After 11 tough weeks of football, Minnesota State-Mankato ended the regular season at No. 1 in the AFCA Division II Coaches’ Top 25 Poll. The Mavericks have held the top spot for six consecutive weeks as they head into the playoffs as the No. 2 seed in Super Region 3. The No. 1 seed in that region is Northwest Missouri State, which is ranked No. 2 in this week’s poll, followed by No. 3 Colorado State-Pueblo, No. 4 Henderson State and No. 5 Minnesota-Duluth.
| DIVISION II AFCA TOP 25 | ||||
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| • Complete poll | ||||
Twenty-two of the 25 teams ranked in the final regular-season poll are in the Division II playoffs, which makes for six top-25 matchups in the first week of the playoffs. No. 4 Henderson State plays host to No. 12 St. Cloud State, while No. 5 Minnesota-Duluth will play host to No. 14 Emporia State. The remaining matchups see No. 20 Slippery Rock traveling to No. 9 Winston-Salem State, and No. 19 West Texas A&M heading to No. 10 Indianapolis. No. 18 Carson-Newman will play host to conference rival No. 25 Newberry, while No. 22 Grand Valley State and No. 21 Saginaw Valley Statewill play each other for the second week in a row. Grand Valley State won the regular season finale 49-34.
