Undefeated CSU-Pueblo ends regular season at No. 1 in AFCA poll

For the second year in a row, Colorado State-Pueblo finishes the regular season at the top spot in the AFCA Coaches’ Poll. The Thunderwolves beat Western State 21-3 to finish at 11-0 in the regular season and will host a second round playoff game. For the consecutive straight season, CSU-Pueblo is its region top seed.

The rest of the top six teams in the poll all finished with undefeated regular seasons and will host second round playoff games. Those teams are No. 2 Winston-Salem State, No. 3 New Haven, No. 4 Ashland, No. 5 Minnesota State-Mankato and No. 6 Henderson State.

AFCA COACHES’ POLL
Check out the full rankings.

Twenty-one of the 24 teams in the NCAA playoffs are ranked in this week’s poll. Six of the eight first round games feature top 25 matchups.

The first matchup features No. 7 Minnesota-Duluth traveling to No. 9 Missouri Western State. No. 8 Midwestern State (Texas) also hits the road against No. 18 Indianapolis, which is making its first appearance in the Division II playoffs.

Two Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) teams matchup for a second time this year as No. 10 Bloomsburg travels to No. 15 Shippensburg.

The third team from the PSAC to make the playoff field, No. 11 Indiana (Pa.), hosts No. 25 Shepherd. No. 12 Harding makes its first appearance in the Division II playoffs, and will travel to No. 13 Northwest Missouri State. In the final top 25 matchup, No. 16 West Texas A&M plays at No. 20 Chadron State.