Top 12 teams hold their positions; seven teams still undefeated

No. 2 Carroll is searching for its 10th straight Frontier Conference title -- the Fighting Saints take on No. 22 Eastern Oregon

KANSAS CITY, Mo. – The University of Sioux Falls (S.D.) earns the No. 1 ranking for the 11th straight time, announced by the NAIA on Monday in the eighth regular season NAIA Football Coaches’ Top 25 Poll. Dating back to the 2008 Postseason Top 25 Poll, Sioux Falls has been ranked the top team and now boasts 40 No. 1 rankings this decade. Sioux Falls posted 18 of the possible 19 first-place votes. The Cougars, who hold the nation’s longest winning streak at 23 straight games, host Dordt (Iowa) this Saturday.

The winning streak is tied for college football’s longest in any division (NAIA and NCAA). Mount Union (Ohio), an NCAA Division III member, also holds 23 straight wins.

No. 2 Carroll (Mont.) collected 425 total points and the remaining first-place vote. Standing at 10-0 this year, Carroll has been ranked in the second slot all season long. The Fighting Saints end the regular season with a road game at No. 22 Eastern Oregon on Saturday. A Carroll win would guarantee its 10th straight Frontier Conference Championship. Coming into the game, Carroll ranks fourth nationally in scoring defense (12.1 ppg). Eastern Oregon, who is 7-3 this year, ranks 11th in scoring offense (36.9 ppg).

For the 10th straight poll, Lindenwood (Mo.) is ranked third. The Lions received 412 total points. In the College Fanz/NAIA Game of the Week last Saturday, Lindenwood sneaked past Benedictine (Kan.) 41-31 to stay perfect on the season.

No. 4 Morningside, which has been ranked in the top five all season, earned 393 total points. The Mustangs eye a Nov. 14 date against No. 1 Sioux Falls. Morningside is well-balanced with the No. 2-ranked scoring offense (53.8 ppg) and No. 2-ranked scoring defense (10.4 ppg).

One of the seven undefeated teams in the country, No. 5 Lambuth (Tenn.) posted 370 total points. The Eagles face No. 24 Georgetown (Ky.) this Saturday. Lambuth is ranked in the top 10 nationally in passing offense (312.1 ypg) while Georgetown allows just under 155 passing yards per game.

Two teams fell out of the Top 25 from last week, No. 24 Campbellsville (Ky.) and No. 25 Shorter (Ga.).

Both No. 24 Georgetown (Ky.) and No. 25 St. Ambrose (Iowa) find themselves in the Top 25 after taking a brief break. Georgetown hops back in after a one-week absence while St. Ambrose is included for the first time since Oct. 12.

The poll was voted upon by a panel of head coaches representing each of the conferences and independents. The next Top 25 Poll will be announced on Monday, Nov. 9.

NOTES: Talk about consistency, the top three teams in the poll have been ranked the same each week… No. 2 Carroll (Mont.) has been either No. 1 or No. 2 for the last 30 straight rankings… Sioux Falls (S.D.) has now been ranked No. 1 a total of 40 times since the 2000 season including 23 mentions since 2007… The No. 1 Sioux Falls defense has been getting the job done as no opposing player has rushed for 100 yards or more since the 2007 National Championship – a span of 23 games… Seven teams in the country boast undefeated records with Carroll (Mont.) and St. Xavier (Ill.) holding the most wins (10)… The last time a team other than Carroll (Mont.) and Sioux Falls (S.D.) was ranked at No. 1 was Saint Francis (Ind.) on Nov. 12, 2006 – a streak of 38 polls… Carroll has now been ranked in the Top 5 in the last 61 straight polls dating back to November, 2004… St. Francis boasts the longest consecutive stretch of being named in the Coaches’ Top 25 Poll – now standing at 125 straight mentions – the last time St. Francis was not mentioned in the Top 25 was Oct. 19, 1999… After St. Francis, Carroll is the next team in line with 112 straight Top 25 rankings while Sioux Falls stands at 111 straight mentions… Since 2000, Carroll has been ranked No. 1 53 times, the highest amount of any program during that time span; Sioux Falls is second with 40 mentions at No. 1 followed by Georgetown (Ky.) with 14, Northwestern Oklahoma State with 11 and St. Francis with three… Since 2000, there are seven teams that have been ranked at least one time each season – Carroll (Mont.), MidAmerica Nazarene (Kan.), St. Ambrose (Iowa), St. Francis (Ind.), St. Xavier (Ill.), Sioux Falls (S.D.)… There are 77 schools that have been ranked at least once in the Top 25 since 2000, of that group of schools, six no longer sponsor NAIA football.
NAIA Top 25
1 1 University of Sioux Falls (S.D.) (18) 9-0 444
2 2 Carroll College (Mont.) (1) 10-0 425
3 3 Lindenwood University (Mo.) 8-0 412
4 4 Morningside College (Iowa) 8-0 393
5 5 Lambuth University (Tenn.) 9-0 370
6 6 Saint Xavier University (Ill.) 10-0 360
7 7 Ottawa University (Kan.) 8-0 337
8 8 University of Saint Francis (Ind.) 7-1 321
9 9 Missouri Valley College 7-1 307
10 10 MidAmerica Nazarene University (Kan.) 8-1 291
11 11 McKendree University (Ill.) 8-1 276
12 12 University of the Cumberlands (Ky.) 8-1 254
13 T14 Langston University (Okla.) 6-2 226
14 T14 Friends University (Kan.) 7-1 221
15 16 McPherson College (Kan.) 7-1 214
16 20 Dickinson State University (N.D.) 7-2 173
17 19 Hastings College (Neb.) 7-2 167
18 12 Northwestern College (Iowa) 7-2 164
19 22 Grand View University (Iowa) 7-2 124
20 21 Ohio Dominican University 6-2 120
21 17 Minot State University (N.D.) 6-2 95
22 23 Eastern Oregon University 7-3 92
23 18 Walsh University (Ohio) 6-3 68
24 RV Georgetown College (Ky.) 6-3 48
25 RV Saint Ambrose University (Iowa) 5-3 47

Others receiving votes:
Peru State College (Neb.) 18; Nebraska Wesleyan University 9; Baker University (Kan.) 3; Dakota State University (S.D.) 1; Central Methodist University (Mo.) 1; Campbellsville University (Ky.) 1; University of Virginia's College at Wise 1; Taylor University (Ind.) 1; Shorter College (Ga.) 1
*Courtesy: NAIA