C-N jumps back into rankings in coaches, media polls
KANSAS CITY, Mo. - Carson-Newman is back in AFCA Coaches Poll after a two-week absence and in the D2Football.com Media poll for the first time this season.
KANSAS CITY, Mo. - Carson-Newman is back in AFCA Coaches Poll after a two-week absence and in the D2Football.com Media poll for the first time this season. C-N is 22nd in both polls, the organizations announced Monday.
This is Carson-Newman's 154th week ranked since the year 2000 by either D2Football.com or the AFCA. Carson-Newman has been nationally ranked more than any other league institution since the turn of the century.
Carson-Newman broke into the AFCA Poll on Sept. 8 before losing in overtime at Mars Hill. C-N received votes from the AFCA in the interceding two weeks as it notched top-20 wins over both Lenoir-Rhyne and Wingate. Those two wins propelled C-N into the top 25 in both polls for the first time since the week of Nov. 16, 2024.
Carson-Newman is the only team in the top 25 from the South Atlantic Conference, although Wingate, Lenoir-Rhyne and Catawba are all in the receiving votes section.
C-N will be in action Saturday at 1 p.m. against at Emory & Henry from Fred Selfe Stadium. Pregame coverage begins at noon with the AEC Tailgate Show on Joy 620 (WRJZ-AM, Knoxville), MIX 105.5 (WSEV-FM, Sevierville) and online at cneagles.com/live.
2025 AFCA Division II Coaches Poll, presented by Hudl – September 29, 2025
|
Rank
|
School (1st votes)
|
Rec.
|
Pts.
|
Prev.
|
Week 5
|
Next Game
|
|
1
|
Ferris St. (31)
|
4-0
|
775
|
1
|
Idle
|
Oct. 4 at Roosevelt
|
|
2
|
Harding
|
4-0
|
744
|
2
|
D. Ouachita Baptist, 24-7
|
Oct. 4 vs. East Central
|
|
3
|
West Florida
|
4-0
|
709
|
3
|
Idle
|
Oct. 4 at Northeastern St.
|
|
4
|
Kutztown
|
4-0
|
676
|
5
|
D. Shepherd, 49-10
|
Oct. 4 vs. Shippensburg
|
|
5
|
Angelo St.
|
4-0
|
648
|
6
|
Idle
|
Oct. 4 vs. No. 9 UT Permian Basin
|
|
6
|
California (Pa.)
|
4-0
|
582
|
8
|
D. No. 4 Slippery Rock, 45-38
|
Oct. 4 vs. Seton Hill
|
|
7
|
Western Colorado
|
4-0
|
576
|
7
|
D. New Mexico Highlands, 30-3
|
Oct. 4 at Fort Lewis
|
|
8
|
Augustana (S.D.)
|
5-0
|
533
|
9
|
D. Winona St., 34-26
|
Oct. 4 at Sioux Falls
|
|
9
|
UT-Permian Basin
|
4-0
|
503
|
11
|
D. Midwestern St., 37-15
|
Oct. 4 at No. 5 Angelo St.
|
|
10
|
Grand Valley St.
|
2-1
|
474
|
10
|
Idle
|
Oct. 4 vs. Davenport
|
|
11
|
West Alabama
|
5-0
|
418
|
13
|
D. North Greenville, 52-44
|
Oct. 4 vs. Lincoln (Calif.)
|
|
12
|
Colorado St.-Pueblo
|
4-1
|
414
|
12
|
D. Adams St., 55-7
|
Oct. 4 at New Mexico Highlands
|
|
13
|
Minnesota-Duluth
|
5-0
|
394
|
16
|
D. Minnesota St.-Moorhead, 28-14
|
Oct. 4 vs. Southwest Minnesota St.
|
|
14
|
Slippery Rock
|
3-1
|
390
|
4
|
Lost to No. 8 California (Pa.), 45-38
|
Oct. 4 at Gannon
|
|
15
|
Minnesota St.
