KANSAS CITY, Mo. – The Eastern Oregon University football team was ranked a program-high No. 12 in the NAIA National Top 25 Monday.
The Mountaineers (2-0, 2-0 Frontier Conference) hit their highest spot in the poll in the program's 82-year history. Eastern's previous high was No. 17 after a 3-1 start on Oct. 10, 2005. EOU climbed to No. 18 on Oct. 19, 2009.
Eastern upset top-ranked, Carroll College, Saturday in Helena, Mont., 41-33. The Saints remain in the top five at No. 5. Carroll holds its lowest ranking since it tied for the fifth spot on Jan. 18, 2007. Carroll has now been ranked in the top five in the last 80-straight polls dating back to Jan. 17, 2005.
The Frontier Conference has four Top 25 teams for the first time ever. Rocky Mountain College moved from receiving votes to No. 20 after a 2-0 start that included a 38-3 upset win over previously ranked No. 7 Dickinson State. No. 20 Rocky Mountain (Mont.) snaps the longest drought of being ranked as the Battlin' Bears were last mentioned on Oct. 24, 2000 at No. 22.
The Mountaineers next opponent, Montana State-Northern (2-0, 2-0) moved into the Top 25 at No. 23 after receiving no votes. The Lights beat Montana Western and Montana Tech to begin the season.
Eastern Oregon made one of the biggest leaps after the upset of Carroll. The 41-33 triumph halted the Saints' 44-game Frontier Conference win streak and 31-game home conference win streak. The No. 12-ranked Mountaineers garnered 201 total points.
Joining Eastern Oregon on the newcomers list is No. 17 Campbellsville (Ky.), No. 18 Langston (Okla.), No. 19 Bethany (Kan.), No. 20 Rocky Mountain (Mont.), No. 21 (tie) Shorter (Ga.), No. 21 (tie) Dakota Wesleyan (S.D.), No. 23 Montana State-Northern and No. 24 (tie) St. Francis (Ill.).
Numerous teams got off to rugged starts to the season, therefore falling out of the Top 25 since the preseason poll. Slipping out of the poll are Dickinson State (N.D.) (No. 7), McPherson (Kan.) (No. 12), Northwestern Oklahoma State (No. 13), Cumberland (Tenn.) (No. 18), Webber International (Fla.) (No. 20), Kansas Wesleyan (No. 21), Baker (Kan.) (No. 22 (tie)) and Grand View (Iowa) (No. 25). Starting the year 0-3, Dickinson State snaps a 22-week stretch in the Top 25, which was the eighth-longest active streak.
The Frontier Conference and Great Plains Athletic Conference (GPAC) both placed four teams apiece in the Top 25. Carroll, Eastern Oregon, Rocky Mountain and Montana State-Northern all hail from the Frontier Conference. Holding status in the GPAC is Morningside, No. 11 Midland (Neb.), No. 16 Northwestern (Iowa) and Dakota Wesleyan.
The poll was voted upon by a panel of head coaches representing each of the conferences and Independents.
No. 12 EOU travels to No. 23 Montana State-Northern Saturday for a 1 p.m. Mountain Time kickoff. There will be live video and stats on EOUSports.com. Live radio will be on KCMB 104.7 FM and EOUSports.com.
