Top 25 - No. 5

KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Four of the six undefeated teams enjoy a top-five ranking in the fifth regular-season edition of the NAIA Football Coaches’ Top 25, the national office announced Monday. The list of perfect teams starts with top-ranked Saint Xavier (Ill.), who notched its fifth-straight No. 1 ranking. The Cougars posted all 15 first-place votes and 340 total points. The other unbeaten teams in the top five include: No. 2 Marian (Ind.), No. 4 Missouri Valley and No. 5 Georgetown (Ky.). With a 5-1 record, Carroll (Mont.) sits at No. 3.

St. Xavier had no trouble with NCCAA member Malone (Ohio), 52-10, to improve to 6-0 on Oct. 8. The Cougars rank in the top five statistically in three major offensive categories after putting up seven touchdowns against the Pioneers. They are a few weeks away from a clash with No. 2 Marian on Nov. 5.

Twenty-two teams shifted at least one spot this week. A 36-35 loss by then-No. 4 William Penn (Iowa) to then-No. 12 St. Francis (Ill.) on Oct. 8 affected the top-10 teams. The Statesmen fell to No. 11 and St. Francis improved three spots to No. 12. Both No. 9 Benedictine (Kan.) and No. 10 Azusa Pacific (Calif.) jumped up two positions to enjoy their first top-10 ranking of the season.

No. 23 (tie) Northwestern Oklahoma State and No. 25 Menlo (Calif.) hopped into the Top 25 after being ranked at least once earlier this year. The Rangers held a No. 13 preseason ranking and Menlo was 24th two weeks ago.

Both Shorter (Ga.) (No. 22) and Midland (Neb.) (No. 24) fell out of the poll this week. Midland was tied for the 10th longest active streak of 11-straight mentions prior to this edition.

The poll was voted upon by a panel of head coaches representing each of the conferences and Independents.

Notes: (All information dates back to 1999) No. 9 Benedictine (Kan.) and No. 13 Dakota Wesleyan (S.D.) are the other two perfect teams this season… No. 10 Azusa Pacific (Calif.) moved up two spots to reach the top 10 this week, its first such position since the 2006 season… No. 5 Georgetown (Ky.) enjoys its first top-five ranking since Sept. 25, 2006… Saint Xavier (Ill.) holds the fifth-most No. 1 rankings, with all of them coming in the last five weeks… The Cougars rank behind Carroll (Mont.) (56), Sioux Falls (S.D.) (55), Georgetown (Ky.) (23) and Northwestern Oklahoma State (11) for the most No. 1 rankings … Carroll extended its streak of consecutive top-five appearances with 84 … Saint Francis leads the NAIA with 148-straight mentions in the Top 25… Following Saint Francis among consecutive appearances is Carroll with 135 and MidAmerica Nazarene (Kan.) with 61.

RANK	LAST WEEK	SCHOOL (1ST PLACE VOTES)	2011 RECORD	TOTAL POINTS
1	1	Saint Xavier (Ill.) (15)	6-0	340
2	2	Marian (Ind.)	7-0	325
3	3	Carroll (Mont.)	5-1	309
4	5	Missouri Valley	5-0	300
5	6	Georgetown (Ky.)	5-0	293
6	7	Saint Francis (Ind.)	4-1	279
7	8	MidAmerica Nazarene (Kan.)	4-1	263
8	9	Morningside (Iowa)	4-1	242
9	11	Benedictine (Kan.)	6-0	228
10	12	Azusa Pacific (Calif.)	5-1	220
11	4	William Penn (Iowa)	6-1	218
12	15	St. Francis (Ill.)	5-1	204
13	16	Dakota Wesleyan (S.D.)	5-0	170
14	18	St. Ambrose (Iowa)	4-1	159
15	10	Southern Nazarene (Okla.)	5-1	153
16	19	Ottawa (Kan.)	4-2	127
17	21	Bethel (Tenn.)	5-1	126
18	20	Valley City State (N.D.)	5-1	114
19	13	Doane (Neb.)	5-1	94
20	25	Cumberland (Tenn.)	4-1	93
21	23	Rocky Mountain (Mont.)	4-2	88
22	14	Bethany (Kan.)	5-1	75
T23	17	Eastern Oregon	4-2	40
T23	RV	Northwestern Oklahoma State	3-3	40
25	RV	Menlo (Calif.)	5-1	35

Others receiving votes: Northwestern (Iowa) 30; Langston (Okla.) 19; Shorter (Ga.) 9; Lindsey Wilson (Ky.) 4; Southern Oregon 1.