Sept. 22, 2008

KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Thanks to a 17-10 victory in the NAIA Game of the Week, Carroll (Mont.) College holds to No. 1 in the second regular season edition of the NAIA Football Top 25 Coaches’ Poll (Sept. 22). The Fighting Saints came back from a 7-3 hole to surpass then-No. 15 Montana State-Northern last Saturday in Havre, Mont. Carroll, who has won 19 straight games which includes the 2007 National Championship, picked up all 18 of the possible first-place votes and 418 total points.

The University of Sioux Falls (S.D.) stays at No. 2 for the fifth straight time. The Cougars hold a 135-17 scoring advantage during their 3-0 start. They earned 402 total points and look to extend a 26-game conference winning streak on Saturday. Missouri Valley and Saint Francis (Ind.) remain at No. 3 and 4, respectively. Hopping up one spot to No. 5 is Morningside (Iowa) thanks to a loss by last week’s No. 5 team, Ohio Dominican.

There were just two teams new to the poll this week: No. 23 Langston (Okla.) and No. 25 St. Xavier (Ill.). Holding a 3-1 record this year, Langston has taken down three straight opponents with the latest a 13-0 shutout of Lane (Tenn.). The Lions enter the Top 25 for the first time since the 2007 Preseason Poll (Aug. 13). St. Xavier hops back into the national scene courtesy of a 61-3 thrashing of Olivet Nazarene (Ill.) last Saturday.

The poll was voted upon by a panel of head coaches representing each of the conferences and independents. The second regular season Top 25 poll will be announced on Sept. 29.

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NOTES: Since 2000, Carroll has been No. 1 a total of 45 times, the highest amount of any program during that time span; Sioux Falls is second with 28 mentions at No. 1 followed by Georgetown (Ky.) with 14, Northwestern Oklahoma State with 11 and Saint Francis (Ind.) with three… The last time a team other than Carroll and Sioux Falls has been No. 1 was Saint Francis on Nov. 12, 2006… Carroll has now been ranked in the Top 5 in the last 42 straight polls dating back to November of 2004… St. Francis boasts the longest consecutive stretch of being named in the Coaches’ Top 25 Poll -- 108 straight weeks… The last time USF was not mentioned in the Top 25 was Oct. 19, 1999… Carroll (Mont.) is the next team in line with 95 straight Top 25 rankings while Sioux Falls (S.D.) stands at 94 straight mentions… The Top 4 teams in the poll have been the same throughout the first three 2008 fall polls… Union (Ky.) is in the Top 25 for the second straight week – the Bulldogs last appearance in the Top 25 before last week was during the 1996 season.

2008 NAIA Football Top 25 Coaches’ Poll – (Sept. 22)

RANK	LAST WEEK	SCHOOL (1st Place Votes)	2008 RECORD*	TOTAL POINTS
1	1	Carroll College (Mont.) (18)	4-0	418
2	2	University of Sioux Falls (S.D.)	3-0	402
3	3	Missouri Valley College	3-0	382
4	4	University of Saint Francis (Ind.)	3-0	374
5	6	Morningside College (Iowa)	3-0	353
6	7	MidAmerica Nazarene University (Kan.)	3-0	337
7	8	University of Virginia's College at Wise	4-0	311
8	9	Friends University (Kan.)	2-0	290
9	5	Ohio Dominican University	2-1	288
10	10	Saint Ambrose University (Iowa)	2-1	269
11	11	Lindenwood University (Mo.)	2-1	257
12	12	Northwestern Oklahoma State University	2-1	244
T13	14	Northwestern College (Iowa)	2-1	219
T13	13	Bethel College (Kan.)	2-0	219
15	16	Jamestown College (N.D.)	2-1	160
16	T18	Union College (Ky.)	3-0	156
17	15	Montana State University-Northern	2-1	146
18	17	Georgetown College (Ky.)	1-1	143
19	T18	Black Hills State University (S.D.)	2-1	132
20	21	University of the Cumberlands (Ky.)	2-1	127
21	22	University of St. Francis (Ill.)	3-0	119
22	25	Midland Lutheran College (Neb.)	3-0	94
23	RV	Langston University (Okla.)	3-1	53
24	20	Valley City State University (N.D.)	2-1	38
25	RV	Saint Xavier University (Ill.)	1-2	26

Others receiving votes:

McKendree University (Ill.) 23; Marian College (Ind.) 16; Dakota Wesleyan University (S.D.) 7; Southern Nazarene University (Okla.) 4; Malone College (Ohio) 4; Ottawa University (Kan.) 3; Shorter College (Ga.) 3; Dakota State University (S.D.) 1; Evangel University (Mo.) 1; Cumberland University (Tenn.) 1

* Records as submitted by schools and raters