|
4-1
|
353
|
14
|
D. Sioux Falls, 38-12
|
Oct. 4 at Concordia-St. Paul
|
|
16
|
Central Washington
|
3-1
|
317
|
17
|
D. Western New Mexico, 91-31
|
Oct. 4 vs. Eastern New Mexico
|
|
17
|
Pittsburg St.
|
3-2
|
293
|
18
|
D. Emporia St., 42-29
|
Oct. 4 vs. Nebraska-Kearney
|
|
18
|
Virginia Union
|
3-1
|
217
|
21
|
D. Shaw, 59-7
|
Oct. 4 at Winston-Salem St.
|
|
19
|
UIndy
|
4-1
|
215
|
22
|
D. Truman St., 30-20
|
Oct. 4 vs. William Jewell
|
|
20
|
Delta St.
|
4-1
|
178
|
23
|
D. Erskine, 52-0
|
Oct. 4 at Barton
|
|
21
|
Findlay
|
4-0
|
161
|
25
|
D. Thomas More, 37-7
|
Oct. 4 at Walsh |
|
22
|
Carson-Newman
|
3-1
|
97
|
NR
|
D. No. 19 Wingate, 21-14
|
Oct. 4 at Emory & Henry
|
|
23
|
Frostburg St.
|
4-0
|
75
|
NR
|
D. West Virginia Wesleyan, 55-9
|
Oct. 4 vs. Concord
|
|
24
|
Northwest Missouri St.
|
4-1
|
74
|
NR
|
D. No. 15 Central Oklahoma, 38-16
|
Oct. 11 at Central Missouri
|
|
25
|
UNC Pembroke
|
4-1
|
66
|
NR
|
D. No. 20 Valdosta St., 31-0
|
Oct. 4 at Erskine
|
Dropped Out: Central Oklahoma (15), Wingate (19), Valdosta St. (20), Henderson St. (24)
Others Receiving Votes: Central Oklahoma, 30; Wingate, 26; Ashland, 25; Johnson C. Smith, 19; Charleston, 16; Nebraska-Kearney, 15; Indiana (Pa.), 11; Fort Hays St., 10; Walsh, 9; Colorado School of Mines, 8; Edward Waters, 7; Clarion, 4; Southern Arkansas, 4; Catawba, 2; Henderson St., 2; Upper Iowa, 2; Albany St., 1; Benedict, 1; Lenoir-Rhyne, 1.
D2Football.com Poll
| Rank | Team | Record | Previous Rank |
| 1 | Ferris State | 4-0 | 1 |
| 2 | Harding | 4-0 | 2 |
| 3 | Kutztown | 4-0 | 3 |
| 4 | West Florida | 4-0 | 4 |
| 5 | Western Colorado | 4-0 | 5 |
| 6 | Angelo State | 4-0 | 6 |
| 7 | UT Permian Basin | 4-0 | 7 |
| 8 | Pittsburg State | 3-2 | 10 |
| 9 | Minnesota Duluth | 5-0 | 11 |
| 10 | Minnesota State | 4-1 | 14 |
| 11 | California | 4-0 | 16 |
| 12 | CSU Pueblo | 4-1 | 12 |
| 13 | Augustana | 5-0 | 13 |
| 14 | Grand Valley State | 2-1 | 15 |
| 15 | West Alabama | 5-0 | 17 |
| 16 | Slippery Rock | 3-1 | 9 |
| 17 | Central Washington | 3-1 | 18 |
| 18 | Indianapolis | 3-1 | 19 |
| 19 | Virginia Union | 3-1 | 21 |
| 20 | Northwest Missouri State | 4-1 | NR |
| 21 | Fort Hays | 3-2 | 22 |
| 22 | Carson-Newman | 3-1 | NR |
| 23 | Findlay | 4-0 | 24 |
| 24 | UNC Pembroke | 4-1 | NR |
| 25 | Ashland | 3-1 | 25 |
