Unbeaten Cougars finish way they started: No. 1 in NAIA Postseason Top 25

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December 19, 2017

By Alan Grosbach, NAIA Associate Director of Athletic Communication and Bill Scott, USF Sports Information Director

KANSAS CITY, Mo. – National champion University of Saint Francis (Ind.) kept its grip on the No. 1 ranking in the NAIA Football Coaches’ Post-season Top 25 Poll, the national office announced Tuesday. The Cougars claimed all 13 first-place votes and 288 total points.


Top 25 Highlights (information dates back to 1999)

• USF, which is now ranked No. 1 for the 17th time in program history, won its second national title with a 24-13 victory over No. 2 Reinhardt (Ga.) last Saturday in Daytona Beach, Fla.
• The Cougars are 19-1 when ranked No. 1, 12-0 at home, 6-0 on the road and 1-1 in neutral site games.
• USF has been ranked No. 1 in 14 consecutive Top 25 ratings, a USF record.
• The Cougars have earned 29 consecutive Top 5 Top 25 rankings.
• USF has received 135 Top 5 Top 25 rankings.
• This is USF’s 34th consecutive Top 10 Top 25 ranking.
• This is USF’s 190th Top 10 Top 25 ranking.
• USF has been ranked in the NAIA Top 25 in 37 consecutive rankings
• USF has been ranked in the Top 25 in 222 polls in 20 seasons.
• This is the 18th No. 1 ranking for a Kevin Donley coached team in NAIA.
• The Cougars have won 8 consecutive games against Top 25 opposition when USF is No. 1 and is 9-1 against Top 25 teams when ranked No. 1.
• This is the 25th consecutive poll a team from the MSFA Mideast League has been ranked No. 1.
• The Cougars (14-0) are the first team since former member Sioux Falls (S.D.) (2008, 2009) to win back-to-back titles. The win was also USF’s 23rd-straight in all competitions.
• USF is the first team to hold the No. 1 ranking for an entire season (13 editions) since Sioux Falls did it in 2009.
• No new teams joined the Top 25.
• No. 7 Georgetown (Ky.) jumped a poll-best five spots from No. 12 after reaching the quarterfinals of the 2017 NAIA Football Championship Series.
• Carroll (Mont.) owns the most No. 1 rankings with 58, followed by former NAIA member Sioux Falls (S.D.) (55), Georgetown (25), No. 18 Marian (Ind.) (22), No. 3 Morningside (Iowa) (20), Saint Francis (17) and No. 6 Saint Xavier (Ill.) (14).
• Morningside holds the longest active streak with 137-straight Top 25 mentions. Additionally, the Mustangs have been ranked within the top 10 in 86-straight polls.

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.”
• For the complete Top 25 calendar, click here.

2017 NAIA Football Coaches’ Postseason Top 25 Poll (December 19, 2017)

RANK PREVIOUS SCHOOL (1ST PLACE VOTES) 2017 RECORD TOTAL POINTS
1 1 University of Saint Francis (Ind.) (13) 14-0 288
2 2 Reinhardt (Ga.) 12-1 277
3 3 Morningside (Iowa) 13-1 265
4 5 Southern Oregon 12-1 256
5 4 Lindsey Wilson (Ky.) 11-1 244
6 8 Saint Xavier (Ill.) 10-2 223
7 12 Georgetown (Ky.) 9-2 220
8 10 Northwestern (Iowa) 10-3 215
9 6 Baker (Kan.) 10-2 200
10 9 Southeastern (Fla.) 8-2 188
11 11 Grand View (Iowa) 9-3 174
12 15 Benedictine (Kan.) 9-3 166
13 7 Langston (Okla.) 10-1 157
14 13 Dickinson State (N.D.) 9-2 152
15 14 Concordia (Mich.) 9-2 144
16 16 Sterling (Kan.) 9-3 124
17 17 Tabor (Kan.) 8-2 108
18 19 Marian (Ind.) 7-3 94
19 18 SAGU (Texas) 8-3 92
20 20 Campbellsville (Ky.) 8-2 76
21 21 Kansas Wesleyan 8-3 60
22 22 Faulkner (Ala.) 7-3 55
23 23 Dakota State (S.D.) 8-3 38
24 24 Oklahoma Panhandle State 7-3 35
25 25 Evangel (Mo.) 7-4 21

Dropped from the Top 25: None

Others Receiving Votes: Montana Tech 9; College of Idaho 6; Cumberland (Tenn.) 4.

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