With three top 10 teams losing and No. 11 Dodge City getting knocked off at home by Garden City, Butler football moved back into the NJCAA Top 10 in this week's poll.
Butler (6-1 overall, 5-1 KJCCC) jumped four spots in the poll, moving ahead of Copiah-Lincoln (Miss.), Rochester (Minn.), Arizona Western and Dodge City. The Grizzlies not only were helped by the losses of the four teams ahead of them, but also by a 53-6 thrashing of Coffeyville on Saturday. Butler received 117 votes this week - an increase of 27 votes.
The Grizzlies are one of three KJCCC teams ranked in this week's poll. Hutchinson (6-2, 5-1) moved up one spot to 18th after a 63-39 comeback victory over Fort Scott. Despite losing 41-22 to Garden City, Dodge City (6-2, 5-2) remained in the polls at 19th.
For the fourth straight week, Georgia Military (8-0) remained at the No. 1 spot, receiving 208 votes and six first-place votes. The only other undefeated team - East Mississippi - holds steady in second with 198 votes and three first-place votes. Iowa Western, Jones County and Mississippi Gulf Coast round out the top 5.
Hutch's victory over Fort Scott sets up a showdown at Butler for the conference championship at 6 p.m. this Saturday, as both teams are tied for first place. The winner will be the top seed in the Region VI playoffs. Butler has won 13 of the last 15 conference titles, including the last three. Since 1998, the Grizzlies have won 21 straight over the Blue Dragons.
| NJCAA Football Top 20 National Poll | October 22, 2013 | |||||
| Rank | College | Record | Points | 1st place votes |
Previous Rank |
| 1. | Georgia Military |
8-0 | 208.0 | 6 | 1 |
| 2. | East Mississippi |
8-0 | 198.0 | 3 | 2 |
| 3. | Iowa Western |
8-1 | 192.5 | 0 | 4 |
| 4. | Jones County, Miss. |
7-1 | 177.5 | 0 | 6 |
| 5. | Mississippi Gulf Coast |
7-1 | 169.0 | 0 | 7 |
| 6. | Scottsdale, Ariz. |
7-1 | 142.5 | 0 | 8 |
| 7. | Tyler, Texas |
7-1 | 138.5 | 0 | 3 |
| 8. | Butler |
6-1 | 117.0 | 0 | 12 |
| 9. | Copiah-Lincoln, Miss. | 6-2 | 100.0 | 0 | 5 |
| 10. | Trinity Valley, Texas |
6-2 | 96.5 | 0 | 17 |
| 11. | Central Lakes-Brainerd, Minn. |
7-1 | 93.0 | 0 | 13 |
| 12. | Mesa, Ariz. |
7-1 | 93.0 | 0 | 15 |
| 13. | Rochester, Minn. |
7-1 | 81.5 | 0 | 9 |
| 14. | Navarro, Texas | 6-2 | 79.5 | 0 | 14 |
| 15. | ASA, N.Y. |
5-1 | 65.5 | 0 | 18 |
| 16. | Hinds, Miss. |
6-2 | 65.0 | 0 | 16 |
| 17. | Nassau, N.Y. |
7-1 | 53.0 | 0 | NR |
| 18. | Hutchinson |
6-2 | 38.0 | 0 | 19 |
| 19. | Dodge City |
6-2 | 25.0 | 0 | 11 |
| 20. | Minnesota West C&TC | 6-2 | 20.5 | 0 | RV |
Other schools receiving votes: Itawamba, Miss. (6-2); DuPage, Ill. (5-2)
Dropped from rankings: *Arizona Western (10); Itawamba, Miss. (20).
*Arizona Western has forfeited five wins per NJCAA bylaws for use of ineligible players
