Mars Hill, Lenoir Rhyne Ranked in Latest NCAA Football Regional Poll
INDIANAPOLIS - Mars Hill and Lenoir-Rhyne, which enter the last weekend of the regular season tied for first place in the SAC, have been ranked in the most recent NCAA Division II Football Super Region II poll. Mars Hill was No. 2, while L-R was No. 8.
With wins on Saturday, both teams can clinch at least a share of the SAC Championship. If both win, they will be co-champions.
Mars Hill, which had a bye last week, will close its regular season against Carson-Newman at home. The Lions were ranked 23nd in this week's AFCA national top 25.
Lenoir-Rhyne defeated Newberry 54-42 last weekend to pull even with Mars Hill in the SAC standings. L-R was not ranked in last week's NCAA Super Region II poll.
The Regional Rankings are the official poll used by the NCAA Division II Football Committee during the NCAA Football Championship selection process. The Championship does not award automatic qualifications, but rather uses an earned-access model to select the field.
Access is earned by finishing in the top six of the final Super Region rankings, and does not require a team to have won its conference championship.
Furthermore, a conference is guaranteed a spot in the Championship field if one of its members finishes in the top eight of the regional rankings. The top-eight qualification policy does not apply, however, if the conference already has another team in the top six.
Delta St. is the top-ranked team in this week's Super Region II poll.