The NCAA released its second 2015 Division III football regional rankings on Nov. 11.
Remember that regional rankings primarily take Division III games into account. Teams are listed with their Division III record first, followed by their overall record. For more information about the playoff format and how participants are determined, check out our FAQ.
Teams which have clinched automatic bids are in bold.
| East Region | SOS | Notes |
|
1 Wesley 8-1 8-1 |
.548 .507 .615 .525 .602 .536 .563 .386 .594 .475 |
After a week in which the top three teams in the East rankings all lost, those teams ended up 1-7-10 this week. Despite the loss, Wesley has the best credentials and North Central entering North rankings helps. ... Albright in the driver's seat in the MAC and no at-large candidates from MAC. ... Wesley could still win NJAC if Salisbury loses Saturday, but if not, is a strong at-large team, with Alfred the only other real candidate. ... WNEU sitting behind seven teams with a loss suggests they must win Saturday to get in. |
| North Region | SOS | Notes |
|
1 Mount Union 9-0 9-0 |
.458 .497 .474 .512 .576 .450 .494 .406 .502 .613 |
Three unbeaten teams in the North, all with low SOS numbers, are all arranged in order of the 'last year's performance' tiebreaker. ... Lots of possibilities left on Saturday. Albion could win their game Saturday and still lose the MIAA automatic bid, so Albion might be an at-large candidate. ... Ohio Northern beat JCU head-to-head so if JCU loses to Mount Union and ONU wins, then ONU would be the first at-large from the OAC. ... North Central surpassed the .667 winning percentage plateau and it's probably not a coincidence that Cardinals are now ranked. |
| South Region | SOS | Notes |
| 1 Johns Hopkins 9-0 9-0 2 Hardin-Simmons 6-1 8-1 3 Mary Hardin-Baylor 7-1 8-1 4 Thomas More 10-0 10-0 5 Washington and Lee 8-0 9-0 6 Guilford 8-1 8-1 7 Moravian 8-1 8-1 8 Huntingdon 7-1 8-1 9 Texas Lutheran 6-2 7-2 10 East Texas Baptist 5-1 7-2 |
.557 .574 .470 .494 .507 .482 .497 .445 .572 .477 |
Committee dealt with the Texas teams similarly to the Top 25 poll -- HSU didn't fall by much, remains ahead of UMHB, with both teams ahead of TLU and ETBU bringing up the rear. Only way into the playoffs for ETBU is by winning at UMHB on Saturday. ... Guilford moved ahead of Moravian this week, with pretty similar resumes. ... Thomas More ranked ahead of W&L but it seems like W&L (1-0 vs. regionally ranked opponents) has the better resume. |
| West Region | SOS | Notes |
|
1 St. Thomas 9-0 9-0 |
.487 .506 .529 .526 .567 .529 .544 .553 .501 .481 |
Linfield's SOS moves over .500 and they move past UW-Oshkosh into No. 2 spot. ... Playing Carleton this week cost St. Thomas .041 in SOS. ... Still looks like at least three at-large teams could come from this region. ... UW-Platteville is the beginning of the bubble. ... Indeed, there is a very real possibility that three No. 1 seeds could come from this region. |
How to use these regional rankings: If you are an at-large candidate, you want to be sure you are the top at-large candidate in your region. That will ensure you get discussed by the national committee and have a chance to be put in the field.
There are 25 automatic bids, one Pool B bid and six Pool C (true national at-large) bids. Selection Sunday is Nov. 15.
Being listed in these rankings is not a guarantee of selection to the playoffs. There is no guarantee an at-large team will be taken from each region.