2008 NAIA Football Top 25 Coaches' Poll Announced - #5
Oct. 13, 2008
KANSAS CITY, Mo. – For the first time all season, the top 10 teams remain the same in the fifth regular season NAIA Football Top 25 Coaches’ Poll, announced today (Oct. 13). No. 1 Carroll (Mont.) earned each of the possible first-place votes for the seventh straight poll, this week earning 418 total points and 18 first-place nods. The Fighting Saints are riding a 22-game winning streak with an NAIA-best 7-0 record this season. Carroll, who needed a field goal with eight seconds remaining to take down Montana Western last Saturday, battle Rocky Mountain College next on Oct. 18.
For the eighth straight time, Sioux Falls (S.D.) sits at No. 2 in the polls. The Cougars having been winning in dominant fashion sporting a +40 scoring margin during their 6-0 season. USF tallied 402 points in the poll and leads the country in scoring defense (4.0 ppg) including four shut-outs.
Missouri Valley holds at No. 3 after a bye week. The Vikings face No. 6 MidAmerica Nazarene (Kan.) on the road this Saturday. No. 4 Saint Francis (Ind.) and No. 5 Morningside (Iowa) round out the Top 5.
Two teams, No. 24 Ottawa (Kan.) and No. 25 Lambuth (Tenn.), appear in the poll for the first time all season. Ottawa is 4-1 on the year winning three straight with its only loss a 46-45 defeat at the hands of nationally-ranked Friends (Kan.) on Sept. 20. After an 0-2 start to the year, the Eagles of Lambuth have defeated back-to-back Top 25 teams including a 42-38 win over No. 20 Shorter (Ga.) on Saturday.
The poll was voted upon by a panel of head coaches representing each of the conferences and independents. The fifth regular season Top 25 poll will be announced on Oct. 20.
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2008 NAIA Football Top 25 Coaches’ Poll – (Oct. 13)
RANK | LAST WEEK | SCHOOL (1st PLACE VOTES) | 2008 RECORD | TOTAL POINTS |
1 | 1 | Carroll College (Mont.) (18) | 7-0 | 418 |
2 | 2 | University of Sioux Falls (S.D.) | 6-0 | 402 |
3 | 3 | Missouri Valley College | 5-0 | 381 |
4 | 4 | University of Saint Francis (Ind.) | 6-0 | 375 |
5 | 5 | Morningside College (Iowa) | 5-0 | 354 |
6 | 6 | MidAmerica Nazarene University (Kan.) | 6-0 | 338 |
7 | 7 | Friends University (Kan.) | 5-0 | 319 |
8 | 8 | Lindenwood University (Mo.) | 4-1 | 297 |
9 | 9 | Northwestern Oklahoma State University | 5-1 | 290 |
10 | 10 | Northwestern College (Iowa) | 5-1 | 275 |
11 | 12 | University of Virginia's College at Wise | 6-1 | 252 |
12 | 13 | Montana State University-Northern | 5-1 | 229 |
13 | 14 | Black Hills State University (S.D.) | 5-1 | 225 |
14 | 16 | University of the Cumberlands (Ky.) | 5-1 | 224 |
15 | 17 | Saint Ambrose University (Iowa) | 4-2 | 201 |
16 | 19 | Saint Xavier University (Ill.) | 4-2 | 166 |
17 | 11 | Union College (Ky.) | 5-1 | 155 |
18 | 18 | Bethel College (Kan.) | 4-1 | 151 |
19 | 21 | Langston University (Okla.) | 4-2 | 127 |
20 | 22 | University of St. Francis (Ill.) | 5-1 | 114 |
21 | 23 | Jamestown College (N.D.) | 4-2 | 89 |
22 | 25 | Malone University (Ohio) | 3-1 | 87 |
23 | 15 | Ohio Dominican University | 3-3 | 50 |
24 | RV | Ottawa University (Kan.) | 4-1 | 42 |
25 | RV | Lambuth University (Tenn.) | 4-2 | 41 |
Others receiving votes:
Baker University (Kan.) 17; Shorter College (Ga.) 13; Dakota Wesleyan University (S.D.) 7; Quincy University (Ill.) 1; Cumberland University (Tenn.) 1; Dickinson State University (N.D.) 1; Midland Lutheran College (Neb.) 1
NOTES: Teams dropped out from last week: Shorter (Ga.) at No. 20, Midland Lutheran (Neb.) at No. 24… Ohio Dominican has fallen from No. 5 to No. 23 in four weeks – however, quarterback Cris Reisert is making national news as he recently (Oct. 11) broke the NAIA national record for completions as he stands with 1,048 completions… Ottawa (Kan.) reaches the Top 25 for the first time since the 2003 Postseason Poll (Jan. 12, 2004) when it was No. 14; this is the first ranking for Lambuth since No. 15 in the 2005 Preseason Poll (Aug. 16, 2005).… With its 22-game winning streak, Carroll is looking at a ways to go to catch the all-time national record set by Texas A&I in the mid-70s (42 games)… After an 0-2 start, St. Xavier (Ill.) is back on the map winning its last four straight including a 17-14 win over No. 15 Ohio Dominican on Saturday… Since 2004 when Ohio Dominican started varsity football, the Panthers have been ranked in 29 of a possible 58 polls – those 29 polls happen to be the last 29 straight weeks… Since 2000, Carroll has been No. 1 a total of 48 times, the highest amount of any program during that time span; Sioux Falls is second with 28 mentions at No. 1 followed by Georgetown (Ky.) with 14, Northwestern Oklahoma State with 11 and Saint Francis (Ind.) with three… 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 45 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 111 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 98 straight Top 25 rankings while Sioux Falls (S.D.) stands at 97 straight mentions.
* Records as submitted by schools and raters
