St. Augustine's breaks into AFCA Division II Top 25
St. Augustine's breaks into AFCA Division II Top 25
October 12, 2005
WACO, TEX.-- Six of the Top 25 teams lost in the seventh week of
action, but the Top 5 remained unchanged in the American Football
Coaches Association Division II Coaches’ Poll.
No. 1 Grand Valley State beat Hillsdale, 38-10, and stayed unbeaten
as it prepares for a Top 5 showdown against No. 4 Saginaw Valley
State in Allendale, Mich. The Cardinals beat Mercyhurst, 44-14, to
move their record to 6-0. North Dakota stayed in the second spot
after handing GLIAC member Ferris State a 44-7 loss. No. 3 Valdosta
State defeated Henderson State, 52-12, while No. 5 South Dakota
handed Minnesota State-Mankato a 35-14 loss.
Texas A&M-Kingsville is up two spots to No. 6 after outscoring
Central Oklahoma, 41-38. Bloomsburg blanked Kutztown, 12-0, and
moves up three positions to No. 7. Albany State was idle, but takes
the No. 8 spot, while East Stroudsburg beat Clarion, 56-0, and
jumps back into the Top 10 at No. 9. No. 10 West Texas A&M won
a shootout over Eastern New Mexico, 52-51 in overtime, and takes
control of its own destiny in the Lone Star Conference.
Northwood is up to the 11th position after its 24-7 victory over
Gannon, while St. Cloud State jumped six spots to No. 12 after a
decisive 34-7 win over Augustana (S.D.). For a second straight
week, No. 13 Washburn beat a Top 5 opponent when they handed
then-No. 5 Northwest Missouri State a 31-28 loss. Arkansas Tech
lost to Delta State and falls seven spots to No. 14, while Tuskegee
beat Morehouse, 34-24, and sits in the 15th position.
No. 16 Shepherd shut out Charleston, 27-0, and stayed in the ranks
of the unbeaten at 7-0. No. 17 Presbyterian took control of the
South Atlantic Conference race when it beat then-No. 11
Carson-Newman, 37-3. North Alabama is tied with the Blue Hose in
the 17th spot after beating Southern Arkansas, 31-21. Michigan Tech
lost to Wayne State (Mich.) and falls to the 19th position, while
No. 20 Pittsburg State blanked Oklahoma Panhandle State, 70-0.
Northwest Missouri State fell 16 spots to No. 21 after its loss to
No. 13 Washburn, while No. 22 Tarleton State rebounded from its
first loss of the season last week to beat Midwestern State, 37-7.
Carson-Newman dropped 12 positions to No. 23 after its loss to No.
17 Presbyterian. St. Augustine’s ran its record to 7-0 after
a 26-7 win over Johnson C. Smith and is ranked No. 24 in the AFCA
Division II Coaches’ poll for the first time in school
history. Central Arkansas beat Harding, 41-21, and jumps back into
the poll at No. 25.
Conference Breakdown: The Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic
(Grand Valley St., Saginaw Valley St., Northwood, Michigan Tech)
and Gulf South Conference (Valdosta St., Arkansas Tech, North
Alabama, Central Arkansas) are tied with the most representatives
in the AFCA Division II Coaches’ Poll with four each.
Other conferences represented include: Lone Star-3 (Texas
A&M-Kingsville, West Texas A&M, Tarleton St.), MIAA-3
(Washburn, Pittsburg St., Northwest Missouri St.), North Central-3
(North Dakota, South Dakota, St. Cloud State), Pennsylvania State
Athletic-2 (Bloomsburg, East Stroudsburg), South Atlantic-2
(Presbyterian, Carson-Newman), Southern Intercollegiate Athletic-2
(Albany St., Tuskegee), Central Intercollegiate Athletic-1
(St. Augustine’s), West Virginia Intercollegiate
Athletic-1 (Shepherd).
Head-to-Head
Three games featuring teams ranked in the AFCA Division II
Coaches’ Poll highlight this weekend’s action.
Two key games in the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic
Conference take place this coming weekend, with the first game
pitting No. 1 Grand Valley State hosting No. 4 Saginaw Valley
State. With both teams coming into the game undefeated, first place
in the GLIAC and control for the conference championship is at
hand. The second Top 25 matchup from the GLIAC sees No. 19 Michigan
Tech at No. 11 Northwood. Both teams are tied for second in the
conference with one loss.
The final Top 25 matchup of the coming weekend has No. 5 South
Dakota traveling to No. 12 St. Cloud State. St. Cloud State has a
14-9 all-time series lead, but South Dakota won last year’s
meeting, 37-21.
Poll Points
No. 7 Bloomsburg is 7-0 for the first time since 1985, and with
their shutout of Kutztown, it marks the first time since 1948 that
the Huskies have recorded at least four shutouts in one season ...
A Lone Star Conference and Kimbrough Memorial Stadium record crowd
of 22,993 fans saw No. 10 West Texas A&M beat Eastern New
Mexico in overtime, 52-51, in Canyon, Texas ... No. 24 St.
Augustine’s is ranked in the AFCA Coaches’ Poll for the
first time since the school reinstated football in 2002 ... With
No. 17 Presbyterian’s win over No. 23 Carson-Newman, 37-3, it
marked the first time since 1996 that Carson-Newman was held out of
the endzone. The Blue Hose are off to its best start since 1979
with a record of 6-1.
