By Jordan Nicewarner, Panhandle News Network Sports
MARTINSBURG, W.Va – The Shepherd Rams football team continues to climb the ladder of national rankings as the American Football Coaches Association (AFCA) Division II Coaches Poll and D2Football.com Polls were released yesterday.
Shepherd will go into their week eight game on the road at West Chester ranked seventh in the D2Football.com Poll and third in the AFCA Poll.
Grand Valley State moves to No. 1 after a come-from-behind win vs then No. 1 Ferris State. The loss drops Ferris State to No. 7 this week.
1️⃣@gvsufootball
2️⃣@angeloathletics
3️⃣@SURamsFootball
4️⃣@OuachitaFB
5️⃣@GorillasFB https://t.co/W0jwA3xRYC— AFCA (@WeAreAFCA) October 17, 2022
Another notable change to the AFCA ranking is the drop from one to seventh for Ferris St., who lost to Grand Valley St. on Saturday, and GVSU takes their spot at number one. PSAC foes Slippery Rock and IUP find themselves ranked 17 and 13 respectively.
Shepherd, who is currently 7-0 overall and 4-0 in the PSAC after a 55-17 win over Millersville, is on track to face either IUP in the PSAC Championship game. The Crimson Hawks are at the top of the PSAC West and undefeated in conference play. The PSAC Championship game will take place of the last scheduled regular season game.
In the D2Football.com Poll, Shepherd drops one spot from fifth to sixth. PSAC rivals Slippery Rock and IUP also make an appearance on this list as they sit at 13 and 15 respectively.
D2Football.com Top 25 PollOctober 17
| Team | Record | Last |
1 | Grand Valley | 7-0 | 2 |
2 | Angelo State | 7-0 | 3 |
3 | Ouachita Baptist | 7-0 | 4 |
4 | Ferris State | 5-1 | 1 |
5 | Pittsburg State | 7-0 | 6 |
6 | Shepherd | 7-0 | 5 |
7 | Delta State | 7-0 | 7 |
8 | West Florida | 5-1 | 9 |
9 | Colorado Mines | 5-2 | 10 |
10 | Ashland | 6-0 | 11 |
11 | Sioux Falls | 7-0 | 12 |
12 | Virginia Union | 7-0 | 15 |
13 | IUP | 6-0 | 17 |
14 | Augustana | 6-1 | 18 |
15 | Slippery Rock | 6-1 | 19 |
16 | Northwest Missouri | 5-2 | 20 |
17 | Benedict | 7-0 | 23 |
18 | Texas A&M-Kingsville | 7-0 | 21 |
19 | Lenoir-Rhyne | 6-1 | 22 |
20 | Harding | 5-2 | 8 |
21 | Newberry | 5-1 | 24 |
22 | Nebraska-Kearney | 5-2 | 13 |
23 | Saginaw Valley | 5-2 | NR |
24 | Albany State | 5-2 | 14 |
25 | Indianapolis | 5-1 | 16 |
