WACO, TEX.-- The Mount Union Purple Raiders have finished the regular season atop the AFCA Division III Coaches’ Poll for the fifth year in a row and will go into the playoffs seeking an eighth NCAA Division III national championship.
Mount Union received 45 of 46 first-place votes and has now been ranked No. 1 for 39-consecutive polls dating back to October 3, 2000. St. John’s (Minn.) remains at No. 2 after ending the regular season with a 50-0 win over Crown. No. 3 Linfield capped a perfect season with a 34-21 win over arch-rival Willamette. No. 4 Wheaton wrapped up the CCIW title with a 28-27 win over Augustana (Ill.). No. 5 Wartburg tuned up for postseason action with a 29-3 win over Central (Iowa).
No. 6 Springfield downed Union (N.Y.), 21-18, to complete the first 10-0 season in the program’s 111-year history. No. 7 Baldwin-Wallace finished second in the Ohio Athletic Conference and earned an NCAA playoff berth. No. 8 Bridgewater (Va.) defeated Catholic, 58-20, to wrap up another Old Dominion Conference title. No. 9 Wisconsin-La Crosse earned the Wisconsin Conference’s automatic postseason bid after a 36-23 win over Wisconsin-Whitewater. No. 10 Brockport State was idle last week but the Golden Eagles will open the NCAA playoffs this Saturday against Ithaca.
No. 11 St. Norbert has a date with new No. 20 Simpson in the first round of the playoffs this weekend. Mary Hardin-Baylor rebounded from its first loss of 2003 to close its season with a 63-6 win over McMurry. Lycoming comes in at No. 13 and will receive a first round bye in this year’s playoffs. No. 14 Bethel (Minn.) earned another postseason berth with a 9-1 record this year. No. 15 Hampden-Sydney ended its season with a 53-21 win over Randolph-Macon.
No. 16 Montclair State defeated arch-rival Rowan, 21-20 to win the New Jersey Conference and earn a playoff berth. No. 17 Johns Hopkins wrapped up its season with a 17-3 win over McDaniel. No. 18 Wisconsin-Stevens Point finished 8-2 with a 49-15 win over Wisconsin-River Falls. No. 19 Hardin-Simmons also finished 8-2. Simpson reached the playoffs after securing a 9-1 record with a season-ending 54-7 win over Upper Iowa.
Waynesburg, Trinity (Conn.), Christopher Newport, Concordia (Wis.) and East Texas Baptist round out this week’s Top 25. Waynesburg, Concordia (Wis.) and East Texas Baptist are all making their first appearances in the AFCA Division III Coaches’ Poll. All three schools also earned NCAA playoff berths this year. No. 25 ETBU is making its first playoff appearance in the program’s four year history.
Conference Breakdown: America Southwest (Hardin-Simmons, Mary Hardin-Baylor, East Texas Baptist), Centennial (Johns Hopkins), Freedom (Springfield), Illini-Badger (Concordia ), Illinois-Wisconsin (Wheaton), Iowa (Wartburg, Simpson), Middle Atlantic (Lycoming), Midwest (St. Norbert), Minnesota (St. John’s, Bethel), NESCAC (Trinity ), New Jersey (Montclair State), Northwest (Linfield), Ohio (Mount Union, Baldwin-Wallace), Old Dominion (Bridgewater, Hampden-Sydney) Presidents (Waynesburg), USA South (Christopher Newport), Wisconsin (La Crosse, Stevens Point). Brockport State is the lone independent in this week’s poll.
Head-to-Head
Several head-to-head match-ups among ranked teams dot the first round playoff schedule this weekend. No. 5 Wartburg hosts No. 14 Bethel; No. 8 Bridgewater hosts No. 21 Waynesburg; No. 9 Wisconsin-La Crosse hosts No. 24 Concordia (Wis.) and No. 11 St. Norbert hosts No. 20 Simpson.Of the four No. 1 seeds, top-ranked Mount Union and No. 2 St. John’s are guaranteed to face a ranked team in the second round. The Purple Raiders will host the winner of the La Crosse-Concordia contest. St. John’s will face either St. Norbert or Simpson.
Poll PointsEast Texas Baptist rolled up 619 yards in total offense in the Tigers’ 45-6 win over Mississippi College on Saturday ... Concordia (Wis.) begins the NCAA playoffs riding an eight game winning streak ... Freshman defensive back Andy Tenney made 19 tackles in the first two starts of his career in Waynesburg’s final two games this season ... Simpson quarterback Mike Donnenwerth set Simpson records for career passing yards, single season passing yards, touchdown passes in a career and touchdown passes in a game ... Wisconsin-La Crosse receiver Scott Burnoski set a school single-season record with 981 yards receiving this year ... Lycoming forced seven Susquehanna turnovers and rolled up 426 yards in total offense in its 38-0 win on Saturday ... Johns Hopkins held opponents to an average of 6.4 points per game this season.
