Despite having a bye week and three of the nation's top four ranked teams suffering a loss, the Butler football team dropped three spots to 15th in this week's NJCAA Top 20 poll. The poll took into account the first week of the Football Computer Rankings, which shook up the system - especially among the Top 10 rankings.
In addition to Butler (4-1 overall, 3-1 KJCCC) dropping from 12th to 15th, for the first time this season the Grizzlies fell behind a conference foe in the polls. Dodge City (5-1, 4-1), who Butler defeated 41-6 in the season opener, jumped ahead of the Grizzlies at 14th. The other KJCCC-ranked team, Garden City (4-1, 2-1), dropped from 14th to 16th despite a 33-14 win Saturday over Fort Scott.
With last week's top two teams losing - Navarro (Texas) and Iowa Western - the door was open for No. 3 East Mississippi to take over the top spot. However, with the computer rankings taken into account, East Mississippi only moved up one spot to No. 2, while Georgia Military (6-0) - previously ranked fifth - leapfrogged EMCC into the No. 1 spot.
Rounding out the top five was Jones County (Miss.), Itawamba (Miss.) and Nassau (N.Y.).
Butler returns to action this Saturday with a road contest at No. 16 Garden City. Kickoff is at 7 p.m.
| NJCAA Football Top 20 National Poll | October 1, 2013 | |||||
| Rank | College | Record | Points | 1st place votes |
Previous Rank |
| 1. | Georgia Military |
6-0 | 200.5 | 2 | 5 |
| 2. | East Mississippi |
5-0 | 198.5 | 7 | 3 |
| 3. | Jones County, Miss. |
5-0 | 180.0 | 0 | 9 |
| 4. | Itawamba, Miss. | 5-0 | 171.0 | 0 | 7 |
| 5. | Nassau, N.Y. |
5-0 | 158.0 | 0 | 6 |
| 6. | Tyler, Texas |
5-0 | 155.5 | 0 | 8 |
| 7. | Iowa Western |
5-1 | 153.0 | 0 | 2 |
| 8. | Navarro, Texas |
4-1 | 117.5 | 0 | 1 |
| 9. | Copiah-Lincoln, Miss. |
4-1 | 113.0 | 0 | 4 |
| 10. | Mississippi Gulf Coast |
4-1 | 107.5 | 0 | 10 |
| 11. | Scottsdale, Ariz. |
4-1 | 103.5 | 0 | 13 |
| 12. | Arizona Western |
5-1 | 91.5 | 0 | 11 |
| 13. | Rochester, Minn. |
5-0 | 88.0 | 0 | 19 |
| 14. | Dodge City |
5-1 | 84.0 | 0 | 15 |
| 15. | Butler |
4-1 | 76.0 | 0 | 12 |
| 16. | Garden City |
4-1 | 50.5 | 0 | 14 |
| 17. | Louisburg, N.C. |
5-0 | 49.5 | 0 | 16 |
| 18. | Minnesota West |
4-1 | 31.5 | 0 | NR |
| 19. | Ridgewater, Minn. |
4-1 | 21.0 | 0 | NR |
| 20. | ASA, N.Y. |
2-1 | 17.0 | 0 | 18 |
Other schools receiving votes: New Mexico Military Institute (5-1); Hutchinson, Kan. (3-2); Central Lakes-Brainerd (4-1); Hinds, Miss. (3-2); Mesa, Ariz. (4-2); Trinity Valley, Texas (3-2).
Dropped from rankings: Mesa, Ariz. (17); Hinds, Miss. (20)