American Football Coaches Association Division II
Coaches’ Poll
October 11, 2005
| Rank | School (1st votes) | Rec. | Pts. | Prev. | Last Week | Next Game |
| 1. | Grand Valley St. (Mich.) (15) | 6-0 | 615 |
1
| D. Hillsdale (Mich.), 38-10 | Oct. 15 vs. No. 4 Saginaw Valley St. (Mich.) |
| 2. | North Dakota (10) | 7-0 | 610 |
2
| D. Ferris St. (Mich.), 44-7 | Oct. 15 at Minnesota-Duluth |
| 3. | Valdosta St. (Ga.) | 6-1 | 562 |
3
| D. Henderson St. (Ark.), 52-12 | Oct. 15 at West Alabama |
| 4. | Saginaw Valley St. (Mich.) | 6-0 | 547 |
4
| D. Mercyhurst (Pa.), 44-14 | Oct. 15 at No. 1 Grand Valley St. (Mich.) |
| 5. | South Dakota | 7-0 | 530 |
5t
| D. Minnesota St.-Mankato, 35-14 | Oct. 15 at No. 12 St. Cloud State (Minn.) |
| 6. | Texas A&M-Kingsville | 5-1 | 471 |
8
| D. Central Oklahoma, 41-38 | Oct. 15 at Midwestern St. (Tex.) |
| 7. | Bloomsburg (Pa.) | 7-0 | 469 |
10
| D. Kutztown (Pa.), 12-0 | Oct. 15 at Cheyney (Pa.) |
| 8. | Albany St. (Ga.) | 4-1 | 397 |
12
| Idle | Oct. 15 at Clark Atlanta (Ga.) |
| 9. | East Stroudsburg (Pa.) | 5-1 | 389 |
14
| D. Clarion (Pa.), 56-0 | Oct. 15 vs. Kutztown (Pa.) |
| 10. | West Texas A&M | 7-0 | 362 |
16
| D. Eastern New Mexico, 52-51 OT | Oct. 15 at Abilene Christian (Tex.) |
| 11. | Northwood (Mich.) | 6-1 | 359 |
15
| D. Gannon (Pa.), 24-7 | Oct. 15 vs. No. 19 Michigan Tech |
| 12. | St. Cloud State (Minn.) | 6-1 | 322 |
18
| D. Augustana (S.D.), 34-7 | Oct. 15 vs. No. 5 South Dakota |
| 13. | Washburn (Kan.) | 6-1 | 274 |
25
| D. No. 5 Northwest Missouri St., 31-28 | Oct. 15 vs. Truman St. (Mo.) |
| 14. | Arkansas Tech | 5-1 | 255 |
7
| Lost to Delta St. (Miss.), 34-17 | Oct. 15 vs. Ouachita Baptist (Ark.) |
| 15. | Tuskegee (Ala.) | 5-1 | 251 |
19
| D. Morehouse (Ga.), 34-24 | Oct. 15 vs. Fort Valley St. (Ga.) |
| 16. | Shepherd (W.Va.) | 7-0 | 239 |
21
| D. Charleston (W.Va.), 27-0 | Oct. 15 at Concord (W.Va.) |
| 17t. | Presbyterian (S.C.) | 6-1 | 231 |
23
| D. No. 11 Carson-Newman (Tenn.), 37-3 | Oct. 15 at Lenoir-Rhyne (N.C.) |
| 17t. | North Alabama | 5-1 | 231 |
22
| D. Southern Arkansas, 31-21 | Oct. 15 vs. Henderson St. (Ark.) |
| 19. | Michigan Tech | 5-1 | 190 |
9
| Lost to Wayne St. (Mich.), 25-14 | Oct. 15 at No. 11 Northwood (Mich.) |
| 20. | Pittsburg St. (Kan.) | 5-2 | 189 |
20
| D. Oklahoma Panhandle St., 70-0 | Oct. 15 at Southwest Baptist (Mo.) |
| 21. | Northwest Missouri St. | 5-2 | 170 |
5t
| Lost to No. 25 Washburn (Kan.), 31-28 | Oct. 22 vs. Central Missouri St. |
| 22. | Tarleton St. (Tex.) | 5-1 | 160 |
24
| D. Midwestern St. (Tex.), 37-7 | Oct. 15 at Eastern New Mexico |
| 23. | Carson-Newman (Tenn.) | 4-2 | 57 |
11
| Lost to No. 23 Presbyterian (S.C.), 37-3 | Oct. 15 at Tusculum (Tenn.) |
| 24. | St. Augustine’s (N.C.) | 7-0 | 44 |
NR
| D. Johnson C. Smith (N.C.), 26-7 | Oct. 15 at Livingstone (N.C.) |
| 25. | Central Arkansas | 5-2 | 33 |
NR
| D. Harding (Ark.), 41-21 | Oct. 15 vs. Delta St. (Miss.) |
Dropped Out (last week’s rating): Nebraska-Omaha (13), Edinboro (Pa.) (17)
Others Receiving Votes: Nebraska-Omaha, 31; Minnesota-Duluth, 25; West Chester (Pa.), 22; Fort Valley St. (Ga.), 15; Nebraska-Kearney, 14; North Carolina Central, 14; Angelo St. (Tex.), 13; Wingate (N.C.), 11; C.W. Post (N.Y.), 10; Edinboro (Pa.), 8; Delta St. (Miss.), 5.
