Lenoir-Rhyne No. 6 and Wingate No. 21 in Week One AFCA Coaches' Poll
Two South Atlantic Conference teams have been ranked in the 2021 American Football Coaches Association (AFCA) Week One Coaches' Poll.
The Lenoir-Rhyne Bears earned the top rank in the SAC, coming in at No. 6, followed by Wingate at No. 21.
The 2021 SAC football season continues on Saturday, Sept. 11.
2021 American Football Coaches Association Preseason Division II Coaches' Poll – September 7, 2021
| Rank | School (1st votes) | Rec. | Pts. | Prev. | Season Opener | Next Game |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | West Florida (28) | 1-0 | 744 | 1 | D. McNeese (La.), 42-36 | Sept. 11 vs. Southwest Baptist (Mo.) |
| 2 | Ferris St. (Mich.) (1) | 1-0 | 703 | 3 | D. Findlay (Ohio), 54-14 | Sept. 11 at Ashland (Ohio) |
| 3 | Minnesota St. | 1-0 | 668 | 2 | D. Northern St. (S.D.), 40-34 OT | Sept. 11 at No. 20 Minnesota-Duluth |
| 4 | Northwest Missouri St. | 1-0 | 629 | 4 | D. Fort Hays St. (Kan.), 15-7 | Sept. 18 at Central Missouri |
| 5 | Valdosta St. (Ga.) | 1-0 | 599 | 6t | D. Savannah St. (Ga.), 53-7 | Sept. 11 at Virginia Union |
| 6 | Lenoir-Rhyne (N.C.) (1) | 1-0 | 593 | 6t | D. Virginia St., 48-7 | Sept. 18 at Newberry (S.C.) |
| 7 | Texas A&M-Commerce | 1-0 | 560 | 8 | D. No. 13 Colorado St.-Pueblo, 12-6 | Sept. 11 vs. Midwestern St. (Texas) |
| 8 | Slippery Rock (Pa.) | 1-0 | 547 | 5 | D. Wayne St. (Mich.), 24-21 | Sept. 11 vs. East Stroudsburg (Pa.) |
| 9 | Colorado School of Mines | 1-0 | 504 | 10 | D. Western Oregon, 42-3 | Sept. 11 vs. New Mexico Highlands |
| 10 | Notre Dame (Ohio) | 1-0 | 499 | 9 | D. Ashland (Ohio), 42-35 OT | Sept. 9 at Wheeling (W.Va.) |
| 11 | Ouachita Baptist (Ark.) | 1-0 | 433 | 11 | D. Oklahoma Baptist, 38-31 | Sept. 11 at Southern Nazarene (Okla.) |
| 12 | Indianapolis (Ind.) | 1-0 | 399 | 14 | D. Saint Xavier (Ill.), 34-10 | Sept. 11 at Hillsdale (Mich.) |
| 13 | Shepherd (W.Va.) | 1-0 | 368 | 15 | D. Ohio Dominican, 35-30 | Sept. 11 at Gannon (Pa.) |
| 14 | Grand Valley St. (Mich.) | 0-0 | 308 | 16 | Sept. 4 vs. Edinboro (Pa.), cancelled | Sept. 11 vs. No. 19 Colorado St.-Pueblo |
| 15 | Indiana (Pa.) | 0-0 | 266 | 17 | Idle | Sept. 11 vs. No. 18 Kutztown (Pa.) |
| 16 | Tiffin (Ohio) | 1-0 | 236 | 19 | D. Marian (Ind.), 34-10 | Sept. 11 vs. Northwood (Mich.) |
| 17 | Harding (Ark.) | 1-0 | 227 | 22 | D. East Central (Okla.), 28-0 | Sept. 11 at Southeastern Oklahoma |
| 18 | Kutztown (Pa.) | 1-0 | 220 | 20 | D. Assumption (Mass.), 19-0 | Sept. 11 at No. 15 Indiana (Pa.) |
| 19 | Colorado St.-Pueblo | 0-1 | 201 | 12 | Lost to No. 8 Texas A&M-Commerce, 12-6 | Sept. 11 at No. 14 Grand Valley St. (Mich.) |
| 20 | Minnesota-Duluth | 1-0 | 189 | 23 | D. Upper Iowa, 41-14 | Sept. 11 vs. No. 3 Minnesota St. |
| 21 | Wingate (N.C.) | 1-0 | 156 | 24t | D. Shaw (N.C.), 30-7 | Sept. 11 vs. Fayetteville St. (N.C.) |
| 22 | Angelo St. (Texas) | 1-0 | 134 | NR | D. No. 21 Lindenwood (Mo.), 40-20 | Sept. 11 at Chadron St. (Neb.) |
| 23 | Pittsburg St. (Kan.) | 1-0 | 123 | NR | D. No. 13 Central Missouri, 35-16 | Sept. 11 vs. Nebraska-Kearney |
| 24 | West Georgia | 1-0 | 71 | NR | D. No. 24t Carson-Newman (Tenn.), 45-7 | Sept. 11 vs. Morehouse (Ga.) |
| 25 | Bowie St. (Md.) | 0-1 | 58 | 18 | Lost to Delaware St., 32-24 | Sept. 11 vs. Saginaw Valley St. (Mich.) |
Dropped Out: Central Missouri (13), Lindenwood (Mo.) (21), Carson-Newman (Tenn.) (24t)
Others Receiving Votes: Delta St. (Miss.), 46; Augustana (S.D.), 34; Tusculum (Tenn.), 33; Henderson St. (Ark.), 31; West Texas A&M, 27; Nebraska-Kearney, 25; Central Missouri, 24; West Alabama, 21; Truman St. (Mo.), 15; Bentley (Mass.), 12; Midwestern St. (Texas), 11; Ashland (Ohio), 7; Charleston (W.Va.), 5; Fort Hays St. (Kan.), 5; West Chester (Pa.), 5; Washburn (Kan.), 4; California (Pa.), 3; Lindenwood (Mo.), 2; Virginia Union, 2; Carson-Newman (Tenn.), 1; Bemidji St. (Minn.), 1; UT-Permian Basin (Texas), 1.