Graceland Football Jumps to No. 18 on the NAIA Top 25
Kansas City, Mo. – In the first regular season edition of the NAIA Football Coaches' Top 25 Rating presented by FirstDown PlayBook, Northwestern (Iowa) grabs all first-place votes.
The Top Five teams remain the same, with Keiser (Fla.) dropping two spots, Grand View (Iowa), and Morningside (Iowa) moving up one spot, and Indiana Wesleyan remaining fifth. Graceland (Iowa), Concordia (Mich.), and Evangel (Mo.) use their combined 8-0 records to move into the rankings for the first time this season.
Th Yellowjackets moved into the 18th spot after their victory over the Benedictine (37-35). Graceland remains undefeated on the season 3-0, as they head into their upcoming game against the Missouri Valley College Vikings (Saturday, September 16).
Ranking Methodology
- The ranking was voted upon by a panel of head coaches representing each of the conferences.
- Each conference is given one rater for every four schools in the league or division.
- The Top 25 is determined by a points system based on how each rater ranks the best teams. A team receives 25 points for each first-place vote, 24 for second-place and so on through the list.
- The highest and lowest ranking for each team (a non-rating is considered a low rating) is removed and the team's ranking will be recalculated with an additional point added to each team for every ballot (including discounted ballots) that the teams appear on.
- Teams that receive only one point in the ballot are not considered "receiving votes."
- For the complete Top 25 calendar, click here.
Complete list below;
| RANK | LAST TIME | SCHOOL [FIRST-PLACE VOTES] | RECORD | POINTS |
| 1 | 1 | Northwestern (Iowa) [18] | 2-0 | 418 |
| 2 | 3 | Grand View (Iowa) | 2-0 | 395 |
| 3 | 4 | Morningside (Iowa) | 2-0 | 381 |
| 4 | 2 | Keiser (Fla.) | 1-1 | 357 |
| 5 | 5 | Indiana Wesleyan | 2-0 | 356 |
| 6 | 6 | Marian (Ind.) | 2-0 | 340 |
| 7 | 8 | Bethel (Tenn.) | 2-0 | 326 |
| 8 | 12 | College of Idaho | 3-0 | 303 |
| 9 | 11 | Southwestern (Kan.) | 3-0 | 296 |
| 10 | 15 | Carroll (Mont.) | 2-0 | 274 |
| 11 | 9 | Lindsey Wilson (Ky.) | 1-1 | 239 |
| 12 | 21 | Georgetown (Ky.) | 2-0 | 228 |
| 13 | 21 | Texas Wesleyan | 2-0 | 195 |
| 14 | 10 | Reinhardt (Ga.) | 1-1 | 191 |
| 15 | 13 | Saint Xavier (Ill.) | 1-1 | 182 |
| 16 | 16 | Montana Tech | 1-1 | 159 |
| 17 | 24 | St. Francis (Ill.) | 2-0 | 144 |
| 18 | NR | Graceland (Iowa) | 3-0 | 104 |
| 19 | 25 | Dordt (Iowa) | 2-0 | 100 |
| 20 | 7 | Benedictine (Kan.) | 1-2 | 88 |
| 21 | RV | Concordia (Mich.) | 2-0 | 86 |
| 22 | 17 | OUAZ (Ariz.) | 1-1 | 68 |
| 23 | 14 | St. Thomas (Fla.) | 1-2 | 65 |
| 24 | 19 | Dickinson State (N.D.) | 2-1 | 63 |
| 25 | NR | Evangel (Mo.) | 3-0 | 54 |
Dropped From Top 25: Avila (Mo.); Bethel (Kan.); Kansas Wesleyan
Receiving Votes: Southeastern (Fla.) 48; Bluefield (Va.) 32; Friends (Kan.) 26; Rocky Mountain (Mont.) 26; Montana Western 10; Midland (Neb.) 10; Arizona Christian 8; Baker (Kan.) 3; Louisiana Christian 3; Kansas Wesleyan 3
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-Yellowjackets-