Even more than its Division I counterpart, the DII Fall College Ranking will experience some big reorganizations early on as teams grow toward consistency, leagues produce new leaders, squads enjoy unexpected success, etc. There are considerably more Division II teams than Division I and thus this update has expanded to account for teams that are now active. That said, there are a couple of teams awaiting their first run-out of the season.
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Generally, rankings are a combination of teams’ historical strength as well as last season’s finish. So Grand Valley State and UW Oshkosh are ranked beside each other based on their one-point decision in last year’s Fall Round of 32 match. Obviously both of those teams are different from last year and the field won’t know their relative strength until later in the season, but last year’s results serve as a starting point and adjustments can be made from there.
For a recap of how last year’s fall post-season played out, click here.
Six teams joined the ranking this week. Marist and Albany were on the watch list until the former beat the latter 61-14 last Saturday. Fellow Tri-State team Fairfield slid past idle Maine after beating Monroe by 33 points. • Colorado Mines is a late add, having defeated Colorado College by 54 points. Colorado Mesa posted a similarly large victory against the same opponent and the two Rocky Mountain teams face each other this weekend. • In Upstate New York, RIT is the only undefeated DII team in the league’s NSCRO/DII hybrid league and moved past idle Colby after beating last year’s champ, Buffalo State. Cortland is 2-1 and its lone loss, a 12-point decision, came at the hands of leader Colgate. • Reigning Great Lakes champ UW Oshkosh joined the rankings after a season-opening shutout against UW La Crosse; same with Illinois reigning champion Illinois State, which bested league newcomer Southern Indiana by 46 points. • With Winona State playing in the DI Midwest during the regular season, there’s room for another Northern Lights team on the rankings. Mankato is currently 2-0 after beat St. Cloud State by 31 points.
The top seven spots didn’t move. Cincinnati’s result against Ball State reflects 40 minutes of play before the game was called as a forfeit. IUP played a friendly against a DII senior women’s club – Pittsburgh Forge – to a close decision. There were a couple of forfeits, and regrettably, the Kutztown vs. East Stroudsburg game did not come off. The list is waiting for teams like Kutztown, Coast Guard and UM Duluth to play their first matches, and is also watching teams like New Hampshire (94-0 W vs. Smith), Franklin Pierce (36-32 W vs. St. Michael’s), Marquette (31-5 W vs. UW Whitewater) and Bowling Green (forfeit win so far, playing Oakland University this weekend).
