Oct. 6, 2008

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KANSAS CITY, Mo. – The top seven teams won by an average margin of 41 points last weekend as nothing changed at the top portion of the fourth regular season NAIA Football Top 25 Coaches’ Poll (Oct. 7). For the sixth straight poll, No. 1 Carroll (Mont.) earned every one of the possible first-place votes this time posting 17 tallies and 392 total points. Standing with an NAIA-best 6-0 record, the Fighting Saints are 105-12 (.897) since 2000. That record this decade is the second highest win total among all football programs (NCAA, NAIA) in the country including better than Oklahoma and Grand Valley State (Mich.).

Carroll’s next test is scheduled for an Oct. 11 date against the University of Montana Western. CC is sitting on a 21-game winning streak dating back to last season.

For the seventh straight time, Sioux Falls (S.D.) sits at No. 2 in the polls. The Cougars won with relative ease last Saturday, which was the theme of the top teams, taking out Doane (Neb.) 37-7. Missouri Valley remains at No. 3 with a 5-0 perfect mark. No. 4 St. Francis (Ind.) dominated its second straight Top 15 opponent over the weekend, this time blanking then-No. 8 Ohio Dominican, 35-0, to stay at the fourth spot. With the loss, ODU fell seven spots this week to No. 15. No. 5 Morningside won 58-7 over Dana (Neb.) and moved to 4-0.

No. 25 Malone (Ohio) finds itself listed in the poll for the first time since the Preseason Top 25 (Aug. 11) when it was No. 24. Most recently, Malone overcame Marian (Ind.) 45-37 to move to 2-1 on the year.

The poll was voted upon by a panel of head coaches representing each of the conferences and independents. The fifth regular season Top 25 poll will be announced on Oct. 13.

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NOTES: There a total of eight programs with an undefeated record… With the 21-game winning streak, Carroll is half-way to the all-time national record set by Texas A&I in the mid-70s (42 games)… Sterling (Kan.) was the lone school to fall out of the ratings this week after a No. 25 slot last time – Sterling lost 38-14 at No. 10 Northwestern Oklahoma State on Saturday… No. 11 Union (Ky.) is off to its best start in program history (5-0) and is 2-0 in the conference for the first time since 1991… Since 2004 when Ohio Dominican started varsity football, the Panthers have been ranked in 28 of a possible 57 polls – those 28 polls happen to be the last 27 straight weeks… Since 2000, Carroll has been No. 1 a total of 47 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 44 straight polls dating back to November of 2004… St. Francis boasts the longest consecutive stretch of being named in the Coaches’ Top 25 Poll – now standing at 110 straight mentions… The last time USF was not mentioned in the Top 25 was Oct. 19, 1999… Carroll (Mont.) is the next team in line with 97 straight Top 25 rankings while Sioux Falls (S.D.) stands at 96 straight mentions… The Top 4 teams in the poll have been the same throughout the first five 2008 fall polls.

2008 NAIA Football Top 25 Coaches’ Poll – (Sept. 29)

RANK	LAST WEEK	SCHOOL (1st PLACE VOTES)	2008 RECORD*	TOTAL POINTS
1	1	Carroll College (Mont.) (17)	6-0	392
2	2	University of Sioux Falls (S.D.)	5-0	377
3	3	Missouri Valley College	5-0	357
4	4	University of Saint Francis (Ind.)	5-0	352
5	5	Morningside College (Iowa)	4-0	331
6	6	MidAmerica Nazarene University (Kan.)	5-0	318
7	7	Friends University (Kan.)	4-0	297
8	9	Lindenwood University (Mo.)	3-1	279
9	10	Northwestern Oklahoma State University	3-1	270
10	11	Northwestern College (Iowa)	4-1	256
11	12	Union College (Ky.)	5-0	233
12	13	University of Virginia's College at Wise	5-1	216
13	14	Montana State University-Northern	4-1	203
14	15	Black Hills State University (S.D.)	4-1	192
15	8	Ohio Dominican University	3-2	186
16	17	University of the Cumberlands (Ky.)	4-1	183
17	16	Saint Ambrose University (Iowa)	3-2	171
18	20	Bethel College (Kan.)	3-1	115
19	21	Saint Xavier University (Ill.)	3-2	110
20	23	Shorter College (Ga.)	4-1	101
21	22	Langston University (Okla.)	3-2	86
22	18	University of St. Francis (Ill.)	4-1	74
23	24	Jamestown College (N.D.)	3-2	56
24	19	Midland Lutheran College (Neb.)	4-1	49
25	RV	Malone University (Ohio)	2-1	44

Others receiving votes:

Kansas Wesleyan University 21; Ottawa University (Kan.) 15; South Dakota School of Mines & Tech 7; Baker University (Kan.) 4; Minot State University (N.D.) 1; Lambuth University (Tenn.) 1; Dakota Wesleyan University (S.D.) 1

* Records as submitted by schools and raters