KANSAS CITY, Mo.- Carson-Newman football moved into the top 20 of the D2Football.com poll, released Monday afternoon.
Carson-Newman jumped three spots from 21 to 18 in the media poll, and moved up two spots, from 25 to 23, in the AFCA Coaches poll.
Carson-Newman and Lenoir-Rhyne (17th/18th) are the only two South Atlantic Conference programs ranked by the polls.
This is the first time Carson-Newman has appeared in the top 20 of a poll in the regular season since the final October poll of the 2014 season. The Eagles were 16th before losing the following week to fourth-ranked Lenoir-Rhyne.
This is Carson-Newman's 146th 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 5-0 start, their best since 2007. C-N was 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 Mars Hill at Meares 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.
D2Football.com Poll
| Rank | Team | Record | Previous Rank |
| 1 | Harding | 5-0 | 1 |
| 2 | Grand Valley State | 5-0 | 2 |
| 3 | Valdosta State | 5-0 | 3 |
| 4 | Pittsburg State | 4-1 | 5 |
| 5 | Ferris State | 4-1 | 6 |
| 6 | Kutztown | 5-0 | 8 |
| 7 | Central Washington | 4-1 | 9 |
| 8 | Slippery Rock | 5-0 | 10 |
| 9 | Minnesota State | 5-1 | 4 |
| 10 | Western Colorado | 5-0 | 12 |
| 11 | Central Oklahoma | 5-0 | 17 |
| 12 | Ouachita Baptist | 5-0 | 14 |
| 13 | West Alabama | 4-0 | 15 |
| 14 | CSU Pueblo | 5-1 | 19 |
| 15 | Colorado Mines | 4-1 | 7 |
| 16 | Charleston | 5-0 | 18 |
| 17 | Emporia State | 5-1 | 20 |
| 18 | Carson-Newman | 5-0 | 21 |
| 19 | Lenoir-Rhyne | 4-1 | 11 |
| 20 | Augustana | 3-2 | 25 |
| 21 | Johnson C Smith | 6-0 | 23 |
| 22 | Indianapolis | 4-1 | 22 |
| 23 | Findlay | 5-0 | NR |
| 24 | Saginaw Valley State | 4-1 | NR |
| 25 | Delta State | 4-1 | NR |
AFCA Poll
| Rank | School (1st votes) | Rec. | Pts. | Prev. | Week 5 | Next Game | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Harding (Ark.) (30) | 5-0 | 750 | 1 | D. Southwestern Oklahoma, 57-3 | Oct. 12 vs. Northwestern Oklahoma | |
| 2 | Grand Valley St. (Mich.) | 5-0 | 718 | 2 | D. Davenport (Mich.), 24-7 | Oct. 12 vs. Northern Michigan | |
| 3 | Valdosta St. (Ga.) | 5-0 | 690 | 3 | D. Shorter (Ga.), 59-6 | Oct. 12 at North Greenville (S.C.) | |
| 4 | Ferris St. (Mich.) | 4-1 | 654 | 5 | D. Roosevelt (Ill.), 55-13 | Oct. 12 at Wayne St. (Mich.) | |
| 5 | Kutztown (Pa.) | 5-0 | 605 | 8 | D. Bloomsburg (Pa.), 42-10 | Oct. 12 vs. Lock Haven (Pa.) | |
| 6 | Slippery Rock (Pa.) | 5-0 | 590 | 9 | D. No. 21 Indiana (Pa.), 33-32 | Oct. 12 vs. Gannon (Pa.) | |
| 7 | Pittsburg St. (Kan.) | 4-1 | 550 | 10 | D. Missouri Western St., 31-20 | Oct. 12 at Nebraska-Kearney | |
| 8 | Western Colorado | 5-0 | 498 | 13 | D. Fort Lewis (Colo.), 44-7 | Oct. 12 at Black Hills St. (S.D.) | |
| 9 | Central Washington | 4-1 | 471 | 11 | D. Eastern New Mexico, 44-28 | Oct. 12 vs. Texas-Permian Basin | |
| 10 | Ouachita Baptist (Ark.) | 5-0 | 470 | 14 | D. Southeastern Oklahoma, 25-9 | Oct. 12 vs. East Central (Okla.) | |
| 11 | West Alabama | 4-0 | 412 | 15 | Idle | Oct. 12 at Mississippi College | |
| 12 | Colorado School of Mines | 4-1 | 404 | 4 | Lost to Colorado Mesa, 14-13 | Oct. 12 vs. South Dakota Mines | |
| 13 | Central Oklahoma | 5-0 | 367 | 17 | D. Missouri Southern St., 59-24 | Oct. 12 vs. Northwest Missouri St. | |
| 14 | Charleston (W.Va.) | 5-0 | 353 | 16 | D. Glenville St. (W.Va.), 29-17 | Oct. 12 vs. Wheeling (W.Va.) | |
| 15 | Minnesota St. | 5-1 | 313 | 7 | Lost to Sioux Falls (S.D.), 40-36 | Oct. 12 at Minnesota St.-Moorhead | |
| 16 | Colorado St.-Pueblo | 5-1 | 306 | 18t | D. New Mexico Highlands, 67-28 | Oct. 12 at Fort Lewis (Colo.) | |
| 17 | Lenoir-Rhyne (N.C.) | 4-1 | 287 | 6 | Lost to Emory & Henry (Va.), 31-20 | Oct. 12 vs. Newberry (S.C.) | |
| 18 | Emporia St. (Kan.) | 5-1 | 263 | 18t | D. Northeastern St. (Okla.), 48-14 | Oct. 12 at Missouri Southern St. | |
| 19 | Delta St. (Miss.) | 4-1 | 207 | 20 | D. Chowan (N.C.), 54-9 | Oct. 12 at West Florida | |
| 20 | Findlay (Ohio) | 5-0 | 171 | 23 | D. Kentucky Wesleyan, 49-9 | Oct. 12 vs. Ashland (Ohio) | |
| 21 | Indianapolis (Ind.) | 4-1 | 135 | 22 | D. William Jewell (Mo.), 23-20 OT | Oct. 12 vs. Quincy (Ill.) | |
| 22 | Johnson C. Smith (N.C.) | 6-0 | 134 | 24 | D. Virginia St., 21-17 | Oct. 19 vs. Shaw (N.C.) | |
| 23 | Carson-Newman (Tenn.) | 5-0 | 118 | 25 | D. Barton (N.C.), 28-17 | Oct. 12 at Mars Hill (N.C.) | |
| 24 | Frostburg St. (Md.) | 5-0 | 66 | NR | D. West Virginia Wesleyan, 49-16 | Oct. 12 at Glenville St. (W.Va.) | |
| 25 | Indiana (Pa.) | 4-1 | 47 | 21 | Lost to No. 9 Slippery Rock (Pa.), 33-32 | Oct. 12 at Edinboro (Pa.) |
Dropped Out: Central Missouri (12)
Others Receiving Votes: Central Missouri, 45; Augustana (S.D.), 28; West Florida, 19; Texas A&M-Kingsville, 17; Virginia Union, 13; Southern Arkansas, 11; Henderson St. (Ark.), 9; Northwest Missouri St., 5; New Haven (Conn.), 4; Sioux Falls (S.D.), 4; Wayne St. (Neb.), 4; Assumption (Mass.), 3; Colorado Mesa, 2; Davenport (Mich.), 2; Michigan Tech, 2; Angelo St. (Tex.), 1; Fort Hays St. (Kan.), 1; Limestone (S.C.), 1.
