The 2022 Division III football season will begin where the 2021 season ended: with Mary Hardin-Baylor on top, and North Central right behind them.
The Cru carry a 20-game winning streak and a No. 1 ranking in the D3Football.com poll, released Tuesday. UMHB knocked off defending champion North Central in the 2021 Stagg Bowl, 57-24, which snapped North Central's 24-game winning streak.
The D3Football.com poll is comprised of 25 coaches, SIDs and media members, and is considered the authoritative poll for football at that level. UMHB collected 23 first-place votes.
North Central barely edged out No. 3 Mount Union, beating them 587 to 577, for the No. 2 spot. North Central ended Mount Union's 2021 season in the semifinals by a 26-13 score.
The fourth perennial power at the D3 level, Wisconsin-Whitewater, checks in at No. 4.
North Central's 2019 title was the first won by a school other than UMHB, Mount Union or UW-Whitewater since 2004.
The full poll:
1. Mary Hardin-Baylor (Texas) -- 619 points (23 first-place votes)
2. North Central (Ill.) -- 587
3. Mount Union (Ohio) -- 577 (2)
4. Wisconsin-Whitewater -- 537
5. St. John's (Minn.) -- 480
6. Hardin-Simmons (Texas) -- 451
7. Linfield (Ore.) -- 445
8. Wheaton (Ill.) -- 419
9. Trinity (Texas) -- 378
10. Johns Hopkins (Md.) -- 358
11. Muhlenberg (Pa.) -- 326
12. Wisconsin-La Crosse -- 314
13. Bethel (Minn.) -- 310
14. Central (Iowa) -- 287
15. Delaware Valley (Pa.) -- 262
16. Cortland (N.Y.) -- 211
17. Ithaca (N.Y.) -- 183
18. Wisconsin-River Falls -- 180
19. Wisconsin-Oshkosh -- 156
20. RPI (N.Y.) -- 130
21. Randolph-Macon (Va.) -- 121
22. Salisbury (Md.) -- 120
23. Hobart (N.Y.) -- 94
24. Heidelberg (Ohio) -- 81
25. Birmingham-Southern (Ala.) -- 67
As always, stay tuned to The Scoop for the latest.