Sioux Falls (S.D.) Finishes 2008 as No. 1 Team in Football Coaches' Top 25 Postseason Poll
Jan. 12, 2009
KANSAS CITY, Mo. – The University of Sioux Falls (S.D.) ends the 2008 season as the No. 1-ranked team, according to the NAIA Football Coaches’ Top 25 Postseason Poll, announced today (Jan. 12). The Cougars went undefeated at 14-0 and won its third ever National Championship after a 23-7 victory over Carroll (Mont.) College on Dec. 20. USF earned 418 total points and all 18 of the possible first-place votes. Sioux Falls also ended the 2006 season with the No. 1 billing after defeating St. Francis in the National Championship.
Sioux Falls held down the No. 2 spot for the entire 2008 season (12 polls) prior to the final postseason rating. The Cougars have either been No. 1 or No. 2 for the last 32 consecutive polls.
Carroll sits No. 2 with 402 total points in the ranking and went 13-1 this season. Perhaps one of the biggest surprises this season was No. 3 Lindenwood (Mo.). The Lions, which finished 11-2 this year, advanced to the Football Championship Series Semifinals and nearly defeated Carroll in Helena, Mont., losing by a 38-37 count. St. Francis (Ind.) checks in at No. 4 while Morningside (Iowa) is at No. 5.
The only team that jumped into the Top 25 after finishing the regular season with no votes is No. 25 Jamestown (N.D.). The Jimmies tied for second in the Dakota Athletic Conference with a 5-2 league mark. JC won five of its last six overall games to finish 7-3 on the year.
The poll was voted upon by a panel of head coaches representing each of the conferences and independents. The 2009 NAIA Football Coaches’ Top 25 Spring Poll is scheduled to be released on Monday, Apr. 20.
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NOTES: Sioux Falls finished No. 1 in the postseason poll for the second time this decade – USF was first in 2006 after winning their second ever title… USF takes over for Carroll at the No. 1 spot, a team who had held the top ranking for the previous 13 polls (going back to 2007 postseason)… The last time a team other than Carroll and Sioux Falls has been No. 1 was Saint Francis on Nov. 12, 2006… Carroll has now been ranked in the Top 5 in the last 51 straight polls dating back to November of 2004… St. Francis boasts the longest consecutive stretch of being named in the Coaches’ Top 25 Poll – now standing at 117 straight mentions… The last time USF was not mentioned in the Top 25 was Oct. 19, 1999… Carroll (Mont.) is the next team in line with 104 straight Top 25 rankings while Sioux Falls (S.D.) stands at 103 straight mentions… Carroll had its 28-game winning streak snapped after the 27-9 loss in the National Championship to Sioux Falls… Since 2004 when Ohio Dominican started varsity football, the Panthers have been ranked in 35 of a possible 64 polls – those 35 polls happen to be the last 35 straight weeks… Since 2000, Carroll has been No. 1 a total of 53 times, the highest amount of any program during that time span; Sioux Falls is second with 29 mentions at No. 1 followed by Georgetown (Ky.) with 14, Northwestern Oklahoma State with 11 and Saint Francis (Ind.) with three.
2008 NAIA Football Top 25 Coaches’ Poll – (Jan. 12: Postseason)
RANK | LAST WEEK^ | SCHOOL (1st PLACE VOTES) | 2008 RECORD* | TOTAL POINTS |
1 | 2 | University of Sioux Falls (S.D.) (18) | 14-0 | 418 |
2 | 1 | Carroll College (Mont.) | 13-1 | 402 |
3 | 7 | Lindenwood University (Mo.) | 11-2 | 380 |
4 | 3 | University of Saint Francis (Ind.) | 12-1 | 375 |
5 | 6 | Morningside College (Iowa) | 10-2 | 351 |
6 | 8 | University of the Cumberlands (Ky.) | 10-2 | 329 |
7 | 9 | Langston University (Okla.) | 10-3 | 320 |
8 | 4 | MidAmerica Nazarene University (Kan.) | 10-1 | 312 |
9 | 5 | Friends University (Kan.) | 10-1 | 272 |
10 | 11 | Union College (Ky.) | 9-3 | 261 |
11 | 12 | Shorter College (Ga.) | 9-3 | 254 |
12 | 13 | Baker University (Kan.) | 8-4 | 244 |
13 | 14 | Dickinson State University (N.D.) | 7-4 | 226 |
14 | 15 | Saint Ambrose University (Iowa) | 8-4 | 214 |
15 | 16 | Lambuth University (Tenn.) | 8-4 | 204 |
16 | 16 | Ohio Dominican University | 7-3 | 173 |
17 | 18 | Missouri Valley College | 7-3 | 159 |
18 | 19 | Northwestern College (Iowa) | 7-3 | 148 |
19 | 21 | University of Virginia's College at Wise | 8-3 | 120 |
20 | 20 | Ottawa University (Kan.) | 8-2 | 112 |
21 | 23 | Montana State University-Northern | 7-3 | 88 |
22 | 24 | Saint Xavier University (Ill.) | 7-4 | 76 |
23 | 25 | Dakota Wesleyan University (S.D.) | 7-3 | 55 |
24 | 22 | Malone University (Ohio) | 6-4 | 54 |
25 | NR | Jamestown College (N.D.) | 7-3 | 34 |
Others receiving votes:
Benedictine College (Kan.) 11; Sterling College (Kan.) 10; William Penn University (Iowa) 5; Nebraska Wesleyan University 5; Minot State University (N.D.) 3; Cumberland University (Tenn.) 3; Marian College (Ind.) 1; Black Hills State University (S.D.) 1; Bacone College (Okla.) 1
^ Ranking in final regular season poll (Nov. 16)
* Records as submitted by schools and raters