American Football Coaches Association Division III Coaches’ Poll
November 18, 2003
| Rank | School (1st votes) | Rec. | Pts. | Prev. | Last Week | Next Game |
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| 1. | Mount Union (Ohio) (45) | 10-0 | 1,143 | 1 | D. Wilmington (Ohio), 58-0 | Nov. 29 vs. Opponent TBA | | 2. | St. John’s (Minn.) (1) | 10-0 | 1,097 | 2 | D. Crown (Minn.), 50-0 | Nov. 29 vs. Opponent TBA | | 3. | Linfield (Ore.) | 9-0 | 1,059 | 3 | D. Willamette (Ore.), 34-21 | Nov. 22 vs. Redlands (Calif.) | | 4. | Wheaton (Ill.) | 10-0 | 1025 | 4 | D. Augustana (Ill.), 28-27 | Nov. 22 vs. Hope (Mich.) | | 5. | Wartburg (Iowa) | 10-0 | 957 | 5 | D. Central (Iowa), 29-3 | Nov. 22 vs. No. 14 Bethel (Minn.) | | 6. | Springfield (Mass.) | 10-0 | 914 | 6 | D. Union (N.Y.), 21-18 | Nov. 29 vs. Opponent TBA | | 7. | Baldwin-Wallace (Ohio) | 9-1 | 880 | 7 | D. Otterbein (Ohio), 41-7 | Nov. 22 vs. Hanover (Ind.) | | 8. | Bridgewater (Va.) | 9-1 | 787 | 8 | D. Catholic (D.C.), 58-20 | Nov. 22 vs. No. 21 Waynesburg (Pa.) | | 9. | Wis.-La Crosse | 9-1 | 771 | 9 | D. Wis.-Whitewater, 36-23 | Nov. 22 vs. No. 24 Concordia (Wis.) | | 10. | Brockport St. (N.Y.) | 9-1 | 699 | 10 | Idle | Nov. 22 vs. Ithaca (N.Y.) | | 11. | St. Norbert (Wis.) | 10-0 | 652 | 12 | Idle | Nov. 22 vs. No. 20 Simpson | | 12. | Mary Hardin-Baylor (Texas) | 9-1 | 608 | 14 | D. McMurry (Texas), 63-6 | Season Complete | | 13. | Lycoming (Pa.) | 8-1 | 599 | 15 | D. Susquehanna (Pa.), 38-0 | Nov. 29 vs. Opponent TBA | | 14. | Bethel (Minn.) | 9-1 | 558 | 16 | Idle | Nov. 22 at No. 5 Wartburg (Iowa) | | 15. | Hampden-Sydney (Va.) | 9-1 | 444 | 18 | D. Randolph-Macon (Va.), 53-21 | Season Complete | | 16. | Montclair St. (N.J.) | 8-1 | 398 | 21 | D. Rowan (N.J.), 21-20 | Nov. 22 vs. Allegheny (Pa.) | | 17. | Johns Hopkins (Md.) | 9-1 | 372 | 19 | D. McDaniel (Md.), 17-3 | Nov. 22 vs. King’s (Pa.) | | 18. | Wis.-Stevens Point | 8-2 | 298 | 23 | D. Wis.-River Falls, 49-15 | Season Complete | | 19. | Hardin-Simmons (Texas) | 8-2 | 277 | 22 | D. Austin (Texas), 61-14 | Season Complete | | 20. | Simpson (Iowa) | 9-1 | 247 | NR | D. Upper Iowa, 54-7 | Nov. 22 at No. 11 St. Norbert (Wis.) | | 21. | Waynesburg (Pa.) | 9-1 | 238 | NR | D. Westminster (Pa.), 34-20 | Nov. 22 at No. 8 Bridgewater (Va.) | | 22. | Trinity (Conn.) | 8-0 | 180 | 24 | Idle | Season Complete | | 23. | Christopher Newport (Va.) | 7-2 | 144 | 11 | Lost to Ferrum (Va.), 19-17 | Nov. 22 vs. Muhlenberg (Pa.) | | 24. | Concordia (Wis.) | 9-1 | 129 | NR | Idle | Nov. 22 at No. 9 Wis.-La Crosse | | 25. | East Texas Baptist | 8-2 | 118 | NR | D. Mississippi College, 45-6 | Nov. 22 vs. Trinity (Texas) |
Dropped Out (last week’s ranking): Ithaca (N.Y.) (13), Washington & Jefferson (Pa.) (17), Rensselaer (N.Y.) (20), Rowan (N.J.) (25).
Others Receiving Votes: Ithaca (N.Y.), 73; Curry (Mass.), 63; Trinity (Texas), 41; Washington & Jefferson (Pa.), 49; Rensselaer (N.Y.), 36; Capital (Ohio), 33; Muhlenberg (Pa.), 16; Wis.-Whitewater, 16; Shenandoah (Va.), 8; Wittenberg (Ohio), 8; Allegheny (Pa.), 6; Hanover (Ind.), 3; Willamette (Ore.), 3; Westminster (Pa.), 3; Rowan (N.J.), 2; Menlo (Calif.), 2; Pacific Lutheran (Wash.), 2; Delaware Valley (Pa.), 1; Adrian (Mich.), 1.
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