Central gains another preseason football ranking

PELLA—Central College is No. 21 in the Division III preseason top 30 from the 2020 College Football America Yearbook.

Earlier the Dutch were tabbed for No. 10 in the Street & Smith College Football Yearbook.

The University of Wisconsin-Whitewater, last year’s Division III runner-up, was picked for the top spot ahead of the University of Mount Union (Ohio) and defending champion North Central College (Ill.).

American Rivers rival Wartburg College, which shared the league title with Central last year, is ranked No. 20. Central was 10-2 last year and 7-1 in American Rivers play in securing a share of a record 31st league title. In the opening round of the NCAA playoffs, the Dutch rallied from a 24-point halftime deficit in a 38-37 overtime triumph over the University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh before getting ousted the following week by Wheaton College (Ill.). It was Central’s 21st NCAA playoff appearance.

Central closed 2019 at a season-high No. 17 in the American Football Coaches Association Division III Coaches’ Poll.

The 250-page College Football America Yearbook features more than 930 teams from the U.S. and Canada, with 36 sections devoted to Division III.

2020 College Football America Division III Preseason Top 30

1. Wis.-Whitewater
2. Mount Union
3. North Central
4. Mary Hardin-Baylor
5. Wheaton
6. Muhlenberg
7. Saint John’s (Minn.)
8. Salisbury
9. John Carroll
10. Delaware Valley
11. Susquehanna
12. Wesley
13. Hardin-Simmons
14. St. Thomas (Minn.)
15. Chapman
16. Linfield
17. Texas Lutheran
18. Wis.-Oshkosh
19. Union (N.Y.)
20. Wartburg
21. Central
22. Redlands
23. Bethel (MN)
24. Johns Hopkins
25. Brockport
26. Berry
27. Huntingdon
28. Bridgewater
29. Wis.-La Crosse
30. Aurora