After a week of major upsets across DII football, the Power 10 came out and handled business... albeit some in a not-so-dominating fashion. Harding continues to steamroll its opponents and remains atop the heap heading into Week 4.
There were some top-25 upsets of note. No. 20 Virginia Union was stunned by Johnson C. Smith, No. 23 Wingate lost to an impressive Carson-Newman squad, and the big upset was West Alabama taking down No. 13 West Florida in double overtime. This opened the door for West Alabama to enter my D2Football top-25 ballot at No. 23 and saw West Florida slip out of the "first five out."
The Power 10 rankings are mine, and mine alone. There is no committee or voting body coming up with these teams, just my spreadsheets, notes from coaches and a lot of deep diving into rosters and stats. I try to blend selection committee metrics — like strength of schedule, in-region record and RPI — along with what I am seeing for an overall look at the landscape of DII football’s top teams.
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The DII football Power 10: Week 3
No. 1 Harding | Previous: 1: Let's review, shall we? The defending champs have played the football games thus far. The Bisons have outscored their three opponents 181-10 and have rushed for 1,409 yards and an astounding 469.7 yards per game. The flexbone offense continues to be unstoppable as six players have already scored multiple touchdowns on the young season. The defense has allowed a mere 397 yards. This team is a steamroller. The Bisons do have their first big test of the season this week against top-25 Henderson State.
No. 2 Valdosta State | Previous: 3: The Blazers outgained Erskine by 503 yards in a 73-0 blowout victory. Sammy Edwards threw for five touchdowns, Caden Campolieti had three sacks and Dav'Juan Dezeme had two interceptions in one of the most dominant victories in all facets of the game this season. The Blazers have a tough matchup against West Alabama this coming week.
No. 3 Grand Valley State | Previous: 2: DII Wisconsin-La Crosse gave the Lakers, minus quarterback Avery Moore, all they could handle, but the Lakers prevailed 20-13. Grand Valley State needed that win with West Florida and Davenport on deck the next two weeks.
No. 4 Minnesota State | Previous: 5: Another week, another victory for the Mavericks. Minnesota State dominated this one from start to finish, defeating Minot State 40-6. The offense has been a juggernaut, scoring 35.5 points per game, led by quarterback Hayden Ekern who had yet another three-touchdown day. TreShawn Watson now has three 100-yard games in a row, catching six touchdowns over that span, clearly blossoming into one of the best receivers in the division.
No. 5 Colorado School of Mines | Previous: 4: It wasn't pretty, but a win is a win. The Orediggers won a defensive battle 13-12 over Chadron State, putting up the fewest number of points they've scored in a victory since 19-17 over Dixie State in 2017. Despite Evan Foster and Landon Walker being held in check, the defense prevailed as usual and there was no answer for All-American wide receiver Max McLeod.
No. 6 Slippery Rock | Previous: 6: The Rock had its most lopsided victory of the season, winning 33-7 and outgaining Shippensburg 408-135, including just 15 total yards in the second half. It still feels like this offense has yet to reach its full potential, and The Rock is still 3-0 against a relatively tough schedule. The defense allowing just 225.7 yards per game certainly helps.
No. 7 Kutztown | Previous: 7: The Golden Bears defense was at it again, as Kutztown held a 37-0 lead through three quarters before allowing Gannon to score a pair of fourth-quarter touchdowns. The offense also tallied a season-high 408 yards, and the defense tallied five sacks and held its opponent under 200 total yards for the third-straight game to start the season. This team is clicking.
No. 8 Pittsburg State | Previous: 8: The Gorillas survived another close one, defeating Washburn 39-31. Jack Barkley had another monster game on defense, recording two sacks and a forced fumble. Pittsburg State has had a rough couple of weeks, but with a bye next week, it could right the ship and come out firing for the rest of the stacked MIAA schedule.
No. 9 Central Washington | Previous: 9: The Wildcats had more trouble with the weather than West Texas A&M in its 2024 LSC opener. After a long delay, Central Washington rolled over the Buffs 45-3. The Wildcats, who suffered an opening-day loss to FCS San Diego, are back on track and looking strong in DII play, balanced on both sides of the ball with a pretty ferocious defense.
No. 10 Ferris State | Previous: 10: The Bulldogs were idle this week, so not much to report. Well, minus that this is a really good football team once again. Projected DII football defensive player of the year Tanner Volk had a 76-yard pick six and Tyler Flanagan ran for 104 yards and three scores.
First five out (in alphabetical order)
Central Missouri: Zach Zebrowski only threw for 349 yards and a touchdown in what has become a rather human day for the best quarterback in the land. The Mules eked by Davenport 32-31 with LaAngelo Bell scoring the game-winning touchdown with just 1:02 left on the clock.
Emporia State: Gunner Gundy threw for 454 yards and three touchdowns, 178 yards of which went to Tyler Kahmann. It was the second Gundy to Kahmann touchdown of the day that forced overtime and led to another Hornets win, now sitting at 4-0 on the season.
UIndy: Football looks pretty easy for the Greyhounds right now, as they won another lopsided victory. Jon Lewis scored another rushing touchdown and Gavin Sukup threw for 325 yards, three touchdowns and zero interceptions. This team is rolling.
Lenoir-Rhyne: The Bears have really good players all over the field. Running back Zayvion Turner-Knox found pay dirt, quarterback Jalen Ferguson threw for 304 yards and one touchdown, receiver Songa Yates scored a touchdown and all-world lineman Andre Jefferson had two sacks.
Western Colorado: X.
Around DII football
How about the impressive 4-0 start by Johnson C. Smith? The Golden Bulls surprised nationally ranked Virginia Union on Saturday, winning 21-16 to stay undefeated. Quavaris Crouch had a monster day, rushing for 53 yards and two touchdowns while reeling in a third score to account for all the scoring. You have to go all the way back to 2013 for the last time the Golden Bulls strung along consecutive wins to start a season, opening that year 3-0.
Limestone handed Anderson (SC) its first loss in program history, and what a day the Saints had. Dustin Noller threw for 368 yards and five touchdowns, Kevin Lalin ran for 130 yards, and DJ Black and Tre Williams both eclipsed the century mark receiving while each scoring a touchdown.
Chavon Wright turned in his first monster game of the season for Charleston (WV), rushing for 198 yards and three touchdowns. Not to be outdone, receiver Yves Bosmans reeled in 182 yards and four touchdowns as the Golden Eagles put up 58 points in victory.
Wingate's defense handled the Carson-Newman triple-option attack, but it was the Eagles that walked away in dramatic upset fashion. It was a back-and-forth battle with the lead changing hands six times. The Bulldogs tied it with six minutes remaining, but it was Bennett Smith's 34-yard field goal in overtime that led the Eagles to a top-25 upset.
West Alabama is now 4-0 heading into its huge matchup against Valdosta State this coming week. The Tiger upset West Florida 35-33 in double overtime. It was as exciting as it gets, with West Florida scoring in double-overtime but failing to convert its two-point conversion to send it to a third. Tigers' quarterback Spencer Arceneaux threw for three touchdowns, two of which went to Caeleb Bass. Defensive back Lamar Gray was one of the heroes for the Tigers, recording two tackles for a loss, picking off two passes and breaking up another.
Emory & Henry remained undefeated and is 3-0 for the first time since jumping to DII in 2021. The Wasps are scoring in bunches and this week opened SAC play with a 41-0 victory. Emory & Henry outgained Barton 536-149 in a complete victory on both sides of the ball. The Wasps now have a DII-best nine interceptions through three games after recording two more on Saturday.
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