Some teams are playing their final regular season games of the season this weekend. 

It means that playoff projection season is in full force across Division II football — and we have a wild weekend of results to get through.

Multiple top-25 upsets shook up the landscape nationally and the margins in multiple Super Regions are now thinner than ever with just a handful of major, defining matchups left before the playoffs start later on this month. 

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The NCAA’s Regional Rankings are out, giving us a look at where playoff contenders stand through this past weekend’s games. Some squads should be in, others have work to do.

Providing context behind some of those rankings — including some of our own twists and takes about where the field stands and who the NCAA may be snubbing — is where FloCollege is here to help.

Here’s a look ahead at the predictions for the D-II playoffs if the season ended today:

NOTE: Projections are in no particular order.

Super Region 1

Kutztown (PSAC)

It says something that the worst thing to happen to the newly No. 3-ranked Golden Bears over the past month was the fact that they allowed their first touchdown in 16 quarters this past weekend against Millersville. It was no matter for Kutztown, though, as it surged to a 49-3 halftime lead and cruised to a 49-17 victory overall against the winless Marauders, returning two interceptions back for touchdowns before there had even been three minutes off of the clock to set the tone.

California (Pennsylvania) (PSAC)

The Vulcans were off this past weekend, but the PSAC Championship Game for Nov. 16 is now officially set in stone with Cal earning the right to host Kutztown for all the marbles. The last team to defeat the Golden Bears in the regular season back on Sept. 9, 2023, the Vulcans will now get an opportunity to pick up another signature win over KU with the potential reward of a high seed, considering that Cal’s only loss to date came by four to a Charleston (West Virginia) team that looks like a legitimate threat to make a serious playoff run. Of course, all of those plans would go up in smoke if Cal doesn’t beat Edinboro this weekend first.

Slippery Rock (PSAC)

When the lights go down, The Rock comes out to play. Slippery Rock won its 34th consecutive night game last Thursday with a 38-22 triumph at Clarion, bouncing back from a defeat to California (Pennsylvania) on Oct. 19. Scoring 24 unanswered points to roll past the Golden Eagles, SRU won’t be playing at night for the rest of the regular season but will be playing at home against Seton Hill and Bloomsburg to close out the show before a likely playoff trip (barring disaster), which would be The Rock’s 12th trip to the postseason.

East Stroudsburg (PSAC)

The possibility of a potential four-bid PSAC is alive and well. The Warriors blanked Shippensburg 45-0 to make it five straight wins, with wideout John Siggins having a monster day with eight catches for 239 yards and four touchdowns against the Raiders as they shifted away from a potent rushing offense that currently ranks 12th in D-II (211.9 yards per game). ESU outgained Shippensburg in offensive yardage 550-148, and with their win improved to 8-1, it’s the first time since 1965-66 that the Warriors have gotten off to as good of a start as this one in back-to-back seasons. 

Charleston (West Virginia) (Mountain East)

With all due respect to how good Kutztown has been, it’s going to be very, very difficult to deny the 9-0 Golden Eagles the top seed in the Super Region if they finish the season perfect. UC romped past West Liberty 38-0 last weekend with the nation’s rushing leader, Chavon Wright, putting up another vintage performance with 189 rushing yards and three touchdowns — his eighth straight game with at least three scores — as the country’s best running back will be looking to feast on playoff foes in a few weeks.

Ashland (Great Midwest)

Ashland didn’t do anything to damage its playoff outlook last Saturday, cruising past Lake Erie in a 41-14 rout as Ty’aris Stevenson went off for 246 rushing yards and four touchdowns in the backfield, becoming the first AU player since former NFL tight end Adam Shaheen to score four times in a single game. A two-bid G-MAC could come to fruition over the final weeks of the season as Findlay (which already has a shout to make the playoffs at the moment) is 8-1 with its only loss of the season to the Eagles, and teams in the Northeast 10 Conference (see below) are hovering near the cutoff line. 

New Haven (NE10)

One week after losing out on a spot in our projection to Assumption after they lost to the Greyhounds, the Chargers regained a place in the field after blasting Post by a 51-7 scoreline while Assumption suffered a loss it couldn’t afford to have against American International — which New Haven pummeled 56-0 earlier in the season. New Haven has to be careful, though; currently, it would probably only make the field due to the Earned Access rule, whereas the highest-ranked Super Region 1 team from the NE10 it would qualify despite not ranking in the top seven of the regional rankings, with a cut off for that being if the Chargers finished the year ranked 10th or lower. 

