The Emporia State football team held steady at No. 8 in this week’s AFCA Top 25 DII Football Coaches Poll. Unlike Division I, there wasn’t much chance to move around with everyone in the top ten winning or idle last week. Ferris State is still receiving all 30 first-place votes and is followed by Harding, Kutztown, CSU Pueblo, and Minnesota State-Mankato. Northwest Missouri moved up a spot to No. 11 while Central Missouri is receiving votes. The Black & Gold remained ninth in the D2Football.com Media Poll.
Nationally Emporia State is 6th in the first National Performance Indicator (NPI) rankings released on Sunday, the third highest in Super Region Four. The Harding Bisons sit atop the Super Regional rankings and are followed by CSU Pueblo, the Hornets, and Northwest Missouri. Central Missouri is seventh and the Hornets face the Mules for Homecoming Saturday. The NPI rankings replaced the old regional ranking committees to determine postseason seeding beginning this year. Now that football is an automatic qualification sport, conference champions from the MIAA, Great American Conference, Lone Star Conference, and Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference will receive automatic bids to the NCAA Playoffs. The final four spots will be determined by NPI rankings following the regular season. Updated rankings are scheduled to be released each Sunday through the end of the season.
