-20, in first round | Dean Purtill | | 24. | Ohio Wesleyan | 9-1 | 165 | 21 | DNQ playoffs | Mike Hollway | | 25. | Western Connecticut | 8-2 | 151 | — | Lost to Rowan, 43-14, in second round | Bob Surace |
Dropped Out (last week’s ranking): Wis.-Eau Claire (23).
Others Receiving Votes: Wis.-Eau Claire, 119; Whitworth (Wash.), 75; Ohio Northern, 45; Centre (Ky.), 42; MacMurray (Ill.), 31; Westfield St. (Mass.), 25; Worcester St. (Mass.), 24; Williams (Mass.), 23; Millikin (Ill.), 15; Wartburg (Iowa), 13; Union (N.Y.), 12; Aurora (Ill.), 9; Hope (Mich.), 9; Wabash (Ind.), 7; Defiance (Ohio), 6; Menlo (Calif.), 4; Washington (Mo.), 4; Linfield (Ore.), 4; Albion (Mich.), 3; Illinois Wesleyan, 3; Wis.-Stout, 2; Ripon (Wis.), 1; Anderson (Ind.), 1.
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