KANSAS CITY, Mo. – While a tie was broken from a week ago, the top five teams in the NAIA Football Coaches’ Top 25 Poll remained the same as conference play continued for many over the weekend. No. 4 Lindsey Wilson (Ky.) survived an overtime thriller on the road against then-No. 15 Georgetown (Ky.), former No. 1 and defending national champion Saint Francis (Ind.) needed extra time to defeat conference foe and then-No. 20 Siena Heights (Mich.).
Top 25 Highlights (historical information dates back to 1999)
- No. 1 Morningside (Iowa) withstood another test with a 69-7 win over Doane (Iowa) over the weekend. The win is the fifth in a row by a margin of 50-or-more points.
- Lindsey Wilson held its ground at No. 4 with a 37-31 overtime win over then-No. 15 Georgetown. The Blue Raiders are 5-1 on the year, the only loss coming against NCAA Division I institution Presbyterian (S.C.).
- Avila (Mo.) and Saint Xavier (Ill.) are new to the poll this week after both secured critical victories over the weekend. While the Eagles took care of Friends (Kan.) 31-21, the Cougars picked-up their fifth win of the year in a 41-6 victory over Trinity International (Ill.)
- Southern Oregon dropped its second-consecutive game over the weekend in Frontier Conference play. Eastern Oregon made a jump from No. 24 to No. 19 this week thanks to its 27-17 win over the Raiders.
- Carroll (Mont.) owns the most No. 1-rankings with 57, followed by former NAIA member Sioux Falls (S.D.) (55), Georgetown (Ky.) (25), Morningside (Iowa) 23 and Marian (Ind.) 22.
- Morningside holds the longest active streak with 145-straight Top 25 mentions.
Poll Methodology
- The poll 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.
- The Top 25 is determined by a points system based on how each voter 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.”
2018 NAIA Football Coaches’ Top 25 Poll – Poll Six (Oct. 15)
| RANK | LAST WEEK | SCHOOL | RECORD | FINAL POINTS |
| 1 | 1 | Morningside (Iowa) [15] | 7-0 | 366 |
| 2 | 2 | Marian (Ind.) [1] | 6-0 | 351 |
| 3 | 3 | Northwestern (Iowa) | 6-0 | 339 |
| 4 | 4 | Lindsey Wilson (Ky.) | 5-1 | 314 |
| 5 | 4 | Reinhardt (Ga.) | 6-1 | 311 |
| 6 | 6 | Evangel (Mo.) | 8-0 | 302 |
| 7 | 8 | Grand View (Iowa) | 5-1 | 275 |
| 8 | 9 | Bethel (Tenn.) | 7-0 | 255 |
| 9 | 10 | Kansas Wesleyan | 7-0 | 243 |
| 10 | 11 | Concordia (Mich.) | 6-1 | 233 |
| 11 | 12 | Benedictine (Kan.) | 6-1 | 220 |
| 12 | 13 | Saint Francis (Ind.) | 5-2 | 210 |
| 13 | 14 | Langston (Okla.) | 5-1 | 193 |
| 14 | 7 | Southern Oregon | 4-2 | 176 |
| 15 | 16 | Rocky Mountain (Mont.) | 5-2 | 171 |
| 16 | 17 | Baker (Kan.) | 5-2 | 165 |
| 17 | 18 | Cumberlands (Ky.) | 7-1 | 156 |
| 18 | 19 | Montana Western | 5-1 | 135 |
| 19 | 24 | Eastern Oregon | 4-2 | 117 |
| 20 | 21 | Dickinson State (N.D.) | 5-2 | 93 |
| 21 | 15 | Georgetown (Ky.) | 4-3 | 85 |
| 22 | 22 | Ottawa (Kan.) | 6-1 | 78 |
| 23 | 20 | Siena Heights (Mich.) | 5-1 | 52 |
| 24 | NR | Saint Xavier (Ill.) | 5-3 | 41 |
| 25 | NR | Avila (Mo.) | 5-1 | 31 |
Dropped from the Top 25: Montana Tech, Webber International (Fla.)
Others Receiving Votes: Keiser (Fla.) 11, Midland (Neb.) 7, Montana Tech 3
