MINNEAPOLIS - After taking #1 Mount Union down to the final minutes, the Capital Crusader football team jumped up five spots in the latest D3Football.com Top 25 Poll, which was released on Sunday. CU (4-1, 3-1 OAC) has moved up in the polls each week is the third of four Ohio Athletic Conference teams to be ranked in the Top 25.
The Crusaders first entered the national rankings at No. 25 on Sept. 20 and then jumped up to the No. 22 spot before moving to No. 21 in last week's poll, which is voted upon by a panel of 25 coaches, sports information directors and media members from across the country. Capital is one of only 10 teams nationally to be ranked in seven consecutive seasons.
CU has a season-high 217 votes this week and is joined in the Top 25 by #1 Mount Union (5-0, 19 first place votes), #13 Otterbein (5-0, 344 pts) and #19 Ohio Northern (3-2, 136 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 in week three with 62 points before garnering 102 and 99 votes in past two polls respectively.
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. CU followed with a 37-13 win at Marietta before holding a fourth-quarter lead against defending NCAA Division III and OAC Champion Mount Union in a 28-21 loss.
CU is averaging 450.8 yards per game of total offense and for the first time in its 86-year recorded history posted a pair of 100-yard rushers in the same game, a feat it accomplished in back-to-back wins over Heidelberg and Wilmington. The Crusaders have out rushed the competition 210.4 to 61.2 yards per game while the CU defense has tallied 17 sacks.
Capital remains at home next Saturday to play host to OAC rival John Carroll for ‘Take a Kid to a Game Day'. Kickoff is scheduled for 1:30 p.m. and fans can follow the action with FREE Live Stats, Video and Audio at http://www.capitalcrusaders.net/ beginning with the Nationwide Children's Hospital Medicine Pregame Show at 1:00 p.m.