The second Division III football regional rankings are out.
Remember that regional rankings primarily take Division III games into account. Teams are listed with their Division III record only. For more information about the playoff format and how participants are determined, check out our FAQ, or listen to the opening portion of our most recent podcasts, linked below.
A plus sign signifies that the team also has a non-Division III win, while a minus sign signifies a non-Division III loss. Teams in bold have clinched automatic bids.
- Week 1 Regional Rankings
- Strength of schedule numbers
- ATN Podcast 183: What's left to decide?
- ATN Podcast 182: Tackling Pool C teams
- ATN Podcast 181: About the committee
How to use 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, two Pool B bids (to split among the 18 eligible teams not in those 25 conferences) and five Pool C (true national at-large) bids. Selection Sunday is Nov. 12.
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.
| East Region | SOS | Notes |
| 1. Delaware Valley 9-0 2. Brockport 9-0 3. Springfield 9-0 4. Wesley 8-1 5. Frostburg State 8-1 6. Husson 7-1 + 7. Plymouth State 9-1 8. Framingham State 8-1 9. RPI 7-2 10. Western New England 7-2 |
.506 .550 .500 .526 .474 .496 .493 .488 .546 .567 |
Delaware Valley looking alright for a top seed if it can beat Widener, clinch MAC and finish 10-0. ... Brockport ready to stake a claim otherwise but has no results vs. regionally ranked teams. ... At .500 SOS, Springfield is definitely going to be in the playoffs if unbeaten, but if it loses to MIT. ... Frostburg State in line to be the top at-large candidate from the East (assuming Springfield gets in via Pool B). Might be enough to get them in. But Frostburg is where the bubble is, and anyone below Frostburg has no realistic chance of getting in as an at-large. |
| North Region | SOS | Notes |
| 1. Mount Union 9-0 2. Wittenberg 9-0 3. Trine 9-0 4. North Central 7-1 + 5. DePauw 8-1 6. Illinois Wesleyan 8-1 7. Franklin 7-1 - 8. Wheaton 7-2 9. Hope 7-2 10. Millikin 7-2 |
.517 .539 .478 .542 .518 .503 .449 .536 .550 .508 |
North Central controls its own destiny for the playoffs. DePauw and Illinois Wesleyan could each be at-large teams at 9-1 and if so, will merit significiant consideration for a playoff bid. ... Still seems as if Illinois Wesleyan (8-1, .503 SOS, loss to North 4 and win vs. North 8) deserves to be ranked ahead of DePauw (8-1, .518 SOS, loss to North 2 and no wins). ... If IWU and DePauw both get in as at-larges, it's likely nobody else will in the North. ... Also clinched but not ranked, Lakeland (7-2). |
| South Region | SOS | Notes |
| 1. Mary Hardin-Baylor 9-0 2. Hardin-Simmons 7-1 + 3. Berry 9-0 4. Washington & Jefferson 9-0 5. Case Western Reserve 9-0 6. Johns Hopkins 8-1 7. Centre 8-1 8. Franklin & Marshall 8-1 9. Huntingdon 7-1 + 10. Hendrix 6-2 |
.519 .526 .501 .454 .409 .559 .495 .541 .478 .562 |
Hardin-Simmons seems a lock for the playoffs with a win Saturday vs. McMurry. Between UMHB, HSU and Springfield, that's three teams for two Pool B slots, so someone will take one of the five at-large bids if all three win Saturday. ... W&J and Case have been discussed ad nauseam elsewhere. Case would be a great test case for the theory that "any unbeaten will get in" if they are an at-large candidate. ... Centre is currently below the cut line and nobody below them gets in either if all win on Saturday. |
| West Region | SOS | Notes |
| 1. UW-Oshkosh 7-0 + 2. Wartburg 9-0 3. St. Thomas 8-1 4. Linfield 7-1 5. St. John's 7-1 + 6. Monmouth 8-1 7. UW-La Crosse 7-2 8. Concordia-Moorhead 8-1 9. Lake Forest 8-1 10. Whitworth 7-2 |
.595 .567 .495 .572 .491 .566 .550 .478 .419 .520 |
UW-Oshkosh has No. 1 overall seed-type numbers here, although as defending champ, UMHB probably would be the No. 1 overall and UWO No. 2. ... St. Thomas moved ahead of Linfield, most likely on the strength of two wins vs. reigionally ranked opponents which aren't considered in the first week's ranking. ... This also foreshadows a likely Linfield/Hardin-Simmons game, and probably at HSU, since HSU is higher in the South. But Linfield has the better numbers. ... SJU-Concordia winner should be in. Concordia ought to hop UWL based on common opponent UWW. ... Also clinched: Chapman (6-2), Eureka (8-2). |