Northwest holds at No. 4 ranking ahead of MACCC championship

East Central ranked seventh, hosts Rangers Saturday

Nov. 12, 2024 – Despite earning a 33-31 victory against previous No. 5 Mississippi Gulf Coast, Northwest held on to the fourth spot in the latest batch of NJCAA Division I Football Rankings, released late Tuesday afternoon.

Northwest (9-1) remained at No. 4, thanks to victories from No. 1 Iowa Western, second-ranked Georgia Military College and No. 3 Hutchinson (Kan.). Additionally, Snow College (Utah) moved from sixth to fifth in this week’s rankings.

Mississippi Gulf Coast tumbled from fifth to No. 8, while Holmes dropped from No. 12 to 13th after being eliminated from the postseason in the MACCC Semifinals over the weekend. Additionally, East MIssissippi re-entered the national rankings at No. 15, although the Lions failed to make the conference playoffs.

East Central inched up a slot from No. 8 to No. 7 entering Saturday’s MACCC Championship battle against Northwest. The Warriors (8-2) opened the season with a 2-2 record, but have since won six straight games, eventually earning the MACCC South Division title.

Northwest and the Warriors previously met in Week 2 back on Sept. 5, with the Rangers escaping Decatur with a narrow 22-17 victory.

Kickoff is scheduled for 2 p.m. on Saturday, Nov. 16 in Decatur. Pregame coverage begins at 1:30 p.m. on the Ranger TV Network.