NAIA Football FirstDown PlayBook Top 25 Poll - Preseason (August 2)
Aug 02, 2021
KANSAS CITY, Mo. – After winning its first-ever red banner in program history the Blue Raiders start the 2021 season in the No. 1 spot of the 2021 NAIA Coaches' Postseason Top 25 poll. Lindsey Wilson (Ky.) finished last season with a record of 11-0 defeating Northwestern (Iowa) in the NAIA FCS National Championship Game. Rounding out the top five this week was Northwestern (Iowa), Morningside (Iowa), Keiser (Fla.) and Grand View (Iowa).
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.
2021 NAIA Football Coaches' Top 25 Poll – Preseason (August 2)
| RANK | POSTSEASON POLL | SCHOOL [1ST PLACE VOTES] | RECORD | FINAL POINTS |
| 1 | 1 | Lindsey Wilson (Ky.) [18] | 11-0 | 418 |
| 2 | 2 | Northwestern (Iowa) | 11-2 | 402 |
| 3 | 3 | Morningside (Iowa) | 10-1 | 386 |
| 4 | 4 | Keiser (Fla.) | 9-1 | 366 |
| 5 | 5 | Grand View (Iowa) | 7-1 | 356 |
| 6 | 6 | Concordia (Mich.) | 6-1 | 338 |
| 7 | 7 | Baker (Kan.) | 7-1 | 317 |
| 8 | 8 | Reinhardt (Ga.) | 9-1 | 310 |
| 9 | 10 | Marian (Ind.) | 5-2 | 286 |
| 10 | 9 | Olivet Nazarene (Ill.) | 8-1 | 279 |
| 11 | 11 | Dickinson State (N.D.) | 9-1 | 244 |
| 12 | 12 | Bethel (Kan.) | 9-2 | 232 |
| 13 | 13 | Georgetown (Ky.) | 6-2 | 220 |
| 14 | 15 | Dordt (Iowa) | 8-3 | 188 |
| 15 | 14 | Arizona Christian | 9-2 | 184 |
| 16 | 17 | Saint Francis (Ind.) | 2-2 | 180 |
| 17 | 16 | Benedictine (Kan.) | 8-2 | 174 |
| 18 | 21 | Eastern Oregon | 3-1 | 143 |
| 19 | 18 | College of Idaho | 3-1 | 131 |
| 20 | 20 | Roosevelt (Ill.) | 6-1 | 110 |
| 21 | 19 | Avila (Mo.) | 8-1 | 90 |
| 22 | RV | Southeastern (Fla.) | 8-1 | 53 |
| 23 | 23 | Ottawa (Ariz.) | 4-1 | 44 |
| 24 | 25 | Kansas Wesleyan | 8-2 | 43 |
| 25 | 24 | Southwestern (Kan.) | 7-2 | 37 |
Receiving Votes: Montana Western 30, Carroll (Mont.) 24, Valley City State (N.D.) 14, Saint Xavier (Ill.) 5
