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2023 West Florida vs Delta State

NCAA Division 2 Football Rankings For Week 8 (October 16)

NCAA Division 2 Football Rankings For Week 8 (October 16)

The NCAA Division II rankings included a new No.1 after Ferris State lost to GVSU Football in the Anchor-Bone Classic. Here's the new top 25.

Oct 16, 2023 by Joe Harrington
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Reigning NCAA Division II National Champion Ferris State was ousted from the No.1 ranking in Week 8 and nearly booted from the top 10 after losing to rival Grand Valley State University. 

The Bulldogs were losing 35-0 at one point but did close the gap on GVSU Football in the second half before losing 49-28. Ferris State cut the lead to 35-28 in the second half. 

Moving to No.1 in the rankings is Colorado School of Mines (7-0).  Ferris State beat Colorado School of Mines 41-14 to win the 2022 Division II National Championship Game.

The loss sent the two-loss Bulldogs to No.9 in the Division II rankings, while sending GVSU, previously at No. 7, to No.4. The other loss Ferris State has is to FCS power Montana on the road. The Grizzlies were ranked No.6 in the latest FCS poll. 

Delta State of the GSC moved into the top-five of the rankings, going from No. 8 to No. 5 following a win over North Greenville, 49-27. 

Lenoir-Rhyne of the SAC moved up two spots as the 7-0 Bears beat Barton College 47-3. 

Taking a tumble in the rankings was West Florida following their upset loss to West Alabama, 10-6. West Florida (5-2) went from, No. 6 to No. 18. That loss to West Alabama sets up a massive showdown this week between Delta State and West Florida. 

2023 West Florida vs Delta State

NCAA Division 2 Football Rankings For Week 8

  1. Colorado School of Mines (28)    7-0    723    
  2. Pittsburg St. (Kan.)    7-0    691    
  3. Minnesota St.    7-0    655    
  4. Grand Valley St. (Mich.)    5-1    618    
  5. Delta St. (Miss.)    7-0    597    
  6. Harding (Ark.)    7-0    577    
  7. Slippery Rock (Pa.)    7-0    519    
  8. Benedict (S.C.)    7-0    497    
  9. Ferris St. (Mich.)    4-2    486    
  10. Lenoir-Rhyne (N.C.)    7-0    451    
  11. Indianapolis (Ind.)    6-0    427    
  12. Western Colorado    7-0    396    
  13. Davenport (Mich.)    6-0    338    
  14. Ouachita Baptist (Ark.)    6-1    
  15. Bemidji St. (Minn.)    5-1    325    
  16. Central Missouri    6-1    298    
  17. Augustana (S.D.)    7-0    222    
  18. West Florida    5-2    221    6    
  19. Angelo St. (Tex.)    4-2    182    
  20. Virginia St. (1)    7-0    173    24    
  21. Assumption (Mass.)    5-1    151    
  22. Shepherd (W.Va.)    6-1    131    
  23. Tiffin (Ohio)    7-0    97    
  24. Emporia St. (Kan.)    5-2    70    
  25. Truman St. (Mo.)    6-1    62    

Dropped Out: Henderson St. (Ark.) (18)

Others Receiving Votes: Virginia Union, 45; Valdosta St. (Ga.), 42; Texas-Permian Basin, 27; Charleston (W.Va.), 21; Minnesota-Duluth, 15; Henderson St. (Ark.), 13; Southern Arkansas, 12; Missouri Western St., 10; Central Washington, 4.

How Does The NCAA Division 2 Football Playoffs Work?

The 50th anniversary of the NCAA Division II Playoffs will feature 28 teams in a single elimination tournament. 

How Division II decides which teams go to the postseason, however, is through a completely different process than the postseasons of the FCS and Division III. 

The Super Region system is unique to Division II, where no conference has an automatic bid to the playoffs, and the postseason places are decided by the top-ranked teams in each of the four Super Regions – groups of conferences (and potentially independents) in a similar geographic area. 

A top-10 Super Regional ranking of all the conference’s members in a particular Super Region is released each of the final three weeks of the regular season. At the end, the teams considered by the selection committee to make up the top 7 in each Super Region, qualify for their Super Region’s playoff bracket, where the No. 1 seed receives a first-round bye. 

For 2023, Super Region 1 mainly consists of Midwestern/eastern schools, Super Region 2 the southeast, Super Region 3 the Midwest, mid-south and Great Plains and Super Region 4 much of Division II’s northern and western membership, plus Texas. 

- Brian Napier

When Do The NCAA Division 2 Football Playoffs Start?

The first round of the playoffs begin on Nov. 18. 

When Is The NCAA Division 2 Football National Championship Game?

The NCAA Division II Football National Championship Game is Dec. 16 at McKinney Independent School District Stadium in McKinney, Texas.

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