Five SAC Football Teams Ranked In AFCA Poll

WACO, TEX.-- The South Atlantic Conference leads NCAA Division II with a total of five football teams represented in this week's American Football Coaches Association Division II Coaches' Poll.

Carson-Newman College climbs one spot to No. 8, while Newberry College also moved up one spot to No. 11. Catawba College climbed three spots to No. 15. Wingate University made a big jump after beating UNC-Pembroke 57-17. The Bulldogs check in this week at No. 19, up five spots from last week. Mars Hill College, which was not ranked last week, comes in to this week's poll at No. 24.

Grand Valley State beat conference rival Findlay, 38-15, and garnered 27 of a possible 28 first place votes to continue as the No. 1 team after the fourth week of action.

North Dakota remains in the second position after out-lasting Central Washington, 35-28. No. 3 North Alabama received the other first place vote after the Lions dismantled Harding, 58-17. Valdosta State and Chadron State were idle this week and remain in the fourth and fifth positions, respectively.

Nebraska-Omaha opened its conference slate with a 45-10 victory over Western Washington and jumped two spots to No. 6 this week. Pittsburg State slid one spot to No. 7 despite a 31-28 win over Missouri Southern State. Carson-Newman rose one position to No. 8 after handing St. Augustine's a 45-6 loss. No. 9 Delta State held on for a 9-7 win over Henderson State and fell two spots, while Northwest Missouri State jumped back into the Top 10 after a 44-20 win over Missouri Western State.

No. 11 Newberry moved its record to 3-0 after a 39-20 win over North Greenville. West Texas A&M jumped two spots to No. 12 after its 45-14 win over Texas A&M-Commerce, as did California, who moved from No. 15 to No. 13 after its 57-0 blanking of Cheyney. Midwestern State downed Northeastern State, 38-7, and rose two positions to No. 14. Catawba dominated Fayetteville State, 46-7, and jumped three spots to No. 15.

No. 16 Tarleton State moved up one position despite being idle this past weekend. No. 17 South Dakota beat Minnesota-Duluth, 36-22, and rose two spots while Abilene Christian used a 41-3 win over Southeastern Oklahoma State to jump up three positions, from No. 21 to No. 18. Wingate was the biggest mover in the poll, going from No. 24 to No. 19 after beating Division II's newest program, North Carolina-Pembroke, 57-14. West Chester used a 49-21 win over Clarion to jump three spots to No. 20.

Shepherd fell 11 spots to No. 21 this week after losing to Glenville State, 24-13. The loss snapped a 30-game regular season and 23-game conference win streak for the Rams. Indiana (Pa.) moved its record to 3-0 after a 38-23 win over East Stroudsburg and jumps into the Coaches' Poll at No. 22. Northwood tumbled 10 spots after its 43-41 loss to Michigan Tech. Mars Hill is the second newcomer to the poll this week after its 35-17 victory over Cumberlands (Ky.). Tuskegee also jumps into the poll at No. 25 for the first time this year after the Golden Tigers beat Benedict, 44-8.

After receiving 350 votes in last week's poll, the Newberry Indians earned 395 votes following a 39-20 victory over North Greenville University on Thursday. This is Newberry's highest ranking since being ranked 9th in the November 7, 2006 poll.

Wingate's 4-0 start is one win shy of the best start in the school's senior college football history. The 2004 team and the 2005 team both started the season 5-0 overall. The 2004 Bulldogs are one of three Wingate senior college football teams to win eight games. The 1997 team and the 2006 team also accomplished this feat.

The Bulldogs will have an open date on September 22. Wingate opens SAC play at Tusculum College on September 29.

Conference Breakdown: The South Atlantic Conference (Carson-Newman, Newberry, Catawba, Wingate, Mars Hill) has the most representatives in the AFCA Division II Coaches' Poll with five. Other conferences represented include: Lone Star-4 (West Texas A&M, Midwestern State, Tarleton State, Abilene Christian); Gulf South-3 (North Alabama, Valdosta State, Delta State); North Central-3 (North Dakota, Nebraska-Omaha, South Dakota); Pennsylvania State Athletic-3 (California (Pa.), West Chester, Indiana (Pa.)); Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic-2 (Grand Valley State, Northwood); MIAA-2 (Pittsburg State, Northwest Missouri State); Rocky Mountain Athletic-1 (Chadron State); Southern Intercollegiate Athletic-1 (Tuskegee); West Virginia Intercollegiate Athletic-1 (Shepherd).

For more information on the AFCA and its programs, log on to the AFCA's website at www.afca.com.