First team out: Findlay (Great Midwest)

Super Region 2

Valdosta State (Gulf South)

A bye week gave the Blazers the extra juice they needed to dominate Chowan by a 52-0 margin last Saturday, improving them to 8-0 as they ran for a season-high 339 rushing yards with Blake Hester and Alfonso Franklin both tallying up 100-yard days on the ground. Hester finished with three touchdowns to help out on an unusually quiet day from former Harlon Hill Trophy finalist quarterback Sammy Edwards, who threw his first interception of the season and had 225 passing yards, his second-fewest in a game this season.

West Alabama (Gulf South)

The Tigers avoided giving North Greenville its second upset in as many weeks after the Trailblazers won a four-overtime thriller against Delta State the week prior, though it wasn’t easy. UWA twice limited NGU redzone trips to field goals (and didn’t allow the Trailblazers to score a touchdown until with less than two minutes left in the fourth quarter) while it got just enough from quarterback Spencer Arceneaux, who had both a 63-yard passing touchdown to Kristopher Binion and a 60-yard rushing score to help the Tigers escape.

Carson-Newman (South Atlantic)

The Eagles, back in the projected field after a one-week absence, avoided the chaos that struck others in the SAC this past weekend and won comfortably (28-7) over Anderson to improve to 8-1, helping them get back in front in the Mountain Division after Emory & Henry lost. From going on being the outside looking in last week to arguably the SAC’s most sure bet to make it in the playoff field by being the only team to defeat Wingate so far, a potential first playoff trip since 2019 is in sight.

Wingate (South Atlantic)

A massive 14-10 win in Hickory over Lenoir-Rhyne means that the Bulldogs beefed up their playoff resume while also simultaneously dinging the Bears’ postseason hopes, and if it weren’t for an overtime loss to Carson-Newman earlier in the year, Wingate would be unbeaten and have an even stronger case to be Super Region 2’s top-seeded squad. The Bulldogs scored both of their touchdowns in the second quarter and got their second top-20 win of the year (with the first coming against Delta State in mid-September) by holding the Bears to season-lows in offensive yardage and points.

Emory & Henry (South Atlantic)

In a brutal race to call, the Wasps just barely squeak into the playoffs for now over Lenoir-Rhyne — which would’ve been a wild sentence to type in the preseason — despite losing at Mars Hill last weekend, with E&H getting in thanks to its wins over both the Bears and Carson-Newman. It will almost certainly have to defeat UVA-Wise and Newberry, and maybe convincingly, over the final two weeks of the regular season to stay in; Lenoir-Rhyne, West Florida, and Johnson C. Smith are among those breathing down the Wasps’ neck in hot pursuit.

Virginia Union (CIAA)

Johnson C. Smith’s unbeaten start to the season and run in first place of the CIAA ended last Saturday when the Golden Bulls were blanked 27-0 in an upset loss to Fayetteville State. That makes Virginia Union, even after losing by five to J.C. Smith earlier in the year, arguably the new favorite in the league to make the field by virtue of the fact that the Panthers’ two defeats (the other one coming to FCS Hampton) are better than the Golden Bulls’ one — a departure from the NCAA, as it has J.C. Smith fourth in this week's regional rankings. A 91-0 thrashing by VUU of Bluefield State last week didn’t hurt, either. 

Miles (SIAC)

The Golden Bears got to 7-0 in SIAC play with a 37-3 rout at home of Morehouse last Saturday, with quarterback Kamren Ivory tossing three touchdowns and Jonero Scott running in for another for arguably D-II’s top HBCU this season. Already assured of both being in and hosting the SIAC Championship Game on Nov. 16, Miles’ rise from being 1-9 just two years ago has been remarkable, and with a win this weekend at Tuskegee the Golden Bears will tie the modern school record of eight straight wins, done in 1954, 1957 and 1958.

First team out: Johnson C. Smith (CIAA)

Super Region 3

Harding (Great American)

Its loss to Ouachita Baptist on Oct. 19 was clearly behind it, Harding recovered from a scoreless first quarter against Southeastern Oklahoma State last Thursday to cruise past the Savage Storm 56-14, running for 415 yards and seven touchdowns as the Bisons unsurprisingly thrived off of their bread-and-butter flex bone offense. Results elsewhere in the GAC proved that anything can happen (more on that below), but Harding should be a big favorite in its final two regular-season games against East Central and Arkansas Tech.

Ouachita Baptist (Great American)

Things had been going great for the Tigers, who started the season 8-0 with a signature win over defending national champion Harding as they climbed to No. 3 in the AFCA poll. And then previously winless Southern Nazarene went to Arkadelphia and pulled off the upset of the year, stunning the nation with an 18-17 victory over OBU last Thursday. A disastrous loss, the Tigers went from the favorite to be the bracket’s top seed to a team with a much dicier resume that has little to no room for error the rest of the way until the playoffs.

