Orediggers rise in latest NAIA Top 25 Coaches’ Poll
After last Saturday's 49-31 Homecoming win over Eastern Oregon, the Montana Tech Orediggers have moved up in the latest NAIA Top 25 poll. The following is from the NAIA headquarters in Kansas City:
KANSAS CITY, Mo. – The latest NAIA Football Coaches' Top 25 Rating presented by FirstDown PlayBook once again sees Northwestern (Iowa) leading the country with all 18 first-place votes. Grand View (Iowa) and Morningside (Iowa) remain second and third respectively with Indiana Wesleyan moving up one spot and Marian (Ind.) joining the top five. Cumberlands (Ky.) rides their 4-0 record into the rankings for the first time this season.
Rating Methodology
- The ranking 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 or division.
- The Top 25 is determined by a points system based on how each rater 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."
| RANK | LAST TIME | SCHOOL [FIRST-PLACE VOTES] | RECORD | POINTS |
| 1 | 1 | Northwestern (Iowa) [18] | 3-0 | 418 |
| 2 | 2 | Grand View (Iowa) | 3-0 | 400 |
| 3 | 3 | Morningside (Iowa) | 3-0 | 387 |
| 4 | 5 | Indiana Wesleyan | 3-0 | 362 |
| 5 | 6 | Marian (Ind.) | 3-0 | 350 |
| 6 | 7 | Bethel (Tenn.) | 3-0 | 335 |
| 7 | 8 | College of Idaho | 3-0 | 310 |
| 8 | 4 | Keiser (Fla.) | 1-2 | 306 |
| 9 | 9 | Southwestern (Kan.) | 4-0 | 297 |
| 10 | 10 | Carroll (Mont.) | 3-0 | 278 |
| 11 | 11 | Lindsey Wilson (Ky.) | 2-1 | 246 |
| 12 | 12 | Georgetown (Ky.) | 2-0 | 244 |
| 13 | 13 | Texas Wesleyan | 3-0 | 222 |
| 14 | 17 | St. Francis (Ill.) | 3-0 | 190 |
| 15 | 16 | Montana Tech | 2-1 | 186 |
| 16 | 19 | Dordt (Iowa) | 3-0 | 168 |
| 17 | 21 | Concordia (Mich.) | 3-0 | 166 |
| 18 | 15 | Saint Xavier (Ill.) | 1-2 | 130 |
| 19 | NR | Cumberlands (Ky.) | 4-0 | 91 |
| 20 | 25 | Evangel (Mo.) | 4-0 | 85 |
| 21 | 20 | Benedictine (Kan.) | 2-2 | 69 |
| 22 | 22 | OUAZ (Ariz.) | 2-1 | 61 |
| 23 | 23 | St. Thomas (Fla.) | 1-2 | 59 |
| 24 | 24 | Dickinson State (N.D.) | 2-1 | 54 |
| 25 | 18 | Graceland (Iowa) | 3-1 | 43 |
Dropped From Top 25: Reinhardt (Ga.)
Receiving Votes: Reinhardt (Ga.) 42; Missouri Valley 38; Southeastern (Fla.) 34; Montana Western 23; Louisiana Christian 8; MidAmerica Nazarene (Kan.) 6
This Saturday, the #15 Orediggers will host the #8 College of Idaho Yotes in a key Frontier Conference contest at noon at Bob Green Field. Advance tickets are available here.