WACO, TEX.– After their big win against McMurry (Texas), head coach Pete Fredenburg has his Crusaders pointed in the exact direction that he wants them. With a defense that’s only giving up an average of fewer than 13 points per game and a rushing attack that ranks in the top 10 in the country, No. 3 Mary Hardin-Baylor (Texas) looks poised to strike as the latter half of the season approaches. The rest of the top five all passed their tests as well this weekend as No. 1 Mount Union (Ohio), No. 4 St. Thomas (Minn.) and No. 5 Wisconsin-Oshkosh all won handily. Wisconsin-Whitewater went on the road in their first WIAC test and defeated their in-state rival, then-No. 9 Wisconsin-Platteville, 30-24, to retain their spot as the second-best team in the nation. Whitewater won’t be getting a break, though, as Wisconsin-Oshkosh will be paying the Warhawks a visit this weekend.
2016 American Football Coaches Association Division III Coaches’ Poll — Oct. 3, 2016
TEAM |
PTS. | PREV |
| 1. Mount Union (38) (4-0) | 1044 | 1 |
| 2. UW-Whitewater (2) (4-0) | 998 | 2 |
| 3. Mary Hardin-Baylor (2) (4-0) | 968 | 3 |
| 4. St. Thomas (5-0) | 928 | 4 |
| 5. UW-Oshkosh (4-0) | 879 | 5 |
| 6. Wheaton (5-0) | 810 | 6 |
| 7. North Central (5-0) | 776 | 7 |
| 8. Johns Hopkins (5-0) | 739 | 9 |
| 9. Hardin-Simmons (4-0) | 685 | 10 |
| 10. Linfield (2-1) | 608 | 11 |
| 11. Salisbury (4-0) | 566 | 12 |
| 12. UW-Platteville (3-1) | 530 | 9 |
| 13. St. John’s (4-1) | 498 | 14 |
| 14. St. John Fisher (5-0) | 491 | 13 |
| 15. Wittenberg (4-0) | 432 | 17 |
| 16. Hobart (5-0) | 421 | 16 |
| 17. East Texas Baptist(4-0) | 349 | 18 |
| 18. Dubuque (5-0) | 317 | 20 |
| 19. Thomas More (4-1) | 288 | 19 |
| 20. Franklin (4-1) | 249 | 21 |
| 21. Stevenson (5-0) | 225 | 22 |
| 22. St. Lawrence (5-0) | 179 | 24 |
| 23. Wabash (3-1) | 142 | 23 |
| 24. UW-Stevens Point (4-0) | 80 | NR |
| 25. Guilford (4-0) | 68 | NR |
Postins' Postcards: A Life On the Sports Road 