MINNEAPOLIS - After moving to 3-0 on the season with a win over Wilmington, the Capital University football team moved up to three spots to No. 22 in the latest D3Football.com Top 25 Poll which was released on Sunday. The Crusaders are one of four Ohio Athletic Conference teams to be nationally ranked for the second consecutive week.
Capital, which first entered the national rankings at No. 25 last week, earned a season-high 102 points in this week's poll which is voted upon by a panel of 25 coaches, sports information directors and media members from across the country. CU trails #21 Redlands (2-0, 116) by just 14 points. Also joining the Crusaders in the Top 25 are #1 Mount Union (3-0, 623 pts, 23 first-place votes), #13 Otterbein (3-0, 319 pts) and #16 Ohio Northern (1-2, 199 pts).
CU has now received votes in all five polls this season. Capital picked up 56 points in the preseason poll. The Crusaders then earned 38 points following the first week of the regular season and 43 after the second week. CU moved into the Top 25 last week with 62 points.
Capital began its 2009 campaign with a 31-21 road victory over Adrian on Sept. 5. The Crusaders then posted a 46-32 win over Heidelberg and a 37-21 decision over Wilmington to open Ohio Athletic Conference play over the past two weeks.
CU is averaging 504.0 yards per game of total offense and has posted four 100-yard rushers in the past two games. The Crusader defense is holding its opposition to 33.3 yards per game rushing while leading the OAC with 14 sacks.
The Crusaders remain on the road for its next game this week against OAC foe Marietta. The game will begin at 1:30 p.m. on Saturday and fans can follow the action with FREE live stats and live audio at www.CapitalCrusaders.net.