"Each respective sport committee provides the overall and in-Division records of the teams that are ranked for that week. The Division II Championships Committee continues to discuss whether additional information should be provided in regards to strength of schedule data as well as additional selection criteria information. However, there is more to the selection process than just a teams win/loss record and strength of schedule. The football committee will also evaluate teams on who they have played and how they have done against those teams. The difficulty in Super Region Three (as well as some other regions) is that the conferences in that super region (for the most part) only play conference games. Without any cross conference games in which to compare teams, it becomes very challenging to evaluate teams."

Donnie Wagner
Associate Director, Championships and Alliances
1. Minnesota State - Mankato (9-0)
The Mavs have moved up to the top spot in the rankings as expected with their win over USF. Given that the Mavs end the season at Wayne State (5-4) and then host Upper Iowa (6-3), they should stay cemented at the top line unless they drop a game. If the Mavs drop a game, things will get very complicated. They would essentially drop down even with USF, but have the head-to-head tie breaker against the Coo. All said, I don't see this occurring. The Mavs look very secure here.

2. Ouachita Baptist (8-0)
The Tigers slid ahead of UMD with a win over a 4-4 Southern Arkansas team, while Duluth beat a Crookston team who is 0-9. OBU plays a 2-6 Arkansas Monticello team this week and then ends at #10 (RR) Henderson State. Looking at their resume, one would seemingly favor HSU by a touchdown or so. Massey has HSU as an 11 point favorite. If OBU wins out they should keep the 2 seed. A loss would put them in a 3-way tie with HSU and Harding. All indications are that HSU wins that tie-breaker having played an won an extra game..having beaten FCS Nichols State early in the year. So basically if OBU drops the last game to HSU, they are likely done or would need help.

3. Duluth (9-0)
The Bulldogs beat Crookston like a rented mule last weekend, 77-3. UMD has Mary (5-4) in Duluth, and then goes on the road to Minot State (1-8). Mary has their QB back after being out for most of the year and he's throwing for a ton of yards. That's great, but Mary's D isn't strong this year and the Dogs should roll. UMD is going to be no worse than the 3-spot per the numbers, and might possibly move up to the 2 spot if OBU loses. If so, the Bulldogs would gain a first round bye and then wait for a opponent to make the trip up to frozen Duluth. Probably the biggest home field advantage in the D2 playoffs. At the moment the Bulldogs would be hosting APU from the Los Angeles area, during the winter, up in Duluth. I've read this book before, I know how it ends.

4. Pittsburg State (8-1)
PSU moves up 2 spots as does their dance partner NWMSU. The Gorillas have about the hairiest road remaining. (see what I did there) They host Central Missouri (7-2) and then go on the road to Central Oklahoma (7-2). They are certainly favored to win both games, but both games have the potential to be close. The Gorillas were in a similar spot last year when they lost to Missouri Southern in the final week of the season for their 2nd loss, which bumped a 10-1 St. Cloud team into the dance. If you're a Pitt State fan you certainly hope that lightning doesn't strike twice. If PSU does win their last 2 games they will be a tough-out come the playoffs as they have what appears to the top defense in the country.

5. NWMSU (8-1)
The Bearcats were in the 7-spot last week with their fans a bit nervous, but I really never had any thoughts that NW wouldn't be in the playoff field. The MIAA SOS is stronger than the other conferences (oddly something MIAA fans were concerned about), and we might see PSU and NW move up another spot yet. At the moment NWMSU travels to PSU in a return game with the Gorillas. While the Bearcats are officially in the 5 spot, they might still be the overall favorite in the field, still being a strong team and defending champion. The champs finish with games at Emporia State (4-5) and then at Arrowhead Stadium versus Washburn (3-6). A loss against either would be nothing short of stunning.

6. Azusa Pacific (8-1)
This is where things start to get..interesting. As stated last week, I couldn't see why APU was 5th. Well, they've moved down to 6 a week later. At this very moment it looks like APU is in a dead-heat for the 6th spot with USF but is getting the nod.

The APU Cougars were seemingly in deep troubles last week against Western Oregon, finding themselves down 6 points deep in their own end with 3 minutes left. Then all the sudden their star running back Terrell Watson (leading D2 in rushing) went 80 yards for a score, putting his squad in the lead. Then WOU drove down the field quickly, down 1, and attempted a short field goal, only for it to be blocked. Maybe it's supposed to be the year of Terrell Watson and his Cougars.

APU's next game is their last D2 game, against Simon Frasier (2-7), who gave them a game earlier in the year but fell short 32-24. Their final game is against a NAIA opponent Menlo (3-6), a team that beat Simon Fraser earlier in the year. This game will not count towards the stats for the Regional Rankings, but if APU somehow lost this game I'm not sure how the committee would be able to keep them in the top 6. In reality, the Cougars shouldn't lose either game and should finish the regular season at 10-1. Overall APU is currently in the dance and would travel to Duluth in week 1 of the playoffs, but the numbers indicate they are not on solid ground right now in the 6-spot so things might very well change in the weeks ahead. If APU does fall to the 7 spot they do not have EA to fall back on.

7. Sioux Falls (8-1)
With USF's loss to Mankato they are now on the outside looking in. A lot of the Coo supporters are pretty frustrated with the impact of a loss at the #1 team in the country, a game they were leading after 3 quarters. The drop is just a product of this system and how ultra tough this region is.

All is not lost though for USF. The committee implies that they will be looking now at wins against good teams and who you lost to. If that's the case, USF should be a good spot compared to APU ahead of them when looking at their resume side by side. Virtually all of USF's other measurables (their Massey is 6th overall in D2 while APU is 44th, far better average margin of victory, USF's ranked ahead of them in the polls, and also has a much better loss) favor them if they end up being debated against APU by the committee. What the Cougars might have going against them is that 2 teams from their conference are already going to be making the dance, while a GNAC team hasn't made the playoffs in years, so the committee might look to grant them the 6th spot if things are tight.

There could very well be good news for USF in the coming weeks since the Cougars will get a boost with their SOS, while APU directly ahead of them will get a slight dip in theirs. The numbers that I've seen run that forecast a completed regular season have USF in the 6th spot if they win out. USF ends with 2 home games, hosting Upper Iowa (6-3) and Wayne State (5-4). If USF and APU both win out it could be a very interesting race to watch for the 6th spot. That said, USF and Mankato both have challenging games ahead of them in the NSIC.

8. Humboldt State (7-1)
The Lumberjacks finish the season at WOU (5-4) and Dixie State (1-8), which will hurt their SOS and likely put them in a position to fall back in this group of 10, instead of moving forward. HSU seemingly needs to see some losses by the teams in front of them.

9. Harding (7-1)
HU has played both HSU and OBU, so they have they should finish out with just 1 loss. This will keep them in the mix, but tied in with the other 2 squads mentioned earlier if a 3-way tie occurs. Essentially, if all 3 teams end up tied up together they will be tied together like NW and PSU are in the MIAA. However, even if OBU loses there will still be a team landing in the top 6 due to EA. Right now it would appear that Harding would be best served if OBU won out and then Harding can fight for the 6th spot instead of trying to come out good in a tie-breaker scenario that doesn't seem to go in their favor. Remaining games for the Bison are at East Central Oklahoma (6-2) and back home for Arkansas Tech (3-6). While the 6-2 record for ECO might suggest they could be a strong challenge for Harding, both OBU and HSU bounced the Tigers by an average of 20 points. Harding will seemingly need help, even if the GAC teams move up a spot ahead of Humboldt State.

10. Henderson State (8-1), 7-1 against D2