Ferris State (GLIAC)

After the emotional high of winning in one of the best rivalry games in D-II against Grand Valley State the week prior, the No. 2 Bulldogs made it eight victories in a row by clobbering winless Northern Michigan by a 55-9 margin inside the Superior Dome last Saturday. FSU finished with over 500 yards of offense for the sixth time this season and had six rushing touchdowns, two of which came from dynamic quarterback Trinidad Chambliss. The Bulldogs are the favorite to be the top seed in the Super Region 3 bracket with two games left before the playoffs against Saginaw Valley State and Davenport.

Grand Valley State (GLIAC)

Appearing as if it could be in some serious trouble after it lost both its starting and backup quarterbacks to injury in the Anchor-Bone Classic against Ferris State, GVSU — like it usually does — rebounded in style. The Lakers were up as much as 44-0 last weekend on winless Wayne State (Michigan) and eventually won 51-28, putting on a show in front of over 10,000 fans at Lubbers Stadium. Sophomore Vinnie Meschi held his own in his first career start under center, throwing for 200 yards and two touchdowns despite only playing in the first half as GVSU ran away with it early.

Central Oklahoma (MIAA)

The MIAA is getting downright wacky. Thanks to losses by both Pittsburg State and Emporia State this weekend, UCO is back to both being in the playoff field and leading the conference — but only just — after the Bronchos survived in overtime this past weekend on the road at Missouri Western. Down 14 points with under three minutes left, a punt return touchdown by Kobey Stephens and a game-tying rushing score by Dawson Herl took it to the extra period, of which kicker Nicky Quevedo iced it from there with a clutch 47-yard field goal. 

Pittsburg State (MIAA)

Strong wins earlier in the year over both Ferris State and Central Oklahoma have the Gorillas still solidly in the playoff field, but it doesn’t change the fact that what was then the No. 5-ranked team in the country was completely shellshocked by Central Missouri in a 37-13 drubbing in Pittsburg last Saturday. UCM gunslinger and reigning Harlon Hill Trophy winner Zach Zebrowski torched Pitt State for 478 yards of total offense, and the Gorillas will have a bye week ahead to sort out their issues before ending the regular season at Northwest Missouri State.

Indianapolis (GLVC)

The Greyhounds have absolutely run through the rest of the GLVC, as evidenced when it ran through Southwest Baptist in a 58-3 drubbing last Saturday as they maintained their two-game lead on the rest of the league. Jon Lewis had 191 rushing yards, the UIndy defense picked up a pick-six and the team boosted itself up to No. 15 in this week’s AFCA poll with two more regular-season games to go in which it will be heavily favored in both — at home against Missouri S&T (4-5) and on the road at Lincoln (Missouri) (1-8). 

First team out: Emporia State (MIAA)

Super Region 4

Colorado State Pueblo (RMAC)

Say hello to the new favorite to be the top seed in Super Region 4. The ThunderWolves passed a high-stakes test against Western Colorado last game and defeated the Mountaineers on the road in a 44-34 shootout, with quarterback Roman Fuller tossing for 381 yards and four touchdowns and receiver Reggie Retzlaff catching seven balls for 138 yards and three scores. Exactly 10 years after CSUP won its first (and to date only) national championship, it may have its best chance since then to win another.

Western Colorado (RMAC)

The dreams of a perfect season are over for WCU, but hopes for a return to the playoffs for the third time in four seasons are still very much in play as long as nothing too wild happens in its final two regular-season games against Chadron State and a Colorado Mesa team on the playoff bubble. The Mountaineers have scored at least 34 points in eight of their nine games, featuring a balanced, effective offense that has 24 passing touchdowns and 19 rushing touchdowns on the year.

Colorado Mesa (RMAC)

CMU managed to get through Black Hills State this past weekend and received some help for its playoff standing from Bemidji State of the NSIC, which took down another squad near the cutoff line in Wayne State (Nebraska) to help the Mavericks stay in the field for at least another week. Colorado School of Mines, our last team out in Super Region 4, will likely surpass Mesa if it defeats CSU Pueblo (or the Mavs lose to South Dakota Mines) this week, however, so the margin of error for CMU the rest of the way is slim.

Augustana (South Dakota) (NSIC)

The Vikings had no problem with Concordia-St. Paul in a tuneup week before the crucial Key to the City game against crosstown rival Sioux Falls this week, with Augustana winning 28-7 over the Golden Bears to stay in sole possession of first place in the NSIC standings. Senior running back Jarod Epperson is one of the most entertaining players in Super Region 4, having scampered for a season high 156 yards and two touchdowns on the ground, both scores of which came in the second half.

