Bearcats Continue to Hold #15 Ranking in D3football.com Top 25

By Robert McKinney, Athletics Communications Director, (503) 370-6110

SALEM, ORE. -- Willamette University remains #15 in the D3football.com Top 25 poll this week after having an open date on Saturday, Sept. 25. The Bearcats, 2-1, will return to action on Saturday, Oct. 2 when they open Northwest Conference play against #16-ranked Linfield College, 1-1, at Maxwell Field in McMinnville, Ore. Game time is set for 1:30 p.m. (PDT).

The #1 team is still the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater, 3-0, the defending NCAA Division III national champion. UWW received 22 of 25 first place votes and 622 points in the poll. Mount Union College (Ohio), 3-0, continued to hold the #2 position with three first place votes and 603 points.

Wesley College (Del.), 4-0, remained #3 with 565 points, while the University of St. Thomas (Minn.), 4-0, stayed at #4 with 551 points. The University of Mary Hardin-Baylor, 3-0, kept it's #5 position and received 529 points.

Coe College (Iowa), 4-0, moved up three spots to #6 in the poll with 465 points. Wittenberg University (Ohio), 4-0, fell one place to #7 with 463 points. Ohio Northern University, 3-0, advanced two positions to #8 with 408 points, Central College (Iowa), 3-1, fell to spots to #9 at 383, and North Central College (Illinois), 3-0, elevated one spot to #10 at 340.

Willamette will be playing its fourth consecutive nationally ranked team this weekend.

The Bearcats opened the year against the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point, which was ranked #16 at the time. WU then played Hardin-Simmons University (Texas), which was ranked #14. Willamette's third opponent, Southern Oregon University, was ranked #24 in the NAIA,

The Bearcats defeated UW-Stevens Point, 33-14, lost to Hardin-Simmons, 31-22, and moved past Southern Oregon, 42-24. Linfield defeated Willamette, 30-27, last year, but the Bearcats won at Linfield, 52-28, in 2008.