Ouachita Baptist Takes Down No. 1 Harding

October 21, 2024

Harding’s (Ark.) offense came into their game against Ouachita Baptist (Ark.) averaging 61 points and 554 yards of total offense per game, but the Tiger’s defense wasn’t having any of it. Ouachita Baptist held the Bisons to just 13 points and 288 yards of offense, good enough to knock Harding off the No. 1 spot to No. 7 with a 17-13 victory. The Tigers rose to No. 5 in this week’s AFCA Division II Coaches Poll, presented by Hudl.

Harding’s loss is Grand Valley State’s (Mich.) gain as the Lakers are the new No. 1 team for a record 94^th time in the AFCA poll. GVSU doesn’t have long to enjoy their new ranking as it will be put to the test on Saturday against No. 3 Ferris State (Mich.). The Bulldogs will be looking for some revenge after losing to Grand Valley State twice in 2023.

There are two other top 10 showdowns this coming weekend. One is for the top spot in the MIAA as No. 6 Pittsburg State (Kan.) travels to No. 9 and undefeated Central Oklahoma. UCO hasn’t beaten the Gorillas since November 14, 2015. The third top 10 battle is a big one in the RMAC as undefeated and No. 8 Western Colorado travels to No. 10 Colorado School of Mines. The Mountaineers are looking for their first win over Colorado Mines since 2016.

Search:

Rank	School (1st votes)	Rec.	Pts.	Prev.	Week 7	Next Game
1	Grand Valley St. (Mich.) (27)	7-0	747	2	D. Saginaw Valley St. (Mich.), 16-9	Oct. 26 vs. No. 3 Ferris St. (Mich.)
2	Valdosta St. (Ga.) (3)	7-0	720	3	D. Mississippi College, 35-10	Nov. 2 vs. Chowan (N.C.)
3	Ferris St. (Mich.)	6-1	657	4	D. Michigan Tech, 51-13	Oct. 26 at No. 1 Grand Valley St. (Mich.)
4	Kutztown (Pa.)	7-0	634	5	D. Shippensburg (Pa.), 31-2	Oct. 26 vs. Shepherd (W.Va.)
5	Ouachita Baptist (Ark.)	7-0	627	9	D. No. 1 Harding (Ark.), 17-13	Oct. 26 at Arkansas Tech
6	Pittsburg St. (Kan.)	6-1	590	7	D. Fort Hays St. (Kan.), 18-17	Oct. 26 at No. 9 Central Oklahoma
7	Harding (Ark.)	6-1	579	1	Lost to No. 9 Ouachita Baptist (Ark.), 17-13	Oct. 26 vs. No. 22 Southern Arkansas
8	Western Colorado	7-0	554	8	D. South Dakota Mines, 35-24	Oct. 26 at No. 10 Colorado School of Mines
9	Central Oklahoma	7-0	513	11	D. Northeastern St. (Okla.), 64-57	Oct. 26 vs. No. 6 Pittsburg St. (Kan.)
10	Colorado School of Mines	6-1	460	12	D. Adams St. (Colo.), 56-14	Oct. 26 vs. No. 8 Western Colorado
11	Charleston (W.Va.)	7-0	439	13	D. No. 22 Frostburg St. (Md.), 48-7	Oct. 25 vs. Fairmont St. (W.Va.)
12	Colorado St.-Pueblo	7-1	419	14	D. Black Hills St. (S.D.), 24-21	Nov. 2 at No. 8 Western Colorado
13	Minnesota St.	6-1	341	15	Idle	Oct. 26 vs. No. 25 Augustana (S.D.)
14	Emporia St. (Kan.)	6-1	333	16	Idle	Oct. 26 at Nebraska-Kearney
15	Slippery Rock (Pa.)	6-1	300	6	Lost to California (Pa.), 28-7	Oct. 31 at Clarion (Pa.)
16	Lenoir-Rhyne (N.C.)	6-1	290	17	D. Barton (N.C.), 20-0	Oct. 26 vs. Limestone (S.C.)
17	Carson-Newman (Tenn.)	7-0	287	18	D. Virginia-Wise, 35-23	Oct. 26 at Emory & Henry (Va.)
18	West Alabama	5-1	220	10	Lost to Delta St. (Miss.), 21-6	Oct. 26 vs. Chowan (N.C.)
19	Johnson C. Smith (N.C.)	7-0	200	20	D. Shaw (N.C.), 21-14	Oct. 26 at Winston-Salem St. (N.C.)
20	Central Washington	5-2	181	21	D. Texas A&M-Kingsville, 31-0	Oct. 26 vs. Midwestern St. (Tex.)
21	Indianapolis (Ind.)	6-1	177	19	D. McKendree (Ill.), 42-34	Oct. 26 at Upper Iowa
22	Southern Arkansas	6-1	117	24	D. No. 25 Henderson St. (Ark.), 42-19	Oct. 26 at No. 7 Harding (Ark.)
23	West Florida	4-2	115	23	D. Chowan (N.C.), 35-6	Oct. 26 vs. Shorter (Ga.)
24	Delta St. (Miss.)	5-2	58	NR	D. No. 10 West Alabama, 21-6	Oct. 26 at North Greenville (S.C.)
25	Augustana (S.D.)	5-2	29	NR	D. Winona St. (Minn.), 31-0	Oct. 26 at No. 13 Minnesota St.

Dropped Out: Frostburg St. (Md.) (22), Henderson St. (Ark.) (25)

Others Receiving Votes: Angelo St. (Tex.), 22; Findlay (Ohio), 22; California (Pa.), 21; Virginia Union, 20; Wayne St. (Neb.), 16; Wingate (N.C.), 10; Sioux Falls (S.D.), 8; Colorado Mesa, 7; Indiana (Pa.), 7; New Haven (Conn.), 7; Davenport (Mich.), 6; Frostburg St. (Md.), 6; Saginaw Valley St. (Mich.), 4; Fort Hays St. (Kan.), 3; Ashland (Ohio), 2; Emory & Henry (Va.), 1; Western Oregon, 1.

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Ouachita Baptist Takes Down No. 1 Harding

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