| | '97 Record | '97 Rank* | Returning Starters |
| 1 | Northern Colorado | 13-2 | 11 | 17 |
|
Two-time defending national champ relies on 6' 6", 270-pound DE Aaron Smith: 15 1/2 sacks in '97
|
| 2 | Carson-Newman (Tenn.) | 11-1 | 1 | 16 |
|
Eagles are 23-3 over the last two years and have won 21 consecutive regular-season home games
|
| 3 | New Haven | 12-2 | 2 | 15 |
|
Demanding schedule includes I-AA foes Western Kentucky, Youngstown State and Robert Morris
|
| 4 | Pittsburg State (Kans.) | 9-2 | 8 | 12 |
|
Gorillas have won more games in the past 10 years (109) than any other college football team
|
| 5 | Nebraska-Omaha | 8-3 | N.R. | 19 |
|
Ed Thompson is first D-II QB to break 1,000-yard mark in both rushing and passing yards in a season
|
| 6 | Texas A&M-Kingsville | 9-2 | 4 | 9 |
|
RB John Humphrey should help Javelinas make seventh straight playoff appearance
|
| 7 | Northwest Missouri St. | 12-1 | 3 | 16 |
|
Bearcats will follow All-America quarterback Chris Greisen (2,456 yards, 23 touchdown passes)
|
| 8 | North Alabama | 9-3 | 13 | 14 |
|
Tailback Greg Manson (1,189 yards, 15 touchdowns) averaged 6.7 yards per carry last fall
|
| 9 | UC Davis | 9-5 | 14 | 16 |
|
QB Kevin Daft (2,497 passing yards in '97) should lead Aggies to 29th consecutive winning season
|
| 10 | Slippery Rock (Pa.) | 11-2 | 7 | 17 |
|
Rockets have firepower with QB Randy McKavish and RBs Rick Magulick and Stan Kennedy
|
| 11 | Western State (Colo.) | 9-3 | 9 | 15 |
|
QB Eric Hannah (2,672 passing yards, 21 TDs) is back along with nine other offensive starters
|
| 12 | Indiana (Pa.) | 5-5 | N.R. | 19 |
|
Former Notre Dame QB Paul Failla, 25, returns to gridiron after 3 1/2-year minor league baseball stint
|
| 13 | Grand Valley State (Mich.) | 9-2 | N.R. | 16 |
|
Jeff Fox's career numbers: 61.2 pass completion percentage, 4,937 yards, 32 touchdowns
|
| 14 | North Dakota State | 9-3 | 16 | 13 |
|
The defense, which had four shutouts and allowed 13.6 points per game, picks up where it left off
|
| 15 | Bloomsburg (Pa.) | 8-2 | N.R. | 11 |
|
Senior Ed Carothers (7.1-yard average on 18 carries) replaces D-II player of the year Irv Sigler
|
| 16 | Chadron State (Neb.) | 8-3 | N.R. | 20 |
|
Senior LB Kevin Homer returns after making 156 tackles in '97, giving him 386 for his career
|
| 17 | Ashland (Ohio) | 9-2 | 12 | 14 |
|
RB Matt Otero (103 yards per game) more than tripled his carries over the final five games
|
| 18 | Albany State (Ga.) | 11-1 | 5 | 14 |
|
Defense was first in the nation in scoring (7.3 ppg), third in total defense (201.3 yards per game)
|
| 19 | North Dakota | 8-2 | N.R. | 15 |
|
Hog heaven: Fighting Sioux offensive line averages 6' 5", 302 pounds
|
| 20 | Angelo State (Texas) | 10-2 | 6 | 8 |
|
Rams are rebuilding, but they should notch their 16th consecutive winning season
|
| 21 | New Mexico Highlands | 8-3 | N.R. | 10 |
|
D-II's second-ranked
offense last season (486.2 yards per game) must replace seven
starters
|
| 22 | Catawba (N.C.) | 8-3 | N.R. | 14 |
|
Defense could be better than 1997 unit, which gave up just 12.8 points, 232.9 yards per game
|
| 23 | Emporia State (Kans.) | 7-4 | N.R. | 18 |
|
Hornets' senior RB Brian Shay has carried for 4,693 yards, 52 touchdowns in his career
|
| 24 | Saginaw Valley State (Mich.) | 9-2 | N.R. | 19 |
|
QB Jeff Klopf and RB Tim Neelands combined for 2,241 rushing yards, 32 TDs in '97
|
| 25 | Winona State (Minn.) | 9-2 | N.R. | 16 |
|
All-America safety Jamey Hutchinson led the nation in interceptions last fall with 11
|
