WACO, Texas – The Bulldogs of Bowie State ascend to No.11 in the latest AFCA Division II Coaches’ Top 25 Poll released today following Saturday’s 60-21 road win at Elizabeth City State to close out the regular season with a perfect 10-0 record. Bowie State will take its unblemished record into Saturday’s (11/16) Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association (CIAA) Championship game against Fayetteville State. COMPLETE POLL (PDF)
Ferris State (Mich.) overcame a 9-0 deficit with a strong second half performance to beat then-No. 14 Grand Valley State (Mich.), 21-16, and claim their second straight Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference title. With the win, the Bulldogs remain No. 2 in the AFCA Division II Coaches’ Top 25 Poll. The loss drops Grand Valley State to No. 19.
Valdosta State (Ga.) returned to action, beating then-No. 20 West Florida, 26-21, and clinched at least a share of the Gulf South Conference title. The Blazers remain No. 1 with 28 first-place votes. The rest of the Top 5 remained unchanged with No. 3 Tarleton State (Texas), No. 4 Minnesota State and No. 5 Ouachita Baptist (Ark.) all registering victories on Saturday.
There are three Top 25 matchups in the final week of the 2019 regular season and two of them have conference title implications. First is No. 5 Ouachita Baptist hosting No. 20 Henderson State (Ark.) in the Battle of the Ravine. The second matchup has No. 8 Slippery Rock (Pa.) traveling to No. 13 Kutztown (Pa.) in the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference championship game. The final matchup has No. 9 Central Missouri traveling to No. 13 Northwest Missouri State. If the Mules win, they will capture their first out-right Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association title since 1988.
