The first DII football regional rankings are out. Here's what we know. NCAA.com
CHAMPS
PRESENTED BY The DII Football Championship is inching closer every week. This past Monday, , shedding a bit more light on which schools will fill out that tournament bracket come November. Seven teams from each of the four Super Regions will head to the postseason. Over the next three weeks, we’ll keep a close eye on the top 10 in each Super Region, monitoring who will make that final cut and head to the playoffs for a shot at a national championship. But first, let's take a look at what we learned from the first regional rankings of 2018. 3
WE ARE THE STORM. — VSU Athletics (@BlazerAthletics) Last season, an unknown West Florida emerged from this corner of the bracket in stunning fashion. Of the six teams the Argonauts had to contend with, West Georgia and Bowie State may be the only two that will return to the postseason mix. There is plenty of intrigue here as DII football's No. 1 scoring offense (Valdosta State) and No. 1 total defense (Tuskegee) both lurk in the region. Three of football's most versatile quarterbacks — Bowie State's Amir Hall, Valdosta State's Rogan Wells and West Georgia's Willie Candler — are also atop these rankings. This should mount up to be another fun region to watch with plenty of surprises. REGION/RANK SCHOOL IN-REGION RECORD DIVISION II RECORD SUPER REGION TWO 1 West Ga. 8-0 8-0 2 Valdosta St. 8-0 8-0 3 Lenoir-Rhyne 7-1 7-1 4 Florida Tech 6-2 6-2 5 Bowie St. 5-1 6-1 6 Carson-Newman 5-2 5-2 7 Morehouse 6-1 6-1 8 Virginia Union 5-2 5-2 9 Tuskegee 5-1 5-2 10 Albany St. (GA) 5-3 5-3 5
MORE: spot REGION/RANK SCHOOL IN-REGION RECORD DIVISION II RECORD SUPER REGION FOUR 1 Minn. Duluth 8-0 8-0 2 Minnesota St. 8-0 8-0 3 Colo. Sch. Of Mines 8-0 8-0 4 Colorado St.-Pueblo 7-1 7-1 5 Tarleton St. 7-0 7-0 6 MSU Texas 5-1 6-1 7 Tex. A&M-Commerce 4-2 6-2 8 Central Wash. 6-1 6-1 9 St. Cloud St. 6-2 6-2 10 Azusa Pacific 5-2 5-2 6
The number of undefeated teams in Super Region One. There are 13 undefeated teams remaining in DII football. Five of them reside right here. When you throw in that New Haven’s lone loss was a season-opening one to FCS Bryant, there are six teams undefeated in DII play. Let's not forget to mention that No. 7 Hillsdale (7-1) is currently undefeated in its conference. Someone is going to have to lose eventually, right? MORE: Perhaps the most exciting aspect of the undefeated teams in this region is that not many people saw it coming. Notre Dame (OH) is 8-0 and the No. 1 team in the region and they weren’t even nationally ranked in the preseason polls. No. 2-seeded Kutztown, now 7-0, didn’t even receive a vote heading into the season. Ohio Dominican and Findlay both represented the Great Midwest Athletic Conference in the top 25 to open the season, with Hillsdale snagging a few votes, but lo and behold, here’s 8-0 Tiffin, who didn’t garner a single preseason vote, sitting at No. 4. ! — Lee Stalker (@CoachStalker) Undefeated West Chester? Nope, not in the preseason top 25. New Haven? You guessed it, not in the preseason top 25, nor are they even in the current top 25. LIU Post? The 7-0 Pioneers finally entered the polls three weeks ago and have steadily climbed six spots in the past three weeks. This Super Region is full of the unexpected, which makes every game a playoff game from here on out. Welcome to DII football’s Undefeatedville. REGION/RANK SCHOOL IN-REGION RECORD DIVISION II RECORD SUPER REGION ONE 1 Notre Dame (OH) 8-0 8-0 2 Kutztown 7-0 7-0 3 New Haven 6-0 6-0 4 Tiffin 8-0 8-0 5 LIU Post 7-0 7-0 6 West Chester 7-0 7-0 7 Hillsdale 7-1 7-1 8 Ohio Dominican 6-2 6-2 9 Slippery Rock 6-1 7-1 10 Assumption 5-2 5-2 9
The number of teams that Let’s break this down even further. Two of DII football’s all-time winningest programs — No. 3-seeded Grand Valley State and No. 4 Northwest Missouri State — hail from Super Region Three. If the season ended today, No. 8 Harding and No. 9 Pittsburg State are on the outside looking in. That's simply remarkable. Harding has the No. 2-ranked rushing offense and a top three defense in DII football, all while being the No. 23 team in the AFCA poll, and they can't crack the top seven. Pittsburg State had been in the top 25 for six weeks and are clinging onto a spot in the top 10. Poor Saginaw Valley State is having its best season in five years and will have a tough task climbing this ladder. REGION/RANK SCHOOL IN-REGION RECORD DIVISION II RECORD SUPER REGION THREE 1 Ferris St. 7-0 8-0 2 Ouachita Baptist 8-0 8-0 3 Grand Valley St. 5-1 7-1 4 Northwest Mo. St. 7-1 7-1 5 UIndy 6-1 6-1 6 Southern Ark. 7-1 7-1 7 Fort Hays St. 6-2 6-2 8 Harding 6-2 6-2 9 Pittsburg St. 6-2 6-2 10 Saginaw Valley 6-2 6-2 RELATED: and . His work has appeared on Bleacher Report, MLB.com, AJC.com, SB Nation and FoxSports.com and in publications like The Advocate and Lindy's Sports. Follow him on Twitter at . The views on this page do not necessarily reflect the views of the NCAA or its member institutions. Women' s college hockey rankings Wisconsin-Minnesota Duluth series shakes up latest Power 10
In the latest women's college hockey rankings, the series between Wisconsin and Minnesota Duluth shook up the top 5. Where the Miracle on Ice Olympic team played college hockey
Here's where the members of the 1980 Miracle on Ice Olympic hockey team played college hockey. DII football programs with the most NCAA DII national championships
Here's a look at the programs that have won the most DII football national championships. Subscribe To Email Updates
Enter your information to receive emails about offers, promotions from NCAA.com and our partners Sign Me Up DII football