KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Northwestern (Iowa) went wire-to-wire as the top team in the NAIA Football Coaches' Top 25 Rating presented by FirstDown PlayBook and earned all 18 first-place votes. Grand View (Iowa) remained second, while Keiser (Fla.) moved up to third. Georgetown (Ky.) slotted into the Top 5 at fourth before Marian (Ind.) rounded out the initial five. 

Rating Methodology

• The rating 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 or division.
• The Top 25 is determined by a points system based on how each rater 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.

Dropped From Top 25: Texas Wesleyan

Receiving Votes: Concordia (Mich.) 33; Texas Wesleyan 15