Slow Climb In National Rankings
MOORHEAD, Minn. (10/04/17)--- Concordia inched up one spot in each of the two major NCAA Division III rankings this week.
The Cobbers climbed from the No.16 spot to 15th place in the most recent American Football Coaches Association (AFCA) poll while they jumped from No.21 to No.20 in the latest D3football.com rankings.
Concordia is currently one of 33 teams in Division III that are unbeaten. The Cobbers are 4-0 overall and 2-0 in the MIAC. CC is outscoring its opponents by a combined total of 117-55 and hasn't allowed more than 17 points in a single game. Concordia is in the Top 25 of the nation in points allowed per game.
The Cobbers are also in the Top 25 of Division III in red zone defense, turnover margin and rushing offense.
Concordia is only allowing opponents to score on 33.3-percent of their opportunities inside the 20-yard line which is second best in the nation. The Cobbers have also forced 12 turnovers and are a plus-9 in turnover margin which is ninth best in DIII. On offense, the Cobbers are averaging 255.2 yards per game which is 21st among all DIII teams.
Individually, Chad Johnson is all over the Division III Top 20 charts. He is ninth in rushing yards per game (146.3), 14th in rushing yards (585), ninth in scoring per game (13.5 ppg) and 19th in all purpose yards per game (169.0).
Concordia will look to continue its success when it faces St. Thomas in St. Paul on Saturday in a Top 20 showdown. The Tommies are ranked sixth in both polls and are the only other unbeaten team in conference play this season. UST is 4-1 overall.
AFCA National Rankings – Oct. 4, 2017
1. Mary Hardin-Baylor (Tex.) (49)
2. Mount Union (Ohio) (3)
3. Wisconsin-Oshkosh
4. North Central (Ill.)
5. Hardin-Simmons (Tex.)
6. St. Thomas (Minn.)
7. Delaware Valley (Pa.)
8. Wisconsin-Platteville
9. Frostburg St. (Md.)
10. St. John's (Minn.)
11. Linfield (Ore.)
12. Wittenberg (Ohio)
13. Washington & Jefferson (Pa.)
14. Illinois Wesleyan
15. Concordia-Moorhead
16. Brockport (N.Y.)
17. Alfred (N.Y.)
18. Wheaton (Ill.)
19. Case Western Reserve (Ohio)
20. Wesley (Del.)
21. Wabash (Ind.)
22. Heidelberg (Ohio)
23. Johns Hopkins (Md.)
24. Albright (Pa.)
25. Wartburg (Iowa)
Others Receiving Votes: Whitworth (Wash.), 72; Ursinus (Pa.), 67; Berry (Ga.), 63; Wisconsin-La Crosse, 57; Springfield (Mass.), 41; Wisconsin-Stout, 38; Carnegie Mellon (Pa.), 33; Framingham St. (Mass.), 24; Carthage (Wis.), 19; Guilford (N.C.), 13; George Fox (Ore.), 12; Huntingdon (Ala.), 12; Trinity (Conn.), 11; Dubuque (Iowa), 8; DePauw (Ind.), 6; Franklin & Marshall (Pa.), 6; John Carroll (Ohio), 5; Amherst (Mass.), 4; Salisbury (Md.), 4; Christopher Newport (Va.), 3; Wisconsin-Stevens Point, 2; Sul Ross St. (Tex.), 1; SUNY-Maritime (N.Y.), 1; Wisconsin-Whitewater, 1.
D3football.com National Rankings – Oct. 1, 2017
1. Mary Hardin-Baylor (21)
2. Mount Union (4)
3. UW-Oshkosh
4. North Central (Ill.)
5. Hardin-Simmons
6. St. Thomas
7. Linfield
8. St. John's
9. UW-Platteville
10. Delaware Valley
11. Frostburg State
12. Illinois Wesleyan
13. Wheaton (Ill.)
14. Wittenberg
15. Brockport
16. Washington and Jefferson
17. Case Western Reserve
18. Alfred
19. Wesley
20. Concordia-Moorhead
21. Heidelberg
22. Whitworth
23. UW-Stout
24. Berry
25. Wabash
Others receiving votes: Albright 34; Wartburg 33; Johns Hopkins 30; Ursinus 25; Springfield 21; George Fox 20; John Carroll 16; Redlands 12; UW-La Crosse 8; Christopher Newport 7; DePauw 6; Sul Ross State 6; Framingham State 5; Carnegie Mellon 2; Carthage 2; Franklin & Marshall 1; Trine 1; Trinity (Conn.) 1; UW-Whitewater 1.