Week 0 of the DII football season is just days away, with opening kickoff around the division coming Thursday, Aug. 28. After a summer of digging into rosters, talking to coaches, and learning the many new faces in DII football, it is time for the preseason Power 10 rankings.
If you are new to the preseason Power 10 rankings, these are mine and mine alone. There is no voting committee, just me, my spreadsheets, and endless notes from coaches and other media members. I try to combine the selection metrics 鈥 like KPI, strength of schedule and common opponents to name a few 鈥 with the eye test, for a ranking that falls somewhere between the national media polls and the regional rankings that come out in November.
Now, for the preseason, it gets a little tricky, because, well, there are no metrics. No one has thrown a football, so ultimately, no one knows what is about to happen. There also have been some significant changes for the coming season, including a new conference, expanded tournament field, and super regional realignment to consider. However, these Power 10 rankings are not taken lightly. You can see each team鈥檚 previews at the for a deeper dive into why the teams fell in the order they have.
The 2025 DII football preseason Power 10
No. 1 Ferris State. The defending champions have two potential Harlon Hill Trophy candidates back to lead the way in their title defense. Head coach Tony Annese has led the Bulldogs to three titles in four years and what feels like an endless number of trips to at least the quarterfinals in the years prior to that run. No program has been as consistent as Ferris State, and nothing changes in 2025.
No. 2 Harding.The Bisons may be more of a 1B with the amount of talent returning from two dominating, deep runs in the tournament 鈥 one of which culminated with the 2023 DII football national championship. Cole Keylon is the perfect engineer to drive the flexbone offense and having Andrew Miller and Braden Jay with him in the backfield for yet another season seems almost unfair. Expect this team to lead DII, and likely all levels of college football, in rushing yet again.
No. 3 West Florida. It is odd to have a team in the top five that didn鈥檛 even make the tournament last year, but the Argos fought to a 7-3 record despite a slew of injuries. Now, eight offensive starters are back in Pensacola and so are seven starting defenders. When you have your starting quarterback, a pair of leading rushers, and an All-Region wide receiver talent in Corey Scott, things are looking good at West Florida, especially in a five-team Gulf South Conference that is seeing a lot of rebuilding this year.
No. 4 Grand Valley State. The Lakers are restructuring in 2025 with a bevy of new faces, including the all-important quarterback position. But here is why this program is ranked so highly. They haven鈥檛 had a losing season this millennium despite continued change to player and coaching personnel and yet remain a playoff presence. The past four seasons, they have been ousted from the tournament by Ferris State or Harding. You put these Lakers in other Super Regions, and they probably have at least a few more national runners-ups.
No. 5 Western Colorado. This is where it gets tricky, because teams No. 5, 6, 7, and 8 are separated by a hair. These Mountaineers will not have an easy time in the RMAC as No. 8 CSU Pueblo will make it a battle. However, Drew Nash is one of the best quarterbacks in DII football and defensive end Ricky Freymond is the reigning D2 Football defensive player of the year. This team has been getting better and better in each of the past two seasons and has nine returning starters on offense and eight on defense. With that kind of returning talent in this era of DII football, you have an extreme edge over many other teams.
No. 6 Kutztown. The Golden Bears have won back-to-back PSAC titles with dual-threat quarterback Judd Novak under center, and with six fellow offensive starters back 鈥 and seven more on defense 鈥 this team is very familiar and experienced in winning many meaningful ball games. The PSAC is tough at the top this year, but Kutztown is ahead of the pack for now because of the experience factor.
No. 7 Central Oklahoma. I had Central Oklahoma as high as No. 3 in the way-too-early DII football rankings, but I think the Bronchos settle in between No. 5-7 to start the season. Jett Huff is back at quarterback after finishing second in DII in passing yards (3,586) and third in passing touchdowns (34), but he does lose his favorite target and DII football鈥檚 leading receiver, Terrill Davis. The key will be how a defense that lost six starters holds up after allowing a 32.7 points per game last year, which was the most among 2024 DII football championship teams.
No. 8 CSU Pueblo. Right now, if Roman Fuller and Reggie