The University of Mary Hardin-Baylor football team held its ground and is ranked third in the country in both of the two major NCAA Division III Top 25 Polls again this week. The Cru (4-0, 1-0 ASC) opened American Southwest Conference play with a 66-3 victory over McMurry University last Saturday.
The Cru is ranked third in the country in the third consecutive American Football Coaches Association Top 25 Poll to open the 2016 season. The Cru received two first-place votes and 968 total points from the AFCA. Defending national champion Mount Union is #1 in the poll with 38 first-place votes and 1,044 total points. Wisconsin-Whitewater is second with two first-place votes and 998 points. Hardin-Simmons is ranked ninth in the nation with 685 total points and East Texas Baptist is ranked 17th with 349 points. The Cowboys and Tigers are both on the UMHB schedule for later this season. Linfield College is ranked 10th by the AFCA this week. UMHB topped the Wildcats 66-27 earlier this season.
“We really emphasized some fundamental things to our guys during our open week two weeks ago,” Cru head coach Pete Fredenburg said. “We had a chance to see that pay off, especially with our offensive and defensive lines in Saturday’s win. This is a process and we just need to keep focused on getting better every week.”
UMHB remained at #3 in the country in the D3football.com Top 25 Poll. The Cru totaled 584 points and claimed seven first-place votes in that poll. Mount Union is #1 with 16 first-place votes and 608 total points. Wisconsin-Whitewater is ranked second with one first-place vote and 589 total points. Linfield is 8th, Hardin-Simmons is ranked 12th in the country and East Texas Baptist is 17th in the D3football.com Poll.
UMHB will return to action with an American Southwest Conference road game at Howard Payne University (0-4, 0-1 ASC) this Saturday. The Cru will take on the Yellow Jackets in a 1:00 PM kickoff at Gordon Wood Stadium.
