WACO, Texas – After Saturday's 36-24 road
win at Austin College, the Texas Lutheran Bulldogs moved up two
spots, reaching No. 20, in the American Football Coaches
Association Division III Coaches' Poll.
The Bulldogs (8-1, 2-0 SCAC) received 224 points in the
poll. The Bulldogs were one spot out of the AFCA Top 25 two
weeks ago. With wins over Trinity (Texas) and Austin College in
consecutive weeks, TLU has moved up six spots in the AFCA poll,
from one spot outside the Top 25 on Oct. 27 to No. 20 today.
In the D3football.com poll, the Bulldogs received 25 voting
points, up 12 points from last week, and are one spot out of the
Top 25.
The Bulldogs were fifth in the first NCAA Division III South
Region football ranking, released last Wednesday afternoon by the
NCAA. A new South Region ranking is scheduled for release this
Wednesday. The Bulldogs shared fifth place last week with
Centre College (Ky.). The Colonels are 9-0.
The Bulldogs need a win over Southwestern (Texas) in the regular
season finale to keep their NCAA playoff hopes alive in
2014. A win Saturday also secures a second-straight outright
SCAC Championship for the Bulldogs. TLU claimed a share of the SCAC
title with the road win at Austin College. TLU faces
Southwestern in Bulldog Stadium this Saturday. Kickoff is 1
p.m.
For the NCAA DIII playoff field, a total of 32 teams qualify for
the national tournament. Twenty-four of the 32 receive automatic
bids to the playoffs. The remaining eight teams come out of two
"Pool B" and six "Pool C" bids.
"Pool B" is reserved for teams not playing in conferences
(independents) and teams in conferences without automatic
bids. If a team does not receive a "Pool B" bid, that team is
moved into consideration for a "Pool C" bid. According to
D3football.com, a "Pool B" eligible team has never received one of
the six "Pool C" bids.
The NCAA DIII Football Selection Show is scheduled for 5 p.m.
central Sunday on www.ncaa.com.