In the third and final set of Super Region 1 rankings, released on Monday (Nov. 7) afternoon by the NCAA, Ashland University's football team is in the No. 4 spot.
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The Eagles are 8-1 overall and 6-1 in the Great Midwest Athletic Conference, and will conclude the regular season with Senior Day on Saturday (Nov. 12) at 1 p.m. vs. Kentucky Wesleyan (2-8, 1-6) at Jack Miller Stadium/Martinelli Field. Saturday's game also will be the 2012 AU team recognition.
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Ashland is tied with Tiffin for first place in the Great Midwest standings.
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Super regional rankings also were released on Oct. 24 and 31 – first in alphabetical order, then in rank order. The NCAA Division II football tournament selection show will be Sunday (Nov. 13) at 5 p.m. on NCAA.com.
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Ashland's football team has made seven previous appearances in the Division II postseason – 1986, 1997, 2007-08, 2012, 2015 and 2017. The Eagles' first playoff win at Jack Miller Stadium/Martinelli Field came on Nov. 18, 2017 – a 21-18 decision over Northwest Missouri State.
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A 28-team tournament (seven teams from four super regions), the D-II postseason will begin on Nov. 19, and the D-II national championship game will be Dec. 17 in McKinney, Texas.
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There are no automatic qualifiers for the D-II football postseason. Earned access to the playoffs can be gained by a conference if a conference's highest-ranked team is in the top nine of the final super region rankings on the selection Sunday, and all four Super Region 1 conferences – Great Midwest, Mountain East, Northeast-10 and Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference – are available for earned access.
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There are 48 teams in Super Region 1 – nine in the Great Midwest, 12 in the Mountain East, nine in Northeast-10, 16 in the PSAC, and two independents.
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2022 NCAA DIVISION II SUPER REGION 1 FOOTBALL RANKINGS (FIRST RANKINGS WERE ALPHABETICAL – UC MEANS UNDER CONSIDERATION)
| TEAM |
FIRST RANKING |
SECOND RANKING |
THIRD RANKING |
| Shepherd |
UC |
1 |
1 |
| Assumption |
UC |
4 |
2 |
| IUP |
UC |
3 |
3 |
| ASHLAND |
UC |
2 |
4 |
| Slippery Rock |
UC |
5 |
5 |
| Notre Dame College |
UC |
6 |
6 |
| Gannon |
N/A |
7 |
7 |
| Concord |
UC |
10 |
8 |
| New Haven |
UC |
8 |
9 |
| Kutztown |
UC |
N/A |
10 |
| Bentley |
UC |
9 |
N/A |
