2010 NAIA Football Coaches' Top 25 Poll - Regular Season No. 7
Oct. 25, 2010
Contact: Chad Waller, NAIA Director of Sports Information & Media Services, cwaller@naia.org
KANSAS CITY, Mo. – No. 1 Sioux Falls (S.D.) locks down the No. 1 position for the 23rd straight poll, according to the seventh regular season edition of the NAIA Football Coaches’ Top 25. For the second time this year, the top-10 teams hold their positions, announced by the NAIA on Monday. Checking in at No. 2 is Carroll (Mont.), followed by No. 3 Saint Xavier (Ill.), No. 4 MidAmerica Nazarene (Kan.) and No. 5 Lindenwood (Mo.). The top-10 teams out-scored their opponents on Oct. 23 by an average of 46-12 (Lindenwood had a bye week).
No. 21 Georgetown (Ky.) jumps into the Top 25 for the first time this season. Winners of four straight games, the Tigers are ranked for the first time since Nov. 2, 2009 (No. 24). No. 25 Midland (Neb.) is back after more than a two-year absence. With a 6-2 record, the Warriors appear for the first time since Oct. 6, 2008 (No. 24).
Two teams fall from the Top 25 this week: No. 21 Langston (Okla.) and No. 24 Azusa Pacific (Calif.). Langston has dropped two out of its last three games, while the Cougars are on a three-game losing skid.
With a 8-0 record, Sioux Falls tallied 416 total points and 15 first-place nods. The Cougars are enjoying college football’s longest winning streak (among NAIA and NCAA) with a 37-gamer. The latest Sioux Falls’ victim was Dakota Wesleyan (S.D.) after the Cougars rung up a 63-3 victory. Dakota Wesleyan entered the contest ranked in the top-10 statistically in scoring defense. Sioux Falls rests on Saturday before traveling to Dordt (Iowa) on Nov. 6 and hosting Concordia (Neb.) on Nov. 13.
No. 2 Carroll remains in the same spot fifth straight week. The Fighting Saints earned 402 total points and two first-place votes. They put themselves in good position for its’ 11th straight Frontier Conference Championship with 61-34 victory against Eastern Oregon on Oct. 23. With three games left in the regular season, Carroll holds a three-game lead in the conference race and is 7-0 overall. The Fighting Saints, who posted 705 yards of total offense against Eastern Oregon, are home on Saturday against Montana-Western.
For the fifth straight time, St. Xavier locks down the third spot. The Cougars sit with 388 total points and captured the remaining first-place vote. Hitting 45 points for the ninth time this year, St. Xavier defeated Iowa Wesleyan 65-6 on Oct. 23. The Cougars hold the most wins in the NAIA at 9-0 and have won 22 of their last 23 games dating back to last year. St. Xavier hosts No. 16 Walsh (Ohio) on Saturday before a top-10 clash with No. 7 Saint Francis (Ind.) on Nov. 6.
No. 4 MidAmerica Nazarene checks in with 370 total points. The Pioneers have reeled off eight straight wins to start the year, including a 45-10 triumph over Evangel (Mo.) on Oct. 23. They rank in the top-10 in three defensive statistical categories, including third in scoring defense (12.8 papg). Overall, MidAmerica Nazarene has not allowed an opponent to reach 20 points this year. The Pioneers hit the road on Saturday for a game at Central Methodist (Mo.), followed by a home game against No. 9 Missouri Valley on Nov. 6.
Fifth-ranked Lindenwood lands with 350 total points. The Lions enjoyed a bye week on Oct. 23 and next face Benedictine (Kan.) on Saturday. Lindenwood is 6-1 on the season with its only loss to MidAmerica Nazarene back on Sept. 25. The Lions are ranked first in national statistics in scoring offense (56.1 ppg), total offense 582.7 ypg) and passing offense (387.4 ypg).
The poll was voted upon by a panel of head coaches representing each of the conferences and independents. The eighth regular season Football Coaches’ Top 25 Poll will be announced on Nov. 1. For the entire schedule of the 2010 Coaches’ Top 25 Poll, click here.
For more information on NAIA football, please click here.
