Season's Fifth Football Coaches’ Poll Highlights Pivotal Week Featuring Two Top-10 Matchups
KANSAS CITY, Mo. - The season's fifth Netting Professionals NAIA Coaches' Top 25 Poll is out, setting up a pivotal week in NAIA football, with two matchups among top 10 teams and another game between ranked teams involving one in the top 10. No. 2 Keiser (Fla.) hosts No. 8 St. Thomas (Fla.), No. 7 Lindsey Wilson (Ky.) travels to No. 9 Campbellsville (Ky.), and No. 5 Friends (Kan.) hosts No. 20 McPherson (Kan.) - all part of the Oct. 18 Featured Series lineup on Urban Edge Network.
Grand View (Iowa) is also part of the UEN lineup, as the Vikings were a unanimous No. 1, as they have been all season, hosting Peru State (Neb.) Thursday night. This week's poll also saw one team enter the top 25 after receiving votes a week ago, as William Penn (Iowa) re-enters at No. 25.
Top 10 Capsules
Full Top 25
Poll Methodology & Key
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The Vikings resume the 2025 season Thursday night in a game that will take center stage on Urban Edge Network, hosting Peru State (Neb.), at 6 p.m. CT after a bye week. Grand View is 5-0 after taking care of the football in 2025, turning opponents over 10 times to just three turnovers on the Viking offense. |
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2. Keiser (Fla.), 5-0 Shea Spencer became Keiser’s all-time leader with 63 career touchdown passes in a 49-28 win over Florida Memorial, and Spencer will lead the Seahawks into a top 10 matchup this week, hosting No. 8 St. Thomas (Fla.) at 6 p.m. ET. The matchup is an NAIA-UEN Featured Game, on Urban Edge Network. |
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3. Benedictine (Kan.), 5-1 The Ravens are on the road after a bye week, traveling to Central Methodist (Mo.), Saturday at 1 p.m. CT. Senior quarterback Jackson Dooley is one of five quarterbacks in the NAIA averaging 300 or more yards per game with the fifth-most passing yards in the association at 1,802. |
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4. Morningside (Iowa), 5-1 The Mustangs scored 28 second-half points, including 21 in the third quarter, beating Dakota Wesleyan (S.D.) 49-17, led by Jaylen Burch’s three rushing touchdowns and Drew Sellon’s two scores – one on a punt return and a touchdown reception. The Mustangs will appear in an NAIA-UEN Featured Game this week, at Northwestern (Iowa). |
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5. Friends (Kan.), 6-0 The Falcons were off, last week, hosting nationally ranked McPherson (Kan.) this week in a Featured Game on the Urban Edge Network. McPherson checks in at No. 20, as the teams meet to decide who will remain unbeaten in the KCAC. The Falcons average 488 yards per game on the ground, more than 200 better than any other NAIA program, and their defense is equally as good against the run, allowing opponents less than 20 yards per game on the ground. |
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6. Montana Tech, 7-0 The first team in the NAIA to reach seven wins, Montana Tech climbed from No. 7 to No. 6 this week after a 49-7 victory over Montana State-Northern. The Orediggers return home to host Mayville State (N.D.) this week, following a performance that saw quarterback Jarrett Wilson throw three touchdown passes in the win over MSU-Northern. |
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7. Lindsey Wilson (Ky.), 6-0 The Blue Raiders remained undefeated after a 62-13 win over Cumberlands (Ky.), getting five touchdowns from Davontaye Saunders, four on the ground and a touchdown reception. They’ll travel to No. 9 Campbellsville (Ky.) at 1:30 p.m. ET. Saunders has the fourth-most rushing touchdowns in the NAIA, 11, and the sixth-longest run this season at 79 yards. . |
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8. St. Thomas (Fla.), 4-1 The Bobcats picked up a 52-6 conference win over Warner (Fla.), last week. The STU defense has gone nine quarters without allowing a touchdown, looking to extend that defensive streak in Saturday’s NAIA-UEN Featured Game at No. 2 Keiser (Fla.). Jerome Mitchell has been a big part of the defensive effort this season for STU, 12th in the NAIA with three interceptions. |
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9. Campbellsville (Ky.), 5-0 The Tigers are back after a bye, hosting No. 7 Lindsey Wilson (Ky.) at 1:30 p.m. ET, Saturday. The Tigers are the eighth-best passing team in the NAIA by passing yards per game (287.4), scoring 16 of their 29 touchdowns through the air. |
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10. Dordt (Iowa), 5-0 The Defenders joined the top 10 after a 59-7 win last week over Waldorf (Iowa), putting up more than 500 yards of total offense. Dordt scored on its first three possessions and Thomas Fritz needed just four carries to account for 108 of the Defenders’ 309 rushing yards. Dordt hosts Mount Marty (S.D.), Saturday at 1 p.m. CT. |
Receiving Votes: Concordia (Neb.) 88, Bethel (Tenn.) 61, Evangel (Mo.) 48, Kansas Wesleyan 44, Peru State (Neb.) 18, Northwestern (Iowa) 15, Cumberland (Tenn.) 11, Mount Marty (S.D.) 10, Taylor (Ind.) 8, Florida Memorial 5, Midland (Neb.) 2.
Dropped out of Top 25: Concordia (Neb.)
Poll Methodology
- The national poll is for publicity purposes only and does not influence the selection process for national championship consideration.
- A panel of head coaches representing each conference and the Continental Athletic Conference (Independents) votes in the poll.
- The Top 25 teams are selected using a points-based system:
- 30 points for a 1st-place vote, 29 for 2nd, 28 for 3rd, and so on.
- The highest and lowest rankings received by each team are discarded before final tallying.
- Teams receiving only one point are not listed as “receiving votes.”
- For a complete look at the Netting Professionals NAIA Top 25 Coaches' Poll throughout the regular season, and for historical rankings, click here.
Key: RV - Receiving Votes, NR - Not Ranked, ▲- Climbed, ▼- Dropped, ● - Steady
