KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Montana Western climbed to No. 9 and Montana Tech to No. 15 in the latest NAIA football top 25 poll, which was released Monday.
After winning the Frontier Conference championship last fall, Western started the season ranked 11th and moved up two places after handling Eastern Oregon 59-21 last week in its season opener. The Bulldogs next have a big top-10 matchup this week against College of Idaho. The Yotes are ranked third after starting the season with two lopsided wins.
Tech, meanwhile, jumped from 21st to 15th, thanks to its 2-0 start. The Orediggers defeated Carroll College 30-22 last week after opening the season with a thrilling 29-22 win over then-No. 3 Georgetown (Ky.). Georgetown is now ranked 11th.
Southern Oregon (1-0) also broke into the rankings at No. 23 to give the Frontier Conference four teams in the top 25. Future Frontier member Dickinson State (2-0), which is playing its final season in the North Star Athletic Association, is tied for 16th in the poll.
Keiser (Fla.) maintained the No. 1 ranking and received 14 of 16 first-place votes. Northwestern (Iowa) garnered the other two first-place votes and sits in second. Grand View (Iowa) and Indiana Wesleyan follow third-ranked College of Idaho to round out the top five. View the complete poll.
