Penn, Now 7-0, 11th in Nation
William Penn University Athletics
Penn, Now 7-0, 11th in Nation
Oskaloosa–The Statesmen football team is on the precipice of something very special and the NAIA has taken notice as the program is now ranked #11 in the division’s sixth national poll.
The Statesmen (7-0, 4-0 MWL), who have earned 267 points (28 more than last week), continue to improve upon their best ranking since joining the NAIA in 2001. Penn held off rival St. Ambrose in a 41-35 shootout last Saturday.
For the 22nd week in a row, Sioux Falls (S.D.) (6-0) heads the ranking with 416 points and 15 of the 18 first-place votes. The Cougars met their biggest challenge of the year and won easily, dropping then-#4 Morningside 28-3.
Carroll (Mont.) and Saint Xavier (Ill.) are again second and third, while MidAmerica Nazarene (Kan.) and Lindenwood (Mo.) round out the top five. Carroll, with two, and Saint Xavier, with one, are also earning first-place votes.
Penn, still the only undefeated team in the Midwest League, is the head of the class with McKendree moving up to #16. The Statesmen are also the second-highest team from the state of Iowa behind #8 Morningside.
Two of the top teams in the MWL face off Saturday with Penn traveling to Lebanon, Ill. to play McKendree at 1:30 p.m.
NAIA Football Rating #6 – October 18, 2010
(Number in parentheses is first-place votes)
(Iowa Institutions bolded)
1. Sioux Falls (S.D.) (15)
2. Carroll (Mont.) (2)
3. Saint Xavier (Ill.) (1)
4. MidAmerica Nazarene (Kan.)
5. Lindenwood (Mo.)
6. McPherson (Kan.)
7. St. Francis (Ind.)
8. Morningside
9. Missouri Valley
10. Ottawa (Kan.)
11. William Penn
12. South Dakota Mines & Tech
13. Dickinson State (N.D.)
14. Marian (Ind.)
15. Northwestern
16. McKendree (Ill.)
17. Webber International (Fla.)
18. Kansas Wesleyan
19. Walsh (Ohio)
20. Black Hills State (S.D.)
21. Langston (Okla.)
22. Friends (Kan.)
23. Northwestern Oklahoma State
24. Azusa Pacific (Calif.)
25. Cumberland (Tenn.)
Others receiving votes: Georgetown (Ky.) 44; Midland (Neb.) 11; Cumberlands (Ky.) 4; Taylor (Ind.) 3; Eastern Oregon 3; Montana Tech 1; St. Francis (Ill.) 1; Shorter (Ga.) 1.