Minnesota State (NSIC)

The NSIC becomes a three-bid league in this week’s projections thanks to the fact that Angelo State knocked Central Washington out of the field and that Minnesota State successfully recovered from a loss to Augustana on Oct. 26, taking down Northern State by a 24-14 margin last Saturday to get to 7-2. The Mavericks should be in the field if they win out against the University of Mary and Minnesota Duluth, and their chances are good against the Marauders this weekend as MSU is 7-0 all-time against UMary.

Sioux Falls (NSIC)

The objective Saturday is simple for the Cougars. If USF manages to defeat Augustana and get a critical second top-25 victory on the season (the first of which came against Minnesota State on Oct. 5), it will be 8-2 with a resume that will be hard to leave out of the field going into the final week against winless Southwest Minnesota State. If USF loses, it’s probably going to need some help to get in as multiple other teams in Super Region 4 are waiting for bubble teams to slip up.

Angelo State (Lone Star)

In what could end up being the de-facto Lone Star Conference championship game, ASU outlasted Central Washington in a 17-16 classic last weekend in which the Wildcats scored a touchdown with 34 seconds left but missed the extra point that would’ve tied it. The Rams will win the outright LSC title next weekend if they defeat Western Oregon, but that’s going to be far from simple as the Wolves have a serious case for getting into the field if they end up beating ASU. However, with seven straight wins and confidence from a top-25 triumph, good luck stopping the Rams right now.

First team out: Colorado School of Mines (RMAC)

The 14 Games Featuring Ranked Teams On FloFootball In Week 11

• No. 18 Stony Brook at UAlbany
• Elon vs  No. 21 Willam & Mary
• NC A&T vs No. 11 Villanova
• No. 10 Rhode Island at Delaware
• No. 9 Richmond at Campbell
• No. 5 Grand Valley State at Michigan Tech
• Saginaw Valley State vs No. 2 Ferris State
• No. 21t Carson-Newman at Tusculum
• Newberry vs No. 24t Wingate
• No. 1 Valdosta State at Delta State
• North Greenville vs No. 17 West Florida
• No. 23 Angelo State at Western Oregon 
• No. 21t Lenoir-Rhyne at Catawba
• No. 20 Springfield at Merchant Marine

AFCA NCAA Division II Football Rankings In Week 11

1. Valdosta St. (Ga.) (24) 8-0 - Prev. 1

2. Ferris St. (Mich.) (6) 8-1 - Prev. 2

3. Kutztown (Pa.) 9-0 - Prev. 4

4. Harding (Ark.) 8-1 - Prev. 6

5. Grand Valley St. (Mich.) 8-1 - Prev. 7

6. Charleston (W.Va.) 9-0 - Prev. 9

7. Colorado St.-Pueblo 8-1 - Prev. 10

8. Central Oklahoma 8-1 - Prev. 13

9. Ouachita Baptist (Ark.) 8-1 - Prev. 3

10. Slippery Rock (Pa.) 7-1 - Prev. 14

11. Western Colorado 8-1 - Prev. 8

12. West Alabama 7-1 - Prev. 15

13. Pittsburg St. (Kan.) 7-2 - Prev. 5

14. Colorado School of Mines 7-2 - Prev. 18

15. Indianapolis (Ind.) 8-1 - Prev. 19

16. Augustana (S.D.) 7-2 - Prev. 20

17. West Florida 6-2 - Prev. 21

18t. California (Pa.) 7-1 - Prev. 23

18t. Minnesota St. 7-2 - Prev. 22

20. Emporia St. (Kan.) 7-2 - Prev. 11

21t. Carson-Newman (Tenn.) 8-1 - Prev. 24

21t. Lenoir-Rhyne (N.C.) 7-2 - Prev. 12

23. Angelo St. (Tex.) 7-2 - Prev. NR

24t. Findlay (Ohio) 8-1 - Prev. 25

24t. Wingate (N.C.) 7-1 - Prev. NR

Dropped Out: Johnson C. Smith (N.C.) (16), Central Washington (17)

Others Receiving Votes: Johnson C. Smith (N.C.), 74; Central Washington, 41; Virginia Union, 40; Sioux Falls (S.D.), 24; Fort Hays St. (Kan.), 23; Ashland (Ohio), 18; Colorado Mesa, 15; Central Missouri, 13; Saginaw Valley St. (Mich.), 7; Southern Arkansas, 7; New Haven (Conn.), 4; Miles (Ala.), 1.

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