The University of Mary Hardin-Baylor football team held steady at third in the country in the two major NCAA Division III Top 25 Polls this week. The Cru (3-0) was open last week after beating Linfield College 66-27 two weeks ago when the Wildcats were ranked third in the nation.
The Cru is ranked third in the country for the second straight week in the American Football Coaches Association Top 25 Poll. The Cru received two first-place votes and 964 total points from the AFCA. Defending national champion Mount Union is #1 in the poll with 39 first-place votes and 1,047 total points. Wisconsin-Whitewater is second with one first-place vote and 994 points. Hardin-Simmons is ranked 10th in the nation with 644 total points and East Texas Baptist is ranked 18th nationally with 256 points. The Cowboys and Tigers are both on the UMHB schedule for later this season. Linfield is ranked 11th by the AFCA this week.
“The open week was really good for us and I think we were able to make the most of it,” Cru head coach Pete Fredenburg said. “We were able to really get back to fundamentals on both sides of the ball and work on them in a very competitive environment.”
UMHB also remained at #3 in the country in the D3football.com Top 25 Poll. The Cru totaled 579 points and grabbed three first-place votes in that poll. Mount Union is #1 with 19 first-place votes and 614 total points. Wisconsin-Whitewater is ranked second with two first-place votes and 588 total points. Hardin-Simmons is ranked 12th in the country and ETBU is ranked 17th in the D3football.com poll. Linfield comes in at #7 in the country in that ranking.
The Cru will return to action with a 1:00 PM kick off against McMurry University (1-1) this Saturday at Crusader Stadium. That game will be the American Southwest Conference opener for both teams. The Cru and War Hawks will be facing off for the first time since the Second Round of the 2011 NCAA Division III National Championships.
