Northwestern College continued its climb in the NAIA Football Coaches’ poll released by the national office Monday.
Ranked 13th in last week’s poll, Northwestern moved up two spots to 11th in the national ranking announced today. This is the highest ranking for the Red Raiders since the 2015 season when they were ninth in the Sept.14 poll. Northwestern had its bye last weekend and bring an 8-1 record into this week’s match-up at Hastings. They are one of three teams from the Great Plains Athletic Conference (GPAC) in th top 25; Morningside (3) and Concordia (25).
Saint Francis (Ind.) still holds the top spot, receiving all 15 first place votes with a 10-0 record. The Cougars have been No.1 for 12 straight coaches’ polls, dating back to last season. Reinhardt (Ga.) moved up to second, followed by Morningside (3), Lindsey Wilson (Ky.) and Southern Oregon.
| RANK | LAST TIME^ | SCHOOL (1ST PLACE VOTES) | 2017 RECORD | TOTAL POINTS |
| 1 | 1 | Saint Francis (Ind.) (15) | 10-0 | 340 |
| 2 | 3 | Reinhardt (Ga.) | 8-0 | 325 |
| 3 | 4 | Morningside (Iowa) | 10-0 | 316 |
| 4 | 5 | Lindsey Wilson (Ky.) | 9-0 | 300 |
| 5 | 7 | Southern Oregon | 9-0 | 280 |
| 6 | 6 | Grand View (Iowa) | 9-1 | 279 |
| 7 | 2 | Baker (Kan.) | 9-1 | 256 |
| 8 | 8 | Langston (Okla.) | 9-0 | 255 |
| 9 | 10 | Saint Xavier (Ill.) | 8-1 | 241 |
| 10 | 12 | Southeastern (Fla.) | 7-1 | 217 |
| 11 | 13 | Northwestern (Iowa) | 8-1 | 202 |
| T12 | 14 | Dickinson State (N.D.) | 8-1 | 187 |
| T12 | 9 | Georgetown (Ky.) | 7-1 | 187 |
| 14 | 15 | Concordia (Mich.) | 8-1 | 177 |
| 15 | 11 | Benedictine (Kan.) | 8-2 | 170 |
| 16 | 18 | Sterling (Kan.) | 8-2 | 142 |
| 17 | 19 | Tabor (Kan.) | 7-2 | 125 |
| 18 | 21 | Campbellsville (Ky.) | 7-1 | 103 |
| 19 | 20 | Marian (Ind.) | 6-3 | 101 |
| 20 | 16 | SAGU (Texas) | 7-2 | 99 |
| 21 | 23 | Arizona Christian | 7-3 | 73 |
| 22 | 17 | Montana Tech | 6-3 | 69 |
| 23 | 25 | Evangel (Mo.) | 7-3 | 55 |
| 24 | RV | Kansas Wesleyan | 7-3 | 30 |
| 25 | RV | Concordia (Neb.) | 6-3 | 15 |
Dropped from the Top 25: Cumberland (Tenn.) (No. 22); Doane (Neb.) (No. 24)
Others Receiving Votes: Faulkner (Ala.) 12; Dakota State (S.D.) 11; Peru State (Neb.) 10; College of Idaho 4; Cumberland (Tenn.) 3.