NOTES: There are six undefeated teams remaining in the NAIA, after No. 15 William Penn (Iowa) went down for the first time on Oct. 23 – last year, there were six schools that went through the regular season undefeated… No. 1 Sioux Falls (S.D.) holds the record for consecutive No. 1 rankings at 23 straight polls (since 1997 when both divisions merged), set last week (Oct. 18)… The last loss for No. 1 Sioux Falls occurred in the 2007 title game on Dec. 15 against Carroll (Mont.)… Overall, No. 1 Sioux Falls has been ranked in the top-five spots in the last 113 straight polls dating back to the 2001 season… Sioux Falls was ranked No. 1 for the entire 2009 season (14 polls), which marks the first time for a team to do so since Carroll in 2005… Sioux Falls has now been ranked No. 1 a total of 52 times since the 2000 season, including 35 mentions out of 48 polls since 2007… Carroll and Sioux Falls have dominated the top of the polls with either team being ranked No. 1 since the 2006 Postseason Top 25 Poll (Jan. 18, 2007) – Saint Francis (Ind.) was the last team outside of those two programs to earn the No. 1 spot back on Nov. 12, 2006 – a streak of 50 polls… Carroll has now been ranked in the top five in the last 73 straight polls dating back to Jan. 17, 2005 (2004 Postseason Top 25 Poll)… St. Francis boasts the longest consecutive stretch of being named in the Coaches’ Top 25 Poll – 137 straight mentions – the last time St. Francis was not mentioned in the Top 25 was Oct. 19, 1999… After St. Francis, Carroll is the next team in line with 124 straight Top-25 rankings, while Sioux Falls stands at 123 straight mentions… Since 2000, Carroll has been ranked No. 1 53 times, the highest amount of any program during that time span; Sioux Falls is second with 52 mentions at No. 1 followed by Georgetown (Ky.) with 14, Northwestern Oklahoma State with 11 and St. Francis with three.
2010 NAIA Football Coaches’ Top 25 Poll – (Oct. 25)
RANK | LAST WEEK^ | SCHOOL (1ST PLACE VOTES) | 2010 RECORD* | TOTAL POINTS |
1 | 1 | University of Sioux Falls (S.D.) (15) | 8-0 | 416 |
2 | 2 | Carroll College (Mont.) (2) | 7-0 | 402 |
3 | 3 | Saint Xavier University (Ill.) (1) | 9-0 | 388 |
4 | 4 | MidAmerica Nazarene University (Kan.) | 8-0 | 370 |
5 | 5 | Lindenwood University (Mo.) | 6-1 | 350 |
6 | 6 | McPherson College (Kan.) | 7-0 | 338 |
7 | 7 | University of Saint Francis (Ind.) | 7-0 | 325 |
8 | 8 | Morningside College (Iowa) | 7-1 | 306 |
9 | 9 | Missouri Valley College | 7-1 | 290 |
10 | 10 | Ottawa University (Kan.) | 6-1 | 274 |
11 | 13 | Dickinson State University (N.D.) | 7-1 | 239 |
12 | 14 | Marian University (Ind.) | 6-2 | 226 |
13 | 16 | McKendree University (Ill.) | 6-2 | 220 |
14 | 15 | Northwestern College (Iowa) | 5-2 | 202 |
15 | 11 | William Penn University (Iowa) | 7-1 | 189 |
16 | 19 | Walsh University (Ohio) | 6-2 | 164 |
17 | 23 | Northwestern Oklahoma State University | 5-2 | 158 |
18 | 12 | South Dakota Mines & Technology | 6-2 | 155 |
19 | 22 | Friends University (Kan.) | 6-1 | 143 |
20 | 25 | Cumberland University (Tenn.) | 6-2 | 112 |
21 | NR | Georgetown College (Ky.) | 5-2 | 90 |
22 | 17 | Webber International University (Fla.) | 5-3 | 57 |
23 | 18 | Kansas Wesleyan University | 5-2 | 56 |
24 | 20 | Black Hills State University (S.D.) | 6-2 | 44 |
25 | NR | Midland University (Neb.) | 6-2 | 43 |
Others receiving votes:
University of the Cumberlands (Ky.) 40; Minot State University (N.D.) 12; Azusa Pacific University (Calif.) 10; University of St. Francis (Ill.) 8; Taylor University (Ind.) 6; Langston University (Okla.) 3; Eastern Oregon University 1; Benedictine College (Kan.) 1; Southern Nazarene University (Okla.) 1; Montana Tech 1
^ Ranking indicated in Top 25 Poll (Oct. 18, 2010)
* Record reflects the school submission of their statistics in DakStats
