KANSAS CITY, Mo. - The top 15 teams remained unchanged in the first November edition of the
Netting Professionals NAIA Coaches' Top 25 Poll, released Monday by the National Office - including No. 8-ranked Carroll College.
After one of the wildest endings to a game in the 11-year history of Carroll Football - a 41-40 thriller on the road, the Fighting Saints (7-1, 4-0) remained at the No. 8 position of the national poll.
For the first time since the second edition of the poll, Carroll did not move up in the ranking. Entering the week, the Saints had jumped up at least one spot in each of the previous releases dating back to September.
 |
8. Carroll (Mont.), 7-1
Carroll got its seventh win of the season but it wasn't without some drama, winning at Southern Oregon, 41-40. The Saints led 20-3 at the end of the first quarter and 27-13 at the half, but 14 Southern Oregon points in the third quarter tied the game, and SOU scored 13 in the fourth, leading 40-33 with 1:48 left in the game. Carroll used a six-play, 42-yard drive that took just 43 seconds to get within one on Kaden Huot's 14-yard touchdown pass to Carson Ochoa, and Gavin Vandenacre hauled in Huot's pass on the ensuing two-point attempt to win it. Carroll puts a six-game win streak on the line in the first of two home games to close the season, hosting the College of Idaho at Noon MT.
|
The Saints are still one of four Frontier Conference teams appearing inside the Top-25. Montana Tech stayed at No. 5, Montana Western moved up one spot to No. 19, and this weekend's opponent College of Idaho remained at No. 15 - setting up a top-15 battle on Saturday.
Saturday's 12 p.m. kickoff on Valley Bank Field at Nelson Stadium will be an NAIA Featured Game of the Week and Frontier Conference Game of the Week - broadcast on SWX stations throughout Montana, Northern Wyoming, Northern Idaho, and Eastern Washington - as well as nationally on the Urban Edge Network.
A win in the Top-15 battle for the Saints would secure the program's 46th Conference Championship - and lock-up the Frontier-West's automatic berth to the NAIA Football Championship Series.
Tickets for the big game can be purchased in advance
HERE.
The full Netting Professionals NAIA Football Coaches' Poll is listed below:
| Trend |
Rank |
Last Poll |
Institution [First-Place Votes] |
Record |
Points |
| ● |
1 |
1 |
Grand View (Iowa) [14] |
8-0 |
435 |
| ● |
2 |
2 |
Keiser (Fla.) [2] |
8-0 |
423 |
| ● |
3 |
3 |
Benedictine (Kan.) |
8-1 |
407 |
| ● |
4 |
4 |
Friends (Kan.) |
9-0 |
388 |
| ● |
5 |
5 |
Montana Tech |
9-0 |
386 |
| ● |
6 |
6 |
Dordt (Iowa) |
8-0 |
358 |
| ● |
7 |
7 |
Marian (Ind.) |
8-1 |
352 |
| ● |
8 |
8 |
Carroll (Mont.) |
7-1 |
333 |
| ● |
9 |
9 |
Lindsey Wilson (Ky.) |
7-1 |
320 |
| ● |
10 |
10 |
Morningside (Iowa) |
7-2 |
306 |
| ● |
11 |
11 |
Campbellsville (Ky.) |
7-1 |
291 |
| ● |
12 |
12 |
OUAZ (Ariz.) |
7-0 |
279 |
| ● |
13 |
13 |
Indiana Wesleyan |
7-2 |
277 |
| ● |
14 |
14 |
Southeastern (Fla.) |
7-1 |
253 |
| ● |
15 |
15 |
College of Idaho |
7-1 |
247 |
| ▲ |
16 |
17 |
St. Thomas |
5-3 |
212 |
| ▲ |
17 |
19 |
William Penn (Iowa) |
8-1 |
205 |
| ▲ |
18 |
21 |
McPherson (Kan.) |
8-1 |
199 |
| ▲ |
19 |
20 |
Montana Western |
6-3 |
194 |
| ▲ |
20 |
23 |
Northwestern (Iowa) |
5-3 |
151 |
| ▼ |
21 |
16 |
Georgetown (Ky.) |
5-3 |
136 |
| ▲ |
22 |
RV |
Saint Francis (Ind.) |
7-2 |
127 |
| ▲ |
23 |
24 |
Evangel (Mo.) |
7-2 |
112 |
| ▲ |
24 |
25 |
Texas Wesleyan |
6-3 |
111 |
| ▼ |
25 |
18 |
Southwestern (Kan.) |
6-3 |
107 |
Receiving Votes: Cumberland (Tenn.) 62, Concordia (Neb.) 57, Olivet Nazarene (Ill.) 55, Bethel (Tenn.) 46, MidAmerica Nazarene (Kan.) 31, Dakota State (S.D.) 26, Saint Xavier (Ill.) 23, Taylor (Ind.) 10, Reinhardt (Ga.) 9, Baker (Kan.) 8, Cumberlands (Ky.) 5
Dropped out of Top 25: Olivet Nazarene (Ill.)
Poll Methodology
- The national poll is for publicity purposes only and does not influence the selection process for national championship consideration.
- A panel of head coaches representing each conference and the Continental Athletic Conference (Independents) votes in the poll.
- The Top 25 teams are selected using a points-based system:
- 30 points for a 1st-place vote, 29 for 2nd, 28 for 3rd, and so on.
- The highest and lowest rankings received by each team are discarded before final tallying.
- Teams receiving only one point are not listed as "receiving votes."
- For a complete look at the Netting Professionals NAIA Top 25 Coaches' Poll throughout the regular season, and for historical rankings, click here.
Key: RV - Receiving Votes, NR - Not Ranked, ▲- Climbed, ▼- Dropped, ● - Steady
Be sure to visit www.carrollathletics.com to continue to stay up to date with everything going on in Carroll Athletics.
FOLLOW THE FIGHTING SAINTS
Facebook: @carrollcollegeathletics
Instagram: @cc_saints
X: @CCsaints
#MarchOn
++
