Photo courtesy of Dave McCulley
KANSAS CITY, Mo. – The latest NAIA Football Coaches’ Top 25 Rating presented by FirstDown PlayBook once again sees Northwestern (Iowa) leading the country with all 18 first-place votes. Grand View (Iowa) and Morningside (Iowa) remain second and third respectively with Indiana Wesleyan moving up one spot and Marian (Ind.) joining the top five. Cumberlands (Ky.) rides their 4-0 record into the rankings for the first time this season.
The Bethel Wildcats improved one spot to number six in the poll. The Wildcats are 3-0 and meet Thomas University Saturday at Wildcat Stadium. Bethel leads the nation in scoring, averaging 63.0 points per game. Kick-off on Military Appreciation Day is slated for 1 p.m. The gates will open at 11:15 a.m. Military personnel will accompany the Wildcats on the Wildcat Walk scheduled at 11:15 a.m.
Rating Methodology
· The ranking 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.”
| RANK | LAST TIME | SCHOOL [FIRST-PLACE VOTES] | RECORD |
| 1 | 1 | Northwestern (Iowa) [18] | 3-0 |
| 2 | 2 | Grand View (Iowa) | 3-0 |
| 3 | 3 | Morningside (Iowa) | 3-0 |
| 4 | 5 | Indiana Wesleyan | 3-0 |
| 5 | 6 | Marian (Ind.) | 3-0 |
| 6 | 7 | Bethel (Tenn.) | 3-0 |
| 7 | 8 | College of Idaho | 2-0 |
| 8 | 4 | Keiser (Fla.) | 1-2 |
| 9 | 9 | Southwestern (Kan.) | 2-0 |
| 10 | 10 | Carroll (Mont.) | 3-0 |
| 11 | 11 | Lindsey Wilson (Ky.) | 2-1 |
| 12 | 12 | Georgetown (Ky.) | 2-0 |
| 13 | 13 | Texas Wesleyan | 3-0 |
| 14 | 17 | St. Francis (Ill.) | 3-0 |
| 15 | 16 | Montana Tech | 2-1 |
| 16 | 19 | Dordt (Iowa) | 3-0 |
| 17 | 21 | Concordia (Mich.) | 3-0 |
| 18 | 15 | Saint Xavier (Ill.) | 1-2 |
| 19 | NR | Cumberlands (Ky.) | 4-0 |
| 20 | 25 | Evangel (Mo.) | 4-0 |
| 21 | 20 | Benedictine (Kan.) | 2-2 |
| 22 | 22 | OUAZ (Ariz.) | 2-1 |
| 23 | 23 | St. Thomas (Fla.) | 1-2 |
| 24 | 24 | Dickinson State (N.D.) | 2-1 |
| 25 | 18 | Graceland (Iowa) | 3-1 |
Dropped From Top 25: Reinhardt (Ga.)
Receiving Votes: Reinhardt (Ga.) 42; Missouri Valley 38; Southeastern (Fla.) 34; Montana Western 23; Louisiana Christian 8; MidAmerica Nazarene (Kan.) 6