American Football Coaches Association Division II Coaches' Poll
September 18, 2007

Rank School (1st votes) Rec. Pts. Rank Last Week Next Game

1. Grand Valley St. (Mich.) (27) 2-0 698 1 D. Findlay (Ohio), 38-15 Sept. 22 at Michigan Tech
2. North Dakota 3-0 669 2 D. Central Washington, 35-28 Sept. 22 at Western Washington
3. North Alabama (1) 2-0 639 3 D. Harding (Ark.), 58-17 Sept. 22 vs. Southern Arkansas
4. Valdosta St. (Ga.) 2-0 602 4 Idle Sept. 22 at Arkansas Tech
5. Chadron St. (Neb.) 3-0 595 5 Idle Sept. 22 at Colorado School of Mines
6. Nebraska-Omaha 3-0 523 8 D. Western Washington, 45-10 Sept. 22 at Augustana (S.D.)
7. Pittsburg St. (Kan.) 3-0 514 6 D. Missouri Southern St., 31-28 Sept. 22 vs. Missouri Western St.
8. Carson-Newman (Tenn.) 3-0 491 9 D. St. Augustine's (N.C.), 45-6 Sept. 20 at Dixie St. (Utah)
9. Delta St. (Miss.) 2-0 478 7 D. Henderson St. (Ark.), 9-7 Sept. 22 at Ouachita Baptist (Ark.)
10. Northwest Missouri St. 1-1 442 11 D. Missouri Western St., 44-20 Sept. 22 vs. Truman St. (Mo.)
11. Newberry (S.C.) 3-0 395 12 D. North Greenville (S.C.), 39-20 Sept. 22 vs. West Georgia
12. West Texas A&M 3-0 386 14 D. Texas A&M-Commerce, 45-14 Sept. 22 at Northeastern St. (Okla.)
13. California (Pa.) 4-0 372 15 D. Cheyney (Pa.), 57-0 Sept. 29 vs. Clarion (Pa.)
14. Midwestern St. (Texas) 3-0 347 16 D. Northeastern St. (Okla.), 38-7 Sept. 22 at East Central (Okla.)
15. Catawba (N.C.) 4-0 300 18 D. Fayetteville St. (N.C.), 46-7 Sept. 27 vs. No. 24 Mars Hill (N.C.)
16. Tarleton St. (Texas) 3-0 296 17 Idle Sept. 22 vs. Texas A&M-Commerce
17. South Dakota 2-1 236 19 D. Minnesota-Duluth, 36-22 Sept. 22 vs. St. Cloud State (Minn.)
18. Abilene Christian (Texas) 2-1 198 21 D. Southeastern Oklahoma St., 41-3 Sept. 22 at Southwestern Oklahoma St.
19. Wingate (N.C.) 4-0 168 24 D. North Carolina-Pembroke, 57-14 Sept. 29 at Tusculum (Tenn.)
20. West Chester (Pa.) 2-1 140 23 D. Clarion (Pa.), 49-21 Sept. 22 at Shippensburg (Pa.)
21. Shepherd (W.Va.) 2-1 102 10 Lost to Glenville St.(W.Va.),24-13)Sept. 22 at Fairmont St. (W.Va.)
22. Indiana (Pa.) 3-0 81 NR D. East Stroudsburg (Pa.), 38-23 Sept. 22 vs. Millersville (Pa.)
23. Northwood (Mich.) 2-1 78 13 Lost to Michigan Tech, 43-41 Sept. 22 at Ashland (Ohio)
24. Mars Hill (N.C.) 3-0 64 NR D. Cumberlands (Ky.), 35-17 Sept. 22 vs. West Liberty St. (W.Va.)
25. Tuskegee (Ala.) 2-0 52 NR D. Benedict (S.C.), 44-8 Sept. 22 vs. Fort Valley St. (Ga.)

Dropped Out (last week's rating): Tiffin (Ohio) (20), Southern Connecticut St. (22), Bloomsburg (Pa.) (25)

Others Receiving Votes: Tiffin (Ohio), 29; Central Washington, 25; Ouachita Baptist (Ark.), 24; Washburn (Kan.), 23; St. Cloud State (Minn.), 22; Winona St. (Minn.), 19; Albany St. (Ga.), 17; Missouri Western St., 14; Michigan Tech, 13; Southwestern Oklahoma St., 10; Southern Connecticut St., 9; Bemidji St. (Minn.), 7; Hillsdale (Mich.), 6; Minnesota St.-Mankato, 3; Ashland (Ohio), 2; Edinboro (Pa.), 2; Nebraska-Kearney, 2; West Liberty St. (W.Va.), 2; Bloomsburg (Pa.), 1; Eastern New Mexico, 1; Mesa St. (Colo.), 1; Southern Arkansas, 1; Western Washington, 1.