FB finishes third in national polls

12/18/07

Belton, TX - The University of Mary Hardin-Baylor football team was a unanimous pick as the #3 team in the country in the final Division III Top 25 Polls of the 2007 season. The Cru finished third nationally in both the D3football.com Top 25 Poll and the American Football Coaches Association's Top 25 Coaches Poll. It is the second-highest end-of-season ranking in the history of the UMHB football program. The Cru finished 2nd in the country in all of the national polls following the Stagg Bowl appearance in 2004.

UMHB totaled 916 points in the AFCA Top 25 Poll. National Champion Wisconsin-Whitewater, the only team to beat the Cru this season, received all 40 first-place votes and 1,000 total points to finish first. Mount Union was second with 960 points, 44 points ahead of the Cru. Bethel College was ranked fourth and Wesley College, the team UMHB beat in the national quarterfinals, finished fifth in the poll. UMHB also posted playoff victories over two other teams ranked in the final AFCA Top 25 Poll. Trinity University finished 14th with 398 total points and North Carolina Wesleyan was tapped 22nd with 191 total points.

The Cru also finished third nationally in the D3football.com Top 25 with 579 total points. UMHB was just 15 points behind 2nd-place Mount Union's 594 total points. Wisconsin-Whitewater grabbed all 25 first-place votes and 625 total points to take the #1 spot. Bethel was also fourth in the D3football.com Top 25 Poll and Wesley College was fifth. Trinity University finished 16th in the poll and North Carolina Wesleyan finished 19th. UMHB's American Southwest Conference rival, Mississippi College, received 13 total points in the D3football.com.

The Cru finished the 2007 season with a 12-2 overall record and advanced to the Division III National Semifinals before falling to Wisconsin-Whitewater 16-7. Both of the Cru's losses came to the Warhawks this season. UMHB also went 8-0 and won the ASC title for the third straight season.