It's hard to believe that the first month of the D3 football season is in the books, and some schools have already completed half of their schedules. What's most impressive are the following half-dozen teams that flew up our rankings after remarkable Septembers. Now, it's your turn to vote on who you think was the best D3 squad last month.
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The poll is open until this Friday at 5 p.m. Eastern/2 p.m. Pacific Time, so make your selection today and feel free to share with friends so they can place their vote as well.
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Bethel
Conference: MIAC
Rank on Sept. 1: BR-104
Current Rank: BR-13
Difference: 91 spots
Perhaps no college football team at any level — from FBS to D3 — has charged up our rankings quite like Bethel.
After starting the 2017 campaign with a 1-4 mark, the Royals finished the year strong with four wins in its last five games. The team has ridden that momentum to an impressive 4-0 mark this season and could very well find themselves ranked in the top ten with an upset win this weekend over no. 7 St. John's (MN).
COMPARE: Bethel vs. Any Team
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St. John's (MN)
Conference: MIAC
Rank on Sept. 1: BR-46
Current Rank: BR-7
Difference: 39 spots
Speaking of St. John's, the Johnnies had themselves quite the September as well.
They head into Saturday's showdown with Bethel having rocked Carleton and Augsburg 59-0 and 52-0 respectively the past two weeks. The Johnnies also shut out UW-Stout in the season opener, and the defense enters this weekend's showdown giving up a paltry 3.3 points per game.
COMPARE: St. John's (MN) vs. Any Team
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Union (NY)
Conference: Liberty
Rank on Sept. 1: BR-86
Current Rank: BR-21
Difference: 65 spots
Behind Will Bellamy's 1,231 yards passing through four games, Union (NY) has jumped out to a 4-0 start.
Its most impressive win was over then no. 42-ranked and undefeated Springfield. After falling behind 10-0 at the end of the first quarter, Union scored the game's last 45 straight points, including three consecutive TD strikes from Bellamy to Andre Ross Jr.
COMPARE: Union (NY) vs. Any Team
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Wheaton (IL)
Conference: CCIW
Rank on Sept. 1: BR-18
Current Rank: BR-3
Difference: 15 spots
Competing in what we currently have ranked as the toughest conference in Division III football, the Thunder rolled for 63 points over Millikin on September 22 and another 52 at undefeated and no. 5-ranked North Central College last Saturday.
The offense is supercharged by senior QB Curtis McWilliams' 1,117 yards passing and 9 TD strikes — three of which have landed in the hands of wideout Adam Terrini.
COMPARE: Wheaton (IL) vs. Any Team
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Randolph-Macon
Conference: Old Dominion
Rank on Sept. 1: BR-48
Current Rank: BR-20
Difference: 28 spots
The Yellow Jackets enter October riding a three-game winning streak and are fresh off an impressive 23-7 road win over no. 33 Washington and Lee.
One of the team's unsung heroes and reasons for winning so many close games is kicker Chris Vidal who is 5-6 on field goal attempts and 14-15 on PATs.
COMPARE: Randolph-Macon vs. Any Team
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Central
Conference: Iowa Intercollegiate
Rank on Sept. 1: BR-56
Current Rank: BR-26
Difference: 30 spots
Central stormed up our rankings a whopping 16 spots this week after routing Buena Vista 62-20 on Saturday.
It marked the second time the Dutch have gone over the 60-point threshold in September, and a stout defense surrendering a minuscule 12 points per game have contributed to the squad's 5-0 mark at the season's midway point.
COMPARE: Central vs. Any Team
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Which School has the D3 Team of the Month for September 2018?
