Rock football to open season ranked No. 4

Football
8/11/2025 1:42:00 PM

Jon Holtz, Athletic Communication

Slippery Rock will open the 2025 season tied for its highest preseason rank in program history as The Rock were listed at No. 4 when the American Football Coaches Association announced its first set of Division II national rankings Monday.

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WACO, Texas – The Slippery Rock University football team will open the 2025 season ranked No. 4 in the NCAA Division II national rankings after the American Football Coaches Association announced its preseason national poll Monday.
 
Defending national champion Ferris State sits atop the preseason poll with 30 first place votes. Harding is second, followed by Grand Valley State in third and Slippery Rock rounding out the top four with one first place vote. Central Oklahoma caps the top five in the preseason rankings.
 
The No. 4 ranking ties the 1999 team for the highest preseason ranking in program history. It is the highest in-season ranking for the program since a one-week stay at No. 4 in November of 2023 and marks the first time since 2021 (No. 5) that SRU will open the season ranked inside the top 10. The 2025 season will also mark just the third time in program history that SRU will begin a season ranked in the top five (No. 4 in 1998, No. 5 in 2021, No. 4 in 2025).
 
The rest of the top 10 in the preseason poll includes No. 6 Colorado State-Pueblo, followed by Kutztown at No. 7, West Florida at No. 8, Pittsburg State at No. 9 and Western Colorado at No. 10.
 
Slippery Rock and Kutztown are the lone representatives from the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference and Super Region One in the top 10. The Rock and the Golden Bears were also picked to win their respective divisions when the PSAC Preseason Coaches Poll was announced last week. The only other PSAC team listed in the preseason top 25 is PSAC West rival California (Pa.), which will enter the season ranked No. 15.
 
Indiana (Pa.) and East Stroudsburg will both enter the year in the “others receiving votes” section of the poll.
 
Other teams from Super Region One listed in the top 25 include No. 14 Charleston of the Mountain East Conference and No. 19 Virginia Union of the Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association. Johnson C. Smith (CIAA) and Fairmont State (MEC) are also listed in the “others receiving votes” section. No teams from the Northeast-10 Conference are included in the preseason poll.
 
Slippery Rock enters the 2025 season looking for a sixth PSAC West title in the last seven seasons and a seventh straight appearance in the NCAA Division II Playoffs. The Rock went 12-2 in each of the last two seasons and have reached at least the national quarterfinals in each year. SRU won the 2024 Super Region One title before falling 48-38 on the road at national champion Ferris State in the semifinals.
 
SRU has put together 15 consecutive winning seasons, which ranks ninth among all active streaks in Division II entering this fall. The Rock own the second longest active playoff streak (6) among all teams in the country, trailing only Ferris State (10).
 
Slippery Rock will open the 2025 season with a 10-hour road trip to New Hampshire for a Friday evening game Sept. 5 at Franklin Pierce University. The Rock then return home for three straight Saturday night games Sept. 13, Sept. 20 and Sept. 27 to close out the opening month of the season.
 
A look at the AFCA preseason national poll can be found below. A full Slippery Rock season preview and preseason notes can be found HERE.
 
AFCA DIVISION II NATIONAL RANKINGS
Preseason Poll – Aug. 11, 2025

Rank
Team (1st Votes)
W-L
Pts.
Prev.


1
Ferris St. (30)
14-1
773
1


2
Harding
12-2
734
4


3
Grand Valley St.
11-2
669
6


4
SLIPPERY ROCK (1) *
12-2
576
3


5
Central Oklahoma
11-2
569
9


6
Colorado St.-Pueblo
10-2
549
8


7
Kutztown *
11-1
517
5


8
West Florida
7-3
504
NR


9
Pittsburg St.
8-3
451
17


10
Western Colorado
11-2
450
10


11
Minnesota St.
11-4
449
7


12
Valdosta St.
13-1
402
2


13
Angelo St.
9-3
352
20


14
Charleston *
11-1
337
15


15
California (Pa.) *^
10-3
275
12


16
Bemidji St.
10-4
254
13


17
Lenoir-Rhyne
10-3
248
16


18
Ouachita Baptist
10-2
246
14


19
Virginia Union *
10-4
228
11


20
UIndy
10-2
191
19


21
Central Washington
8-4
176
24


22
Central Missouri
9-3
149
NR


23
Augustana (S.D.)
8-4
127
25


24t.
Ashland
9-4
114
23


24t.
Miles
10-3
114
22

Others Receiving Votes: West Alabama, 113; Carson-Newman, 100; Wingate, 74; Fort Hays St., 66; Colorado School of Mines, 42; Saginaw Valley St., 35; Minnesota-Duluth, 29; Albany St., 26; Northwest Missouri St., 21; Indiana (Pa.), 16*^; UT-Permian Basin, 16; Delta St., 13; Findlay, 12; UNC-Pembroke, 12; Davenport, 10; Johnson C. Smith, 9*; East Stroudsburg, 7*; Fairmont St., 7*; Southern Arkansas, 6; Texas A&M-Kingsville, 5; Colorado Mesa, 1; Truman St., 1.
 
* NCAA Super Region One school

^ SRU opponent in 2025

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