Back In The Top 25
MOORHEAD, Minn. (11/18/13)— Concordia jumped back into the top 25 in both major Division III rankings after beating Gustavus in a dramatic regular-season finale. The Cobbers end the regular season in the No.21 spot in the American Football Coaches Association poll and ranked 22nd in the D3football.com poll.
It is the seventh time in the last eight weeks that Concordia has been ranked in the top 25 of both major polls. The Cobbers fell out of the top 25 in the D3football.com rankings last week but jumped back in this week after the win over the Gusties.
The Cobbers are one of 10 teams in the top 25 of the nation to not earn a spot in the NCAA playoffs.
Concordia finished the 2013-14 season with an 8-2 overall record which marks only the third time in the 96-year history of Cobber football that the team has won at least eight games in back-to-back seasons. The other two consecutive eight-win seasons came in 1980-81 and 2004-05. CC also ended the season with a 6-2 record in conference play and finished in a tie for second place in the MIAC standings. It is the third time in the last six seasons that Concordia has finished in the top 2 of the conference.
In addition to their milestone eight-win season in 2013, the Cobbers also became only the fourth college or university in Minnesota to surpass the 500 career win total. Concordia beat Augsburg on Oct. 26 to earn its 500th career victory and now has 502 wins in the 96 seasons of playing collegiate football.
Cobber head coach Terry Horan is now 89-45 in his 13 seasons at the helm of Concordia football. Horan is 68-37 in MIAC games and has guided CC to seven top 3 finishes in the league standings.
Complete AFCA national rankings
AFCA Division III Top 25 Poll
1. Mount Union (Ohio) (38)
2. Mary Hardin-Baylor (Texas) (4)
3. Linfield (Ore.)
4. North Central (Ill.)
5. Wis.-Whitewater
6. Bethel (Minn.) 10-0
7. Hobart (N.Y.) 9-0
8. Johns Hopkins (Md.)
9. Wis.-Platteville
10. Wittenberg (Ohio)
11. John Carroll (Ohio)
12. Pacific Lutheran (Wash.)
13. Illinois Wesleyan
14. Wesley (Del.)
15. St. Thomas (Minn.)
16. Wis.-Oshkosh 8-2
17. Wabash (Ind.) 9-1
18. Heidelberg (Ohio)
19. Thomas More (Ky.)
20. Wheaton (Ill.)
21. Concordia-Moorhead
22. Texas Lutheran
23. Millsaps (Miss.)
24. Rowan (N.J.)
25. Willamette (Ore.)
Others Receiving Votes: Washington (Mo.), 54; Framingham St. (Mass.), 45; Ithaca (N.Y.), 41; Redlands (Calif.), 37; Franklin (Ind.), 31; Wartburg (Iowa), 31; St. John Fisher (N.Y.), 27; Hampden-Sydney (Va.), 24; Wesleyan (Conn.), 23; Delaware Valley (Pa.), 10; Pacific (Ore.), 9; St. John's (Minn.), 5; Washington & Jefferson (Pa.), 4; Chapman (Calif.), 2; Lebanon Valley (Pa.), 2; Rhodes (Tenn.), 2; Albion (Mich.), 1; Albright (Pa.), 1.
Complete D3football.com national rankings
D3football.com Top 25 (Week 11)
1. Mount Union (18)
2. Linfield (5)
3. Mary Hardin-Baylor (2)
4. North Central (Ill.)
5. UW-Whitewater
6. Bethel
7. UW-Platteville
8. Hobart
9. John Carroll
10. Johns Hopkins
11. UW-Oshkosh
12. Wittenberg
13. Pacific Lutheran
14. Illinois Wesleyan
15. Wesley
16. St. Thomas
17. Wabash
18. Heidelberg
19. Wheaton (Ill.)
20. Franklin
21. Thomas More
22. Concordia-Moorhead
23. Millsaps
24. Ithaca
25. St. John Fisher
Others receiving votes: Redlands 37; Willamette 37; Framingham State 34; Rowan 21; Lebanon Valley 14; Pacific 14; Wartburg 13; St. John's 9; Hampden-Sydney 7; Washington and Jefferson 6; Maryville (Tenn.) 6; Washington U. 4; Middlebury 4; Chapman 3; Texas Lutheran 1.