2023 Lenoir-Rhyne vs Tusculum

NCAA Division 2 Football Rankings (Nov. 11): GVSU Football Tied at No.2

NCAA Division 2 Football Rankings (Nov. 11): GVSU Football Tied at No.2

Grand Valley State Football enters the final week of the season tied for No.2 in the country. The Lakers play No. 16 Davenport Football this week

Nov 11, 2023
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The final week of the NCAA Division II Football regular season is here and there’s still a lot of figure out before 6 p.m. EST on Nov. 12 when the 28 playoff teams are selected. 

Colorado School of Mines looks poised to be the top overall seed in the playoffs with a 10-0 record and the No.1 ranking in the country heading into the final week. They close the season against Fort Lewis. 

And if they do complete the undefeated season and get the top spot, they can look back at Week 1 as a big reason why. 

Grand Valley State Football enters the final week tied for No.2 in the country, despite being the only team in the top five of the rankings with a loss. The loss, though, is to Colorado School of Mines in Golden, Colo., 31-28. 

GVSU, the all-time winningest Division II program, ends the season with arguably the biggest game in Division II this week. The Lakers host No. 16 Davenport at 1 p.m. A win will hand them an outright GLIAC conference title. 

A loss could throw the GLIAC into some chaos if No. 6 Ferris State beats Wayne State, giving the conference three 1-loss teams. 

But for all three, the seasons won’t end this weekend as, just like 2022, they will all likely be selected to the playoffs. 

Four Teams Could Win Gulf South Coast Title

Delta State enters the weekend at No.11 in the rankings, while Valdosta State is No. 19 and West Florida is No. 25. West Georgia is unranked, but all four programs have chances to win the league.

Delta State beat West Georgia in Week 10, 47-13, and hosts Mississippi College (3-6, 2-5) this week. But the loss was just West Georgia’s second in conference play, the team is 6-3 overall and 5-2 in conference. 

Valdosta State (9-1, 6-1) faces West Georgia on Saturday. West Florida (7-3, 5-2) faces Chowan. 

No. 15 Lenoir-Rhyne Football Won Piedmont Division Championship, Now Looks For SAC

Lenoir-Rhyne Football (9-1, 7-1) bounced back from its 34-30 loss to Wingate to win the Piedmont Division of the SAC. 

Now the No. 15-ranked team will play for the SAC Championship this week against Tusculum (6-4, 6-2) in Greeneville, Tenn. Tusculum beat Mars Hills in double overtime to win the Mountain Division. 

Here’s the complete Division II Football rankings. 

NCAA Division 2 Football Rankings For Week 11

Here are the AFCA Division II rankings this week: 

  • No. 1 Colorado School of Mines (26)    10-0    729    
  • No. 2T Grand Valley St. (Mich.)    8-1    665    
  • No. 2T Harding (Ark.) (1)    10-0    665    4    
  • No. 4 Slippery Rock (Pa.) (1)    10-0    598    
  • No. 5 Benedict (S.C.)    10-0    591    
  • No. 6 Ferris St. (Mich.)    7-2    562    
  • No. 7 Central Missouri    9-1    514    
  • No. 8 Pittsburg St. (Kan.)    9-1    513    
  • No. 9 Minnesota St.    9-1    509    10    
  • No. 10 Ouachita Baptist (Ark.)    9-1    440    
  • No. 11 Delta St. (Miss.)    8-1    426    14    
  • No. 12 Bemidji St. (Minn.)    8-1    415    
  • No. 13 Western Colorado    9-1    353    
  • No. 14 Tiffin (Ohio)    10-0    325    
  • No. 15 Lenoir-Rhyne (N.C.)    9-1    294    
  • No. 16 Davenport (Mich.)    8-1    287    
  • No. 17 Texas-Permian Basin    9-1    278    
  • No. 18 Virginia Union (1)    9-1    243    
  • No. 19 Valdosta St. (Ga.)    9-1    230    
  • No. 20 Augustana (S.D.)    9-1    177
  • No. 21 Missouri Western St.    8-2    176    
  • No. 22 Indianapolis (Ind.)    8-1    175    
  • No. 23 Central Washington    7-2    106    
  • No. 24 Minnesota-Duluth    8-2    26    
  • No. 25 West Florida    7-3    25    

Dropped Out: Virginia St. (22), Mars Hill (N.C.) (25)

Others Receiving Votes: Charleston (W.Va.), 21; Shepherd (W.Va.), 19; Virginia St., 18; Southern Arkansas, 10; Angelo St. (Tex.), 9; Henderson St. (Ark.), 9; Fairmont St. (W.Va.), 5; Mars Hill (N.C.), 5; Colorado St.-Pueblo, 4; Fort Hays St. (Kan.), 3; Kutztown (Pa.), 3; Truman St. (Mo.), 3; Emporia St. (Kan.), 1; New Haven (Conn.), 1.

When Is The NCAA Division 2 Playoff Selection Show?

The Division II Football Playoff Selection Show is at 6 p.m. on Nov. 12. 

How To Watch The NCAA Division 2 Playoff Selection Show

The show is streaming on the NCAA's website. 

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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