Virginia State continues to rack up points with running back Trenton Cannon leading the charge.
It was a big weekend for the Top 10 of Division II football. The only team that lost was at the hands of the No. 12 team. The bottom 10, however, didn't fare so well. Four of the lower half of the Top 25 fell in upset fashion.
RELATED: 5 takeaways from the DII football poll
Wins and losses aside, there was plenty of action in Week 8. Incredible streaks continued, running backs dropped videogame numbers, and the Northwest Missouri State defense continued to put up numbers that are borderline insane. Let's breakdown the Top 25 by the numbers.
How the Top 25 fared:
5 -- Number of ranked teams that fell on Saturday. No. 7 Grand Valley State dropped a heartbreaker 28-27 to No. 12 Ferris State. No. 17 Slippery Rock fell for the second time in as many weeks, this time to Edinboro 49-39. No. 18 West Alabama lost its first Gulf South Conference game of the year, 41-39. No. 19 Delta State couldn't make up ground on the Tigers loss, falling 34-14. And No. 25 Southeastern Oklahoma lost by 30 points to Southern Arkansas, making the race for the Great American Conference wide open again.
UPSET! No. 12 Ferris State stages a fourth-quarter rally to shock No. 7 Grand Valley State in the Showcase!
— NCAA Division II (@NCAADII)
24.10 -- Average margin of victory for the Top 10, even with Grand Valley State's one-point loss.
73 -- Largest amount of points dropped by a Top 25 team this weekend. No. 21 Virginia State's offense continues to put up mind-boggling numbers as it climbs the rankings. That also gave the Trojans the biggest margin of victory this weel with 52. Not to be outdone No. 16 Colorado Mesa scored 70 of its own, winning by 49 points over Adams State.
2 -- Number of shutouts posted this week. No. 1 Northwest Missouri State won 19-0 and No. 6 Indianapolis won 55-0.
Speaking of the Bearcats and Greyhounds:
38 -- Number of games won in a row by NWMSU. That's two shy of tying the DII record.
BEARCATS WIN!
— Northwest Athletics (@bearcatsports)
0 -- Rushing yards allowed by the Bearcats in the last three weeks. Over that span, the Bearcats defense has allowed 17, -22 and 5 net rushing yards per game. That's zero net rushing yards total. They are allowing just 1.5 yards per carry on the season.
100-0 -- Combined score that UIndy has won by the past two Saturdays. Yes, the Greyhounds are for real.
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With so many big scores, there were plenty of individual players that shined as well. Let's go position by position and take a look.
QUARTERBACKS:
| Quarterback | School | Stats |
|---|---|---|
| Tanner Garry | Slippery Rock | 488 yards, 3 TD |
| Amir Hall | Bowie State | 386 pass, 3 TD |
| Luis Perez | Texas A&M-Commerce | 368 yards, 4 TD |
| Harry Satterwhite | West Alabama | 342 yards, 2 TD |
| Connor Jessop | Shepherd | 259 pass, 45 rush, 5 TD |
| Reggie Bell | Ferris State | 228 pass, 91 rush, 2 TD |
| Eystin Salum | Colorado Mesa | 212 pass, 108 rush, 4 TD |
| Cordelral Cook | Virginia State | 152 pass, 102 rush, 3 TD |
. QB chats with the NCAA.... Read and enjoy
— CWU Athletics (@CWUAthletics)
RUNNING BACKS
| Running Back | School | Stats |
|---|---|---|
| Trenton Cannon | Virginia State | 253 rush, 21 receiving, 4 TD |
| Ja'Quan Gardner | Humboldt State | 215 yards, 3 TD |
| Austin Pernell | Central Washington | 189 yards, 2 TD |
| Andrew Vaugh | Ashland | 175 yards, 2 TD |
| David Tann | Colorado Mesa | 173 yards, 2 TD |
| Robert Chesson | Bowie State | 167 rush, 126 receiving, 4 TD |
| Lawrence Pittman | Wingate | 158 yards, 2 TD |
| Justin Taormina | Minnesota State | 154 yards, 1 TD |
| Marty Carter | Grand Valley State | 139 yards, 1 TD |
| Jason Towns | Sioux Falls | 125 yards, 1 TD |
| Kenneth Iheme | Fort Hays State | 114 yards, 28 receiving, 2 TD |
WIDE RECEIVERS
| Wide Receiver | School | Stats |
|---|---|---|
| Marcus Johnson | Slippery Rock | 192 yards 2 TD |
| Monterio Burchfield | Fort Hays State | 184 yards, 1 TD |
| Brandon Bean | Grand Valley State | 167 yards, 1 TD |
| Tra Fletcher | West Alabama | 159 yards, 1 TD |
| D.J. Myers | Midwestern | 149 receiving, 14 rush, 2 TD |
| Shane Williams | Northwest Missouri | 134 yards |
| Garrett Willis | UIndy | 114 yards, 1 TD |
| Marquis Wimberly | A&M-Commerce | 113 yards, 2 TD |
| Darrion Landry | A&M-Commerce | 105 yards, 2 TD |
Return man supreme: Assumption's wide receiver and punt returner Deonte Harris had a quiet day as a receiver, but exploded in the return game. He returned not one, but two punts to the house. The first was a 78-yard return and the second went for 76.
Deonte Harris returned two punts for TD's and the D was dominant as No. 14 beat New Haven 41-6!
— ACgreyhounds (@acgreyhounds)
Upset city: Not only did Edinboro pull off a big upset over Slippery Rock, running back Walter Fletcher had a day in doing so. The running back reeled off 241 yards and four touchdowns for the Fighting Scots who are now a perfect 5-0 at home. Southern Arkansas running back Michael Nunnery ran for 112 yards and three touchdowns in its upset of the Savage Storm. The Muleriders suddenly find themselves back in the mix for the conference championship.
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