- This is USF’s 14th NAIA football No. 1 ranking tying Saint Xavier for No. 5 on the most No. 1 rankings list.
- 11 consecutive No. 1 rankings — a USF record.
- USF is 14-1 when ranked No. 1 in the NAIA Coaches’ Top 25.
- 26th consecutive ranking in the Top 25 Top 5.
- 132nd NAIA Top 5 ranking.
- 31 consecutive Top 25 Top 10 rankings . . . 187th overall Top 10 ranking
- 34th consecutive Top 25 ranking
- 218th NAIA Top 25 ranking
- This is the 15th time a Kevin Donley coached team has been ranked No. 1.
- USF has scored 30 or more points in 12 of its last 13 games when ranked No. 1
- USF is 8-1 when ranked No. 1 and facing a Top 25 opponent. USF has won four consecutive Top 25 games as No. 1.
- This is the 22nd consecutive Top 25 that a team from the MSFA Mideast League has been ranked No. 1.
2017 NAIA Football Coaches’ Top 25 Poll — No. 8
Cougars capture 14th all-time No. 1 ranking
October 30, 2017
By Alan Grosbach, Associate Director of Athletic Communications and Media
KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Saint Francis (Ind.) captures its 14th all-time No. 1 ranking in the NAIA Football Coaches Top 25 Poll, the national office announced Monday. The Cougars, who have been the unanimous top pick in all nine polls this season, claimed all 15 first-place votes and 340 total points.
Top 25 Highlights (historical information dates back to 1999)
• Saint Francis has held the No. 1 ranking for 11-straight polls dating back to the 2016 postseason edition. Additionally, the top billing for the Cougars extends the streak of a Mid-States Football Association Mideast League (MSFAE) team holding the top-spot to 23-consecutive polls.
• Saint Francis kept its unbeaten season alive and extend its winning streak to 18-straight with a 70-0 victory over Lindenwood-Belleville (Ill.) last Saturday. The Cougars are 5-0 in the MSFAE and already own at least a share of the conference championship with only one game to play – Saturday against Taylor (Ind.).
• There was no movement in the top 10 this week.
• No. 25 Evangel (Mo.) joins the Top 25 for the first time since September 29, 2014 (No. 25). The Crusaders, which are the only newcomer to the poll this week, have quietly gone 6-3 this season and are currently tied with No. 2 Baker (Kan.) for first-place in the Heart of America Athletic Conference South Division. Evangel travels to Avila (Mo.) on Saturday before hosting a potential conference regular-season title game against Baker on Nov. 11.
• Carroll (Mont.) owns the most No. 1 rankings with 58, followed by former NAIA member Sioux Falls (S.D.) (55), No. 9 Georgetown (25), No. 4 Morningside (Iowa) (20), No. 10 Saint Xavier (Ill.) (14) and Saint Francis (14).
• Morningside holds the longest active streak with 134-straight Top 25 mentions. Additionally, the Mustangs have been ranked within the top 10 in 83-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’ Top 25 Poll – No. 8 (October 30, 2017)
| RANK | LAST TIME^ | SCHOOL (1ST PLACE VOTES) | 2017 RECORD | TOTAL POINTS |
| 1 | 1 | Saint Francis (Ind.) (15) | 9-0 | 340 |
| 2 | 2 | Baker (Kan.) | 9-0 | 327 |
| 3 | 3 | Reinhardt (Ga.) | 7-0 | 312 |
| 4 | 4 | Morningside (Iowa) | 9-0 | 303 |
| 5 | 5 | Lindsey Wilson (Ky.) | 8-0 | 287 |
| 6 | 6 | Grand View (Iowa) | 8-1 | 272 |
| 7 | 7 | Southern Oregon | 8-0 | 266 |
| 8 | 8 | Langston (Okla.) | 8-0 | 241 |
| 9 | 9 | Georgetown (Ky.) | 7-0 | 237 |
| 10 | 10 | Saint Xavier (Ill.) | 7-1 | 227 |
| 11 | 12 | Benedictine (Kan.) | 8-1 | 213 |
| 12 | 13 | Southeastern (Fla.) | 6-1 | 191 |
| 13 | 14 | Northwestern (Iowa) | 8-1 | 183 |
| 14 | 15 | Dickinson State (N.D.) | 8-1 | 169 |
| 15 | 16 | Concordia (Mich.) | 8-1 | 159 |
| 16 | 17 | SAGU (Texas) | 7-1 | 139 |
| 17 | 11 | Montana Tech | 6-2 | 132 |
| 18 | 18 | Sterling (Kan.) | 7-2 | 122 |
| 19 | 19 | Tabor (Kan.) | 6-2 | 108 |
| 20 | 21 | Marian (Ind.) | 5-3 | 84 |
| 21 | 20 | Campbellsville (Ky.) | 6-1 | 73 |
| 22 | 22 | Cumberland (Tenn.) | 6-3 | 57 |
| 23 | 23 | Arizona Christian | 6-3 | 50 |
| 24 | 24 | Doane (Neb.) | 5-3 | 34 |
| 25 | RV | Evangel (Mo.) | 6-3 | 13 |
Dropped from the Top 25: Dakota State (S.D.) (No. 25)
Others Receiving Votes: Kansas Wesleyan 11; Concordia (Neb.) 8; Dakota State (S.D.) 6; Rocky Mountain (Mont.) 6; Faulkner (Ala.) 5; Bluefield (Va.) 3; Peru State (Neb.) 3.
^ Top 25 ranking from Oct. 23, 2017 Top 25 Poll