Tuesday, October 30, 2007

LOSSES BY TWO TOP TEN TEAMS CAUSE SHAKE-UP IN AFCA DIVISION II COACHES’ POLL


WACO, TEXAS--No. 2 North Alabama lost to No. 11 Valdosta State and No. 8 Tarleton State fell to No. 19 Abilene Christian, causing a shake-up in the 2007 American Football Coaches Association Division II Coaches’ Poll in the 10th week of action.

Grand Valley State is still the undisputed No. 1 team as the Lakers posted a 34-7 victory over Ferris State. Chadron State jumps up to No. 2 this week after the Eagles won a close game over then-No. 18 Mesa State, 7-6. No. 3 Nebraska-Omaha is 8-0 on the season after a 13-3 win over St. Cloud State. No. 4 West Texas A&M is 9-0 for the first time in school history after the Buffs beat Angelo State, 38-17. California (Pa.) handed then-No. 24 Slippery Rock a 22-13 loss and moved up one spot to No. 5.

Northwest Missouri State is up one spot to No. 6 after the Bearcats escaped with a 28-27 win over Washburn. No. 7 North Dakota is 7-1 on the season after handing Minnesota-Duluth a 31-14 loss. Valdosta State moved up three spots to No. 8 after upsetting then-No. 2 North Alabama, 27-24. Delta State dominated West Georgia, 41-9, and is up to No. 9 while North Alabama tumbled eight positions to No. 10 after its loss to Valdosta State.

West Chester is No. 11 this week after the Golden Rams went out of conference to beat St. Joseph’s (Ind.), 34-20. Carson-Newman moved up a spot to No. 12 after beating Brevard, 52-13, while Catawba jumped two to No. 13 after its 45-20 victory over Wingate. No. 14 Tuskegee is 8-0 on the season after a 49-10 win over Kentucky State. Shepherd stays in the 15th position despite its 38-21 win over West Liberty State.

Tarleton State fell eight spots to No. 16 after its 70-63 loss to No. 19 Abilene Christian. The 63 points scored by the Texans set a new NCAA Division II record for most points scored by a losing team in regulation. Central Washington is still ranked No. 17 after a 27-16 win over Augustana (S.D.). Pittsburg State moved up a notch to No. 18 after blanking Fort Hays State, 35-0. No. 19 Abilene Christian jumped up two spots after its 70-63 shootout win over then-No. 8 Tarleton State, while Indiana stays at No. 20 after beating Clarion, 38-31.

Midwestern State moved up two to No. 21 after a dominating 41-19 win over Southeastern Oklahoma State. Mesa State fell to No. 22 after its loss to Chadron State. Newberry jumped two spots to No. 23 after the Indians handed Tusculum its first conference loss of the season in a 17-14 decision. Winona State makes its first appearance in the Coaches’ Poll this season at No. 24. The Warriors are 8-1 after blanking Minnesota-Crookston, 37-0. Virginia Union is back in the poll at No. 25 after a two-week layoff as the Panthers beat Virginia State, 42-27.

Conference Breakdown: Lone Star-4 (West Texas A&M, Tarleton St., Abilene Christian, Midwestern St.); Gulf South-3 (Valdosta St., Delta St., North Alabama); North Central-3 (Nebraska-Omaha, North Dakota, Central Washington); Pennsylvania State Athletic-3 (California (Pa.), West Chester, Indiana (Pa.)); South Atlantic-3 (Carson-Newman, Catawba, Newberry); MIAA-2 (Northwest Missouri St., Pittsburg St.); Rocky Mountain Athletic-2 (Chadron St., Mesa St.); CIAA-1 (Virginia Union); Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic-1 (Grand Valley St.); Northern Sun Intercollegiate-1 (Winona St.); Southern Intercollegiate Athletic-1 (Tuskegee); West Virginia Intercollegiate Athletic-1 (Shepherd).

Head-to-Head
There is only one game featuring teams ranked in the AFCA Division II Coaches’ Poll in this weekend’s action. In the match-up, the two top teams in the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference face off as No. 12 West Chester hosts No. 5 California (Pa.). These two teams have only met four times, with West Chester winning all four contest. The Golden Rams won their last meeting, 25-24, in 1995.

Poll Points
With California’s (Pa.) 22-13 win over Slippery Rock, the Vulcans tied team records for most wins in a season (nine) and most wins to start a season (nine), both set by the 1946 squad in its first season after a four-year hiatus because of World War II ... Abilene Christian runningback Bernard Scott was named Lone Star Conference South Division Offensive Player of the Week after he set the school’s single-game rushing record with 283 yards in a 70-63 win over Tarleton State. He scored six touchdowns on 29 carries, completed a 66-yard halfback pass and caught five passes for 54 yards as he accounted for 403 of the Wildcats’ 715 yards of total offense ... West Texas A&M runningback Keithon Fleming tied an NCAA and Lone Star Conference record with a 99-yard touchdown run in the Buffs’ 38-17 victory over Angelo State ... West Chester wide receiver Mike Washington set the school’s all-time receiving yardage record in the Golden Rams’ 34-20 victory over St. Joseph’s. He finished the day with 162 yards on nine catches and two touchdowns, and now has 3,287 yards receiving in two-plus seasons.

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