INDIANAPOLIS – Great Midwest Athletic Conference preseason favorite and two-time league champion Tiffin heads into the fall season nationally ranked by the American Football Coaches Association (AFCA) in the publication’s first Top-25 Poll.
Four other additional Great Midwest schools find themselves in the receiving votes category with fall kicking off for half of the league on Thursday, September 2, with additional games falling on Saturday the 4th.
The Dragons are ranked 19th going into a Week 1 matchup against NAIA powerhouse and No. 9 ranked Marian University from Indianapolis.
It wasn’t that long ago when the Dragons and coach of the year Cris Reisert finished off a perfect run through the conference standings this spring, culminating with a championship victory as part of a 6-0 record.
Tiffin, and the rest of Division II, didn’t have an opportunity to compete in the national championship bracket, due to the COVID-19 pandemic that subsequently delayed the fall season.
The Dragons are locked and loaded with QB and Great Midwest Player of the Year Nick Watson leading the charge under center. Tiffin also returns the league’s top interior linemen on both sides of the ball, including edge rusher Charlie Cleveland and Trent Clark on the offensive line. First team all-conference RB Marcus Davis anchored the ground game to the tune of 481 yards and 6 TD replacing now Dallas Cowboys’ prospect JaQuan Hardy.
Tiffin has a conference record of 18-2 under Reisert since joining the Great Midwest for the first year of membership in the 2018 campaign.
Spring runner-up Findlay received 18 votes while Ohio Dominican earned 20. Conference newcomer Ashland, picked fourth in the Great Midwest preseason poll, received the fifth-most votes outside of the top 25 with 38. Hillsdale is also in the mix among a handful of schools appearing on at least one coaches ballot.
2021 AFCA Division II Preseason Coaches' Poll -- Aug. 16, 2021
| Rank |
School (1st-place votes) |
2019 Record |
Points |
2019 Rank |
| 1 |
West Florida (26) |
13-2 |
698 |
1 |
| 2 |
Minnesota State (2) |
14-1 |
673 |
2 |
| 3 |
Ferris State (Mich.) |
12-1 |
630 |
3 |
| 4 |
Northwest Missouri State (1) |
12-2 |
575 |
7 |
| 5 |
Slippery Rock (Pa.) |
13-1 |
544 |
6 |
| 6t |
Lenoir-Rhyne (N.C.) |
13-1 |
540 |
4 |
| 6t |
Valdosta State (Ga.) |
1-1 |
540 |
5 |
| 8 |
Texas A&M-Commerce |
10-3 |
520 |
11 |
| 9 |
Notre Dame (Ohio) |
12-2 |
501 |
10 |
| 10 |
Colorado School of Mines |
12-1 |
423 |
8 |
| 11 |
Ouachita Baptist (Ark.) |
11-1 |
387 |
14 |
| 12 |
Colorado State-Pueblo |
11-2 |
327 |
12 |
| 13 |
Central Missouri |
11-2 |
323 |
13 |
| 14 |
Indianapolis (Ind.) |
9-2 |
261 |
17 |
| 15 |
Shepherd (W. Va.) |
10-3 |
256 |
22 |
| 16 |
Grand Valley State (Mich.) |
8-3 |
231 |
NR |
| 17 |
Indiana (Pa.) |
10-2 |
220 |
21 |
| 18 |
Bowie State (Md.) |
11-1 |
210 |
18 |
| 19 |
Tiffin (Ohio) |
9-2 |
188 |
23 |
| 20 |
Kutztown (Pa.) |
11-2 |
144 |
16 |
| 21 |
Lindenwood (Mo.) |
9-4 |
134 |
25 |
| 22 |
Harding (Ark.) |
10-2 |
120 |
15 |
| 23 |
Minnesota-Duluth |
8-3 |
100 |
NR |
| 24t |
Carson-Newman (Tenn.) |
8-3 |
95 |
20 |
| 24t |
Wingate (N.C.) |
10-2 |
95 |
16 |
Others Receiving Votes: Fort Hays State (Kan.) 90; Tusculum (Tenn.) 52; Angelo State (Texas) 49; Augustana (S.D.) 42; Ashland (Ohio) 38; West Chester (Pa.) 38; Delta State (Miss.) 35; West Texas A&M 26; Midwestern State (Texas) 25; Bentley (Mass.) 24; Henderson State (Ark.) 24; Sioux Falls (S.D.) 23; UT Permian Basin 23; Ohio Dominican 20; Findlay (Ohio) 18; West Alabama 18; California (Pa.) 17; Charleston (W. Va.) 16; Central Washington 15; Miles (Ala.) 15; Truman State (Mo.) 15; Oklahoma Baptist 14; Assumption (Mass.) 9; Pittsburg State (Kan.) 8; Wayne State (Mich.) 8; Saginaw State (Mich.) 6; Virginia Union 6; Chadron State (Neb.) 4; Nebraska-Kearney 4; Fayetteville State (N.C.) 2; West Georgia 2; Hillsdale (Mich.) 1; Missouri Western 1; Virginia State 1; Western Oregon 1.