Top 25 - No. 7
October 24, 2011
No. 2 Marian (Ind.) finished with 326 points and picked up the final first-place nod to capture the second spot for the fourth-consecutive poll. Third-ranked Carroll (Mont.) and No. 5 MidAmerica Nazarene (Kan.) each defeated a Top-25 opponent to hold steady with 313 and 289 points, respectively. No. 4 Georgetown (Ky.) kept its perfect record after a 65-0 shutout of West Virginia Tech and gathered 303 points. Rounding out the top six teams that held from last week is No. 6 Morningside (Iowa), who recorded 275 points.
Upward movement in the poll was subtle as No. 21 Langston (Okla.) had the biggest jump with a three-spot improvement. The Lions took a 42-39 road win at Northwestern Oklahoma State for their fourth-straight victory. Sliding down five spots to No. 19, Bethel (Tenn.) took the biggest fall. The Wildcats lost a 36-34 decision to then-No. 17 Cumberland (Tenn.).
No. 24 Rocky Mountain (Mont.) replaces Shorter (Ga.) in the Top 25. The Battlin’ Bears improved to 5-3 overall after a 23-7 victory over Montana Western on Oct. 22. Shorter was ranked 25th last week, but fell 35-10 to unranked Cumberlands (Ky.).
Leading the conference charge is the Great Plains Athletic Conference with four teams represented in the Top 25: No. 6 Morningside, No. 17 Doane (Neb.), No. 22 Northwestern (Iowa) and No. 23 Dakota Wesleyan (S.D.). Four other leagues landed a trio of clubs in the poll.
The poll was voted upon by a panel of head coaches representing each of the conferences and independents. The eighth regular-season poll will be announced on Oct. 31.
Notes: (All information dates back to 1999) Newcomer Rocky Mountain (Mont.) was ranked four times previously this season… There have been 41 different teams ranked in 2011, with 14 of those being listed in each poll… No. 5 MidAmerica Nazarene (Kan.) has been ranked in the top 10 for the last 28-straight polls… No. 10 Benedictine (Kan.) suffered its first loss of the year last weekend, a 49-39 setback to MidAmerica Nazarene… With seven total No. 1 rankings, with all of them coming in the last seven weeks, Saint Xavier (Ill.) boasts the fifth-most No. 1 billings… The Cougars rank behind Carroll (Mont.) (56), former NAIA member Sioux Falls (S.D.) (55), Georgetown (23) and Northwestern Oklahoma State (11) for the most No. 1s… No. 3 Carroll extended its streak of consecutive top-five appearances with 86… No. 12 Saint Francis (Ind.) leads the NAIA with 150-straight mentions in the Top 25… Following Saint Francis among consecutive appearances is Carroll with 136, MidAmerica Nazarene with 62, Morningside (Iowa) with 55 and St. Xavier with 42.
| RANK | LAST WEEK | SCHOOL (1ST PLACE VOTES) | 2011 RECORD | TOTAL POINTS |
| 1 | 1 | Saint Xavier (Ill.) (14) | 8-0 | 340 |
| 2 | 2 | Marian (Ind.) (1) | 9-0 | 326 |
| 3 | 3 | Carroll (Mont.) | 7-1 | 313 |
| 4 | 4 | Georgetown (Ky.) | 7-0 | 303 |
| 5 | 5 | MidAmerica Nazarene (Kan.) | 6-1 | 289 |
| 6 | 6 | Morningside (Iowa) | 6-1 | 275 |
| 7 | 9 | Missouri Valley | 6-1 | 248 |
| 8 | 9 | William Penn (Iowa) | 7-1 | 235 |
| 9 | 11 | St. Francis (Ill.) | 7-1 | 233 |
| 10 | 7 | Benedictine (Kan.) | 7-1 | 219 |
| 11 | 8 | Azusa Pacific (Calif.) | 6-2 | 207 |
| 12 | 12 | Saint Francis (Ind.) | 5-2 | 202 |
| 13 | 13 | St. Ambrose (Iowa) | 6-1 | 192 |
| 14 | 15 | Ottawa (Kan.) | 6-2 | 162 |
| 15 | 17 | Cumberland (Tenn.) | 6-1 | 151 |
| 16 | 16 | Valley City State (N.D.) | 7-1 | 147 |
| 17 | 18 | Doane (Neb.) | 6-1 | 141 |
| 18 | 20 | Bethany (Kan.) | 7-1 | 113 |
| 19 | 14 | Bethel (Tenn.) | 5-2 | 103 |
| 20 | 21 | Southern Nazarene (Okla.) | 6-2 | 96 |
| 21 | 24 | Langston (Okla.) | 6-2 | 87 |
| 22 | 23 | Northwestern (Iowa) | 6-2 | 84 |
| 23 | 19 | Dakota Wesleyan (S.D.) | 5-2 | 52 |
| 24 | NR | Rocky Mountain (Mont.) | 5-3 | 22 |
| 25 | 22 | Eastern Oregon | 5-3 | 18 |
Others receiving votes: Lindsey Wilson (Ky.) 16; Baker (Kan.) 7; Grand View (Iowa) 6; Menlo (Calif.) 6; UVa-Wise (Va.) 1; Shorter (Ga.) 1
