WACO, Texas – The Slippery Rock University football team was ranked No. 3 in the final Division II national rankings when the American Football Coaches Association announced its final poll of the 2024 season Monday.
 
The No. 3 final ranking marks the highest postseason ranking in program history and is the second highest ranking ever for an SRU football team, trailing only the No. 2 ranking earned by the 1999 team in the final regular season poll that fall.
 
Slippery Rock was also ranked No. 3 in the final D2football.com media poll (available here) as both polls had the same top three in the final rankings.
 
National champion Ferris State was the unanimous No. 1 ranked team in the final poll after earning a dominant 49-14 win over Valdosta State in the national title game. The runner-up Blazers earned the No. 2 spot, followed by Slippery Rock at No. 3, Harding at No. 4 and Kutztown at No. 5.
 
Slippery Rock's 48-38 road loss in the semifinals ended up being the only threat to the third national title in four years for Ferris State. The Bulldogs rolled through their other three playoff games, allowing a total of 38 combined points in wins over Central Oklahoma (78-17), Harding (41-7) and Valdosta State (49-14).
 
The Rock tied for the second-most wins in a single-season in program history and finished with a 12-2 record to be one of just four teams to reach at least 12 wins this fall in Division II. SRU claimed its fourth regional title and its third Super Region One title at the Division II level to reach the national semifinals for the first time since 2019.
 
Slippery Rock has made six straight trips to the national playoffs, which ranks second among all programs in the country for the longest current active streak, trailing only the 10 straight appearances by Ferris State. The Rock have reached at least the NCAA quarterfinals four times during the six-year playoff run.
 
SRU was one of three teams from the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference to finish in the top 25. Kutztown slipped two spots from No. 3 to No. 5 in the final poll and California (Pa.) jumped eight spots from No. 20 to No. 12 in the final rankings. Other teams from Super Region One to finish in the top 25 included No. 15 Charleston and No. 23 Ashland, while playoff qualifiers East Stroudsburg and New Haven were listed in the "others receiving votes" section of the poll.
 
The Rock have seen six players recognized with postseason All-America awards in the last week with Todd Hill, Josh Stokes, Brayden Long, Joe Cooper, Kam Kruzelyak and Munchie Johnson all being recognized by at least one organization. Hill finished third in the final national voting for the Gene Upshaw Division II Lineman of the Year award and Long finished sixth in the final voting for the Harlon Hill Trophy as SRU was one of just two schools in the country with a national finalist for both of those major awards.
 
Slippery Rock's coaching staff has quickly turned the page on the 2024 season and has hit the recruiting trail working to build the roster for the 2025 campaign. Mid-year transfers and high school recruits will be announced in early February before spring practices begin in March. The annual Green vs. White Spring Game will take place Friday, April 25 at 6 p.m.
 
AFCA DIVISION II NATIONAL POLL – FINAL 2024 RANKINGS

Rank	Team (1st Votes)	W-L	Pts.	Prev.
1	Ferris St. (Mich.) (27) ^	14-1	675	2
2	Valdosta St. (Ga.)	13-1	643	1
3	SLIPPERY ROCK *	12-2	583	11
4	Harding (Ark.)	12-2	579	4
5	Kutztown (Pa.) *^	11-1	482	3
6	Grand Valley St. (Mich.)	11-2	479	5
7	Minnesota St.	11-4	462	NR
8	Colorado St.-Pueblo	10-2	460	7
9	Central Oklahoma	11-2	405	8
10	Western Colorado	11-2	360	10
11	Virginia Union	10-4	343	NR
12	California (Pa.) *^	10-3	338	20
13	Bemidji St. (Minn.)	10-4	333	NR
14	Ouachita Baptist (Ark.)	10-2	316	9
15	Charleston (W.Va.) *	11-1	293	6
16	Lenoir-Rhyne (N.C.)	10-3	275	15
17	Pittsburg St. (Kan.)	8-3	273	13
18	West Alabama	9-2	229	12
19	Indianapolis (Ind.)	10-2	224	14
20	Angelo St. (Tex.)	9-3	170	16
21	Wingate (N.C.)	9-2	164	17
22	Miles (Ala.)	10-3	138	NR
23	Ashland (Ohio) *	9-4	125	NR
24	Central Washington	8-4	111	19
25	Augustana (S.D.)	8-4	87	22

Dropped Out: Colorado School of Mines (18), West Florida (21), Southern Arkansas (23), Carson-Newman (Tenn.) (24), Central Missouri (25)
 
Others Receiving Votes: Colorado School of Mines, 56; Carson-Newman (Tenn.), 47; East Stroudsburg (Pa.), 38*; Central Missouri, 35; West Florida, 20; Southern Arkansas, 16; Fort Hays St. (Kan.), 14; New Haven (Conn.), 1*^; Truman St. (Mo.), 1.

* NCAA Super Region One Schools
^ SRU Opponents in 2024




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