KANSAS CITY, Mo.- Carson-Newman football moved up four spots to 21st in the D2Football.com poll, while moving into the top 25 in the AFCA Coaches Poll.
The Eagles are nationally ranked in both polls, released Monday afternoon.
Carson-Newman and Lenoir-Rhyne (6th/12th) are the only two South Atlantic Conference programs ranked by the polls. The Eagles were ranked 25th in last week's D2Football.com Poll. This is the first week C-N has appeared in the coaches poll since the preseason poll in 2021.
This is Carson-Newman's 145th week ranked since the year 2000 by either D2Football.com or the AFCA. Carson-Newman has been nationally ranked more than any other league institution since the turn of the century.
The Eagles are off to a 4-0 start, their best since 2007. C-N finds itself ranked in the month of September (outside of a preseason poll) for the first time since 2014.
C-N will be in action Saturday at 1 p.m. against Barton at Burke-Tarr Stadium. Pregame coverage begins at noon with the AEC Tailgate Show on Joy 620 (WRJZ-AM, Knoxville), MIX 105.5 (WSEV-FM, Sevierville) and online at cneagles.com/live. A video stream is available with a subscription to FloSports at cneagles.com/FloFB.
D2Football.Com Poll
| Rank | Team | Record | Previous Rank |
| 1 | Harding | 4-0 | 1 |
| 2 | Grand Valley State | 4-0 | 2 |
| 3 | Valdosta State | 4-0 | 3 |
| 4 | Minnesota State | 5-0 | 4 |
| 5 | Pittsburg State | 3-1 | 5 |
| 6 | Ferris State | 3-1 | 6 |
| 7 | Colorado Mines | 4-0 | 7 |
| 8 | Kutztown | 4-0 | 8 |
| 9 | Central Washington | 3-1 | 9 |
| 10 | Slippery Rock | 4-0 | 10 |
| 11 | Lenoir-Rhyne | 4-0 | 12 |
| 12 | Western Colorado | 4-0 | 13 |
| 13 | Central Missouri | 3-1 | 11 |
| 14 | Ouachita Baptist | 4-0 | 16 |
| 15 | West Alabama | 4-0 | 18 |
| 16 | Bemidji State | 4-1 | 21 |
| 17 | Central Oklahoma | 4-0 | 23 |
| 18 | Charleston | 4-0 | 22 |
| 19 | CSU Pueblo | 4-1 | 24 |
| 20 | Emporia State | 4-1 | 15 |
| 21 | Carson-Newman | 4-0 | 25 |
| 22 | Indianapolis | 3-1 | 14 |
| 23 | Johnson C. Smith | 5-0 | NR |
| 24 | IUP | 4-0 | NR |
| 25 | Augustana | 2-2 | 19 |
AFCA Coaches Poll
Rank School (1st votes) Rec. Pts. Prev. Week 4 Next Game
1. Harding (Ark.) (29) 4-0 725 1 D. No. 20 Henderson St. (Ark.), 66-0 Oct. 5 at Southwestern Oklahoma
2. Grand Valley St. (Mich.) 4-0 695 2 D. No. 21 West Florida, 31-7 Oct. 5 at Davenport (Mich.)
3. Valdosta St. (Ga.) 4-0 656 3 Idle Oct. 5 at Shorter (Ga.)
4. Colorado School of Mines 4-0 641 4 D. Black Hills St. (S.D.), 52-24 Oct. 5 at Colorado Mesa
5. Ferris St. (Mich.) 3-1 586 5 D. American International (Mass.), 84-7 Oct. 5 vs. Roosevelt (Ill.)
6. Lenoir-Rhyne (N.C.) 4-0 570 6 D. Tusculum (Tenn.), 37-23 Oct. 5 at Emory & Henry (Va.)
7. Minnesota St. 5-0 545 7 D. Concordia (Minn.), 33-20 Oct. 5 vs. Sioux Falls (S.D.)
8. Kutztown (Pa.) 4-0 506 8 D. East Stroudsburg (Pa.), 27-21 Oct. 5 vs. Bloomsburg (Pa.)
9. Slippery Rock (Pa.) 4-0 489 9 D. Edinboro (Pa.), 28-23 Oct. 5 at No. 21 Indiana (Pa.)
10. Pittsburg St. (Kan.) 3-1 470 10 Idle Oct. 5 vs. Missouri Western St.
11. Central Washington 3-1 401 13 D. Western New Mexico, 36-0 Oct. 5 at Eastern New Mexico
12. Central Missouri 3-1 399 12 D. Nebraska-Kearney, 36-35 Oct. 5 at Fort Hays St. (Kan.)
13. Western Colorado 4-0 376 14 D. New Mexico Highlands, 53-12 Oct. 5 vs. Fort Lewis (Colo.)
14. Ouachita Baptist (Ark.) 4-0 350 16 D. Arkansas-Monticello, 49-14 Oct. 5 at Southeastern Oklahoma
15. West Alabama 4-0 319 17 Idle Oct. 5 vs. Erskine (S.C.)
16. Charleston (W.Va.) 4-0 265 19 D. Concord (W.Va.), 42-7 Oct. 5 vs. Glenville St. (W.Va.)
17. Central Oklahoma 4-0 246 23 D. Fort Hays St. (Kan.), 49-24 Oct. 5 at Missouri Southern St.
18t. Colorado St.-Pueblo 4-1 238 22 D. Adams St. (Colo.), 66-10 Oct. 5 vs. New Mexico Highlands
18t. Emporia St. (Kan.) 4-1 238 11 Lost to Northwest Missouri St., 14-9 Oct. 5 vs. Northeastern St. (Okla.)
20. Delta St. (Miss.) 3-1 150 24 Idle Oct. 5 vs. Chowan (N.C.)
21. Indiana (Pa.) 4-0 132 25 D. Clarion (Pa.), 31-0 Oct. 5 vs. No. 9 Slippery Rock (Pa.)
22. Indianapolis (Ind.) 3-1 117 15 Lost to Saginaw Valley St. (Mich.), 28-24 Oct. 5 at William Jewell (Mo.)
23. Findlay (Ohio) 4-0 73 NR D. Hillsdale (Mich.), 28-21 Oct. 5 at Kentucky Wesleyan
24. Johnson C. Smith (N.C.) 5-0 51 NR D. Bluefield St. (W.Va.), 42-3 Oct. 5 vs. Virginia St.
25. Carson-Newman (Tenn.) 4-0 43 NR D. Catawba (N.C.), 35-34 Oct. 5 vs. Barton (N.C.)
Dropped Out: Augustana (S.D.) (18), Henderson St. (Ark.) (20), West Florida (21)
Others Receiving Votes: Bemidji St. (Minn.), 30; Frostburg St. (Md.), 22; West Florida, 20; Henderson St. (Ark.), 18; Davenport (Mich.), 14; Augustana (S.D.), 12; Clark Atlanta (Ga.), 11; Virginia Union, 6; Southern Arkansas, 5; Texas A&M-Kingsville, 3; Angelo St. (Tex.), 1; Assumption (Mass.), 1; New Haven (Conn.), 1.
