WACO, Texas – The Slippery Rock University football team moved up two more spots to No. 8 in this week's NCAA Division II national rankings when the American Football Coaches Association released its updated national poll Monday.
 
The Rock began the year outside the top 25 but have soared all the way up to No. 8 after five weeks. SRU jumped into the poll at No. 18 after opening the season with an upset win over then 12th ranked Minnesota Duluth in week zero before leaping five spots to No. 13 after an idle week. SRU then jumped five more places over the next three weeks with consecutive road wins at East Stroudsburg, Millersville and California (Pa.).
 
SRU has been ranked or at least listed in the receiving votes category of every AFCA Division II national poll since Oct. 8, 2018. The Rock have been ranked in the top 10 for at least one week in each of the last seven straight seasons and in 10 of the last 11 seasons.
 
The AFCA poll is widely regarded as the "official" national ranking used throughout the regular season. The Rock also moved up two spots to No. 9 in the D2football.com media poll that was also announced Monday (available HERE).
 
The top three spots in the poll remain unchanged this week with defending champion Ferris State still earning all 31 first-place votes to sit at No. 1 ahead of Harding and Kutztown. Colorado State Pueblo moved up one spot to No. 4 and sent Minnesota State down to No. 5 this week. The rest of the top 10 includes Grand Valley State, Western Colorado, Slippery Rock, Indiana (Pa.) and Emporia State.
 
Kutztown leads all teams in the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference and Super Region One with a No. 3 ranking. Slippery Rock is the next highest ranked team from the region at No. 8. Fellow PSAC West rival Indiana (Pa.) jumped two spots to No. 9 this week and is ranked inside the top 10 for the first time since 2018. Those three PSAC teams are the only teams from Super Region One in the top 25 this week.
 
Shepherd from the PSAC East and Virginia Union and Virginia State of the Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association are the only other teams from Super Region One to be listed as "others receiving votes" this week.
 
Slippery Rock's opening opponent Minnesota Duluth dropped from No. 13 to the first team in the receiving votes category this week after falling 23-20 in overtime to MSU Moorhead last week.
 
The Rock return home this week for the first time since Aug. 27 after playing three straight road games over the last three weeks. SRU hosts Gannon Saturday night in the annual "Tackle Hunger" game at 6 p.m. Fans are encouraged to bring a non-perishable food or hygiene product to donate at the gate.
 
A look at the updated AFCA national poll can be found below. This week's D2football.com poll is available HERE.
 
AFCA DIVISION II NATIONAL RANKINGS
Sept. 28, 2026

Rank	Team (1st votes)	W-L	Pts.	Prev.
1	Ferris St. (31)	4-0	775	1
2	Harding	4-0	742	2
3	Kutztown *	4-0	707	3
4	CSU Pueblo	5-0	654	5
5	Minnesota St.	5-0	649	4
6	Grand Valley St.	4-0	609	6
7	Western Colorado	5-0	576	8
8	SLIPPERY ROCK *	4-0	552	10
9	Indiana (Pa.) *^	4-0	494	11
10	Emporia St.	4-0	473	12
11	Davenport	4-0	407	18
12	Central Washington	2-2	404	14
13	Northwest Missouri St.	3-1	368	7
14	Northwood	4-0	356	23
15	Newberry	3-1	299	21
16	Findlay	3-1	278	9
17	North Greenville	4-0	262	25
18	Valdosta St.	3-1	226	22
19	Henderson St.	4-0	180	NR
20	Michigan Tech	3-1	178	24
21t.	Mars Hill	4-0	110	NR
21t.	Northeastern St.	3-2	110	19
23	Carson-Newman	4-1	103	16
24	West Alabama	4-1	75	NR
25	Walsh	4-0	71	NR

Dropped Out: Minnesota-Duluth (13)^, Benedict (15), Western Oregon (17), Augustana (S.D.) (20)

Others Receiving Votes: Minnesota-Duluth, 70^; Benedict, 68; UT Permian Basin, 68; Virginia Union, 37*; Northern St., 32; East Central, 30; Western Oregon, 29; UNC Pembroke, 23; Central Oklahoma, 19; Shepherd, 13*; Roosevelt, 11; Augustana (S.D.), 5; Anderson (S.C.), 4; Wayne St. (Neb.), 3; Central Missouri, 2; Tiffin, 1; Virginia St., 1*; William Jewell, 1.

* NCAA Super Region One school
^ SRU opponent in 2026




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