Top 25 - No. 8
October 31, 2011
St. Xavier captured 14 of the 15 possible first-place votes to tally 340 total points. The team nipping at its heels for most of the season, Marian, will be the Cougars’ opponent on Saturday. The Knights, who posted 326 points and the remaining first-place vote, have been ranked in the No. 2 position for the last five weeks. The matchup of No. 1 vs. 2 is the second time for St. Xavier this season. On Oct. 1, the Cougars took down then-No. 2 Saint Francis (Ind.), 42-31.
No. 3 Carroll (Mont.) is behind Marian with 313 points. With an 8-0 record, No. 4 Georgetown checks in with 303 points. MidAmerica Nazarene (Kan.) takes the fifth spot with 289 points for the third-straight week.
No. 23 Grand View (Iowa) and No. 25 Baker (Kan.) jump into the poll this week. The Vikings were last ranked in the Preseason Top 25 in the 25th spot and Baker last sported a national mention in the Sept. 19 installment (No. 22).
Two teams dropped out of the Top 25: Dakota Wesleyan (S.D.) (No. 23) and Rocky Mountain (Mont.) (No. 24).
Both the Heart of America Athletic Conference (HAAC) and Mid-States Football Association Midwest Division (MSFA Midwest) boast four teams in the Top 25 to lead all conferences. The HAAC claims MidAmerica Nazarene, No. 7 Missouri Valley, No. 9 Benedictine (Kan.) and Baker. Hailing from the MSFA Midwest is No. 8 William Penn (Iowa), No. 12 St. Ambrose (Iowa), No. 16 St. Francis (Ill.) and Grand View.
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) The battle between No. 1 Saint Xavier (Ill.) and No. 2 Marian (Ind.) will mark the 10th time that the two top-ranked teams have met and just the third regular-season game between No. 1 vs. 2… There have been 41 different teams ranked in 2011, with 14 of those being listed in each poll… Suffering its third-straight loss, Dakota Wesleyan (S.D.) fell out of the Top 25 after enjoying a seven-week ride… No. 5 MidAmerica Nazarene (Kan.) has been ranked in the top 10 for the last 29-straight polls… With eight total No. 1 rankings, with all of them coming in the last seven weeks, St. Xavier boasts the fifth-most No. 1 billings… The Cougars rank behind Carroll (Mont.) (56), former NAIA member Sioux Falls (S.D.) (55), Georgetown (Ky.) (23) and Northwestern Oklahoma State (11) for the most No. 1s… No. 3 Carroll extended its streak of consecutive top-five appearances with 87… No. 12 Saint Francis (Ind.) leads the NAIA with 151-straight mentions in the Top 25… Following Saint Francis among consecutive appearances is Carroll with 137, MidAmerica Nazarene with 63, Morningside (Iowa) with 56 and St. Xavier with 43.
| 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.) | 8-1 | 313 |
| 4 | 4 | Georgetown (Ky.) | 8-0 | 303 |
| 5 | 5 | MidAmerica Nazarene (Kan.) | 7-1 | 289 |
| 6 | 6 | Morningside (Iowa) | 7-1 | 275 |
| 7 | 7 | Missouri Valley | 7-1 | 253 |
| 8 | 8 | William Penn (Iowa) | 8-1 | 241 |
| 9 | 10 | Benedictine (Kan.) | 8-1 | 232 |
| 10 | 11 | Azusa Pacific (Calif.) | 7-2 | 218 |
| 11 | 12 | Saint Francis (Ind.) | 6-2 | 210 |
| 12 | 13 | St. Ambrose (Iowa) | 7-1 | 203 |
| 13 | 14 | Ottawa (Kan.) | 7-2 | 175 |
| 14 | 15 | Cumberland (Tenn.) | 7-1 | 171 |
| 15 | 16 | Valley City State (N.D.) | 8-1 | 162 |
| 16 | 9 | St. Francis (Ill.) | 7-3 | 148 |
| 17 | 19 | Bethel (Tenn.) | 6-2 | 127 |
| 18 | 20 | Southern Nazarene (Okla.) | 7-2 | 115 |
| 19 | 21 | Langston (Okla.) | 6-2 | 110 |
| 20 | 22 | Northwestern (Iowa) | 7-2 | 108 |
| 21 | 25 | Eastern Oregon | 6-3 | 65 |
| 22 | 17 | Doane (Neb.) | 6-2 | 55 |
| 23 | RV | Grand View (Iowa) | 7-3 | 54 |
| 24 | 18 | Bethany (Kan.) | 7-2 | 44 |
| 25 | RV | Baker (Kan.) | 5-3 | 27 |
Others receiving votes: Lindsey Wilson (Ky.) 23; Shorter (Ga.) 9; Hastings (Neb.) 3
