2018 NAIA Football Coaches' Top 25 Poll ? Poll Nine (Nov. 5)
KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Another lopsided victory on Saturday for Morningside (Iowa) kept the team from Sioux City in the driver’s seat of the penultimate NAIA Coaches’ Top 25 Poll. The top four teams, which include Marian (Ind.), Bethel (Tenn.) and Reinhardt (Ga.), remained the same with three of the four in action over the weekend. Only Bethel, who was on a bye week, did not get a win on Saturday in the top grouping.
Top 25 Highlights (historical information dates back to 1999)
- No. 1 Morningside continued its perfect season with a 63-21 victory over Dordt (Iowa). It has again taken 15 of the 16 first place votes.
- In one of the top matchups of the weekend, then-No. 8 Benedictine (Kan.) snagged a hard-fought 25-13 win on the road against then-No. 5 Grand View (Iowa). The win secured the Heart of America Athletic Conference North Division title for the Ravens.
- Kansas Wesleyan also continued a perfect season with a thrilling 34-31 win over then-No. 21 Avila (Mo.). The Coyotes are 10-0 on the year.
- College of Idaho made its first appearance of the season in the NAIA Top 25 this week. The ‘Yotes took down another ranked opponent over the weekend in then-No. 20 Montana Western in the NAIA Game of the Week.
- Southeastern (Fla.) returned to the Top 25 this week with a 27-17 victory over Keiser (Fla.). The Fire returned to the poll after a three-week absence.
- Carroll (Mont.) owns the most No. 1-rankings with 57, followed by former NAIA member Sioux Falls (S.D.) (55) Morningside (26), Georgetown (Ky.) (25) and Marian (22).
- Morningside holds the longest active streak with 147-straight Top 25 mentions.
Poll Methodology
- The poll was voted upon by a panel of head coaches representing each of the conferences.
- Each conference is given one rater for every four schools in the league.
- The Top 25 is determined by a points system based on how each voter ranks the best teams. A team receives 25 points for each first-place vote, 24 for second-place and so on through the list.
- The highest and lowest ranking for each team (a non-rating is considered a low rating) is removed and the team’s ranking will be recalculated with an additional point added to each team for every ballot (including discounted ballots) that the teams appear on.
- Teams that receive only one point in the ballot are not considered “receiving votes.”
- For the complete Top 25 calendar, click here.
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2018 NAIA Football Coaches’ Top 25 Poll – Poll Nine (Nov. 5)
| RANK | LAST WEEK | SCHOOL [1st Place Votes] | RECORD | FINAL POINTS |
| 1 | 1 | Morningside (Iowa) [15] | 10-0 | 366 |
| 2 | 2 | Marian (Ind.) [1] | 9-0 | 352 |
| 3 | 3 | Bethel (Tenn.) | 9-0 | 335 |
| 4 | 4 | Reinhardt (Ga.) | 8-1 | 325 |
| 5 | 6 | Northwestern (Iowa) | 8-1 | 302 |
| 6 | 7 | Kansas Wesleyan | 10-0 | 291 |
| 7 | 8 | Benedictine (Kan.) | 9-1 | 281 |
| 8 | 9 | Saint Francis (Ind.) | 8-2 | 259 |
| 9 | 10 | Evangel (Mo.) | 9-1 | 254 |
| 10 | 11 | Langston (Okla.) | 8-1 | 237 |
| 11 | 12 | Rocky Mountain (Mont.) | 8-2 | 226 |
| 12 | 5 | Grand View (Iowa) | 7-2 | 215 |
| 13 | 13 | Cumberlands (Ky.) | 9-1 | 209 |
| 14 | 14 | Baker (Kan.) | 7-2 | 193 |
| 15 | 15 | Concordia (Mich.) | 8-2 | 175 |
| 16 | 16 | Dickinson State (N.D.) | 8-2 | 147 |
| 17 | 18 | Saint Xavier (Ill.) | 8-3 | 135 |
| 18 | 17 | Lindsey Wilson (Ky.) | 6-3 | 134 |
| 19 | 19 | Georgetown (Ky.) | 7-3 | 124 |
| 20 | 23 | Siena Heights (Mich.) | 7-2 | 93 |
| 21 | 25 | Ottawa (Kan.) | 7-2 | 80 |
| 22 | 21 | Avila (Mo.) | 7-2 | 56 |
| 23 | 20 | Montana Western | 6-3 | 48 |
| 24 | NR | College of Idaho | 5-5 | 23 |
| 25 | NR | Southeastern (Fla.) | 6-3 | 22 |
Dropped from the Top 25: Midland (Neb.), Eastern Oregon
Others Receiving Votes: Midland (Neb.) 13, Oklahoma Panhandle State 8, St. Ambrose (Iowa) 8, Dordt (Iowa) 6, Eastern Oregon 4, Arizona Christian 3, Webber International (Fla.) 3
