After a Region VI semifinal playoff win over Highland, Butler football moved up two spots to sixth in the NJCAA Top 20 national poll.
Butler (8-1 overall, 6-1 KJCCC) defeated Highland 38-7 in a Region VI semifinal on Sunday, which puts the Grizzlies in the Region VI Championship game for the 15th time in 16 years. The Grizzlies, who received 145 votes in this week's poll, will face 18th-ranked Hutchinson for the title this Sunday at 1:30 p.m. at BG Products Veterans Sports Complex. It marks the fifth time in the last six years that Butler and Hutch have met in the Region VI title game. The Grizzlies are 4-0 in title games against the Blue Dragons.
This week's No. 6 ranking marks the third consecutive week the Grizzlies have been ranked in the NJCAA Top 10. Butler was ranked as high as fourth this season before falling to Highland 23-21 back on Sept. 21, which ended the Grizzlies' streak of 147 consecutive polls of being ranked in the NJCAA Top 10.
The KJCCC still has three teams - Butler, Hutchinson and Dodge City - ranked in the polls. Despite a 21-6 home semifinal loss to Hutch, Dodge City remained in the polls. The Conquistadors (6-3) were ranked 18th last week, but moved down one spot to 19th. Hutchinson flip-flopped positions with Dodge, taking over the 18th spot in the poll.
The top four teams - Georgia Military, East Mississippi, Iowa Western and Jones County - held down their spots for the third straight week. The only new addition to the top 5 is Scottsdale (Ariz.), moving up two spots from seventh to fifth. Georgia Military and East Mississippi remain the last two undefeated NJCAA teams. Georgia Military (10-0) will face Lackawanna, Pa. (4-5) in Blacksburg, Va., on Sunday, while East Mississippi (10-0) hosts Jones County (9-1) for the MACJC championship on Saturday.
Scottsdale and Butler both moved ahead of Mississippi Gulf Coast and Tyler (Texas), who were both on the losing end of its respective playoff contests this past weekend. Gulf Coast, previously ranked fifth, lost to No. 2-ranked East Mississippi 45-28 in the MACJAC playoff semifinals. Tyler, who was ranked sixth, was knocked off at home by 15th-ranked Navarro 33-24 in the SWJCFC semifinal playoffs.
| NJCAA Football Top 20 National Poll | November 5, 2013 | |||||
| Rank | College | Record | Points | 1st place votes |
Previous Rank |
| 1. | Georgia Military | 10-0 | 208.0 | 6 | 1 |
| 2. | East Mississippi | 10-0 | 201.5 | 3 | 2 |
| 3. | Iowa Western | 10-1 | 188.0 | 0 | 3 |
| 4. | Jones County, Miss. | 9-1 | 175.0 | 0 | 4 |
| 5. | Scottsdale, Ariz. | 8-1 | 160.0 | 0 | 7 |
| 6. | Butler | 8-1 | 145.0 | 0 | 8 |
| 7. | Mesa, Ariz. | 8-1 | 119.5 | 0 | 11 |
| 8. | Trinity Valley | 8-2 | 114.0 | 0 | 10 |
| 9. | Mississippi Gulf Coast | 8-2 | 111.5 | 0 | 5 |
| 10. | Copiah-Lincoln, Miss. | 7-2 | 109.0 | 0 | 9 |
| 11. | Central Lakes-Brainerd, Minn. | 9-1 | 108.5 | 0 | 12 |
| 12. | Rochester, Minn. | 9-1 | 97.5 | 0 | 13 |
| 13. | Navarro, Texas | 8-2 | 93.5 | 0 | 15 |
| 14. | Tyler, Texas | 8-2 | 86.5 | 0 | 6 |
| 15. | Nassau, N.Y. | 9-1 | 85.5 | 0 | 14 |
| 16. | ASA, N.Y. | 7-1 | 62.0 | 0 | 17 |
| 17. | Hinds, Miss. | 7-2 | 51.0 | 0 | 16 |
| 18. | Hutchinson | 7-3 | 35.0 | 0 | 19 |
| 19. | Dodge City | 6-3 | 14.0 | 0 | 18 |
| 20. | Minnesota West C&TC | 6-3 | 10.5 | 0 | NR |
Other schools receiving votes: College of DuPage, Ill. (6-3); Northland C&TC, Minn. (7-3); Monroe, N.Y. (6-3).
Dropped from rankings: College of DuPage, Ill. (20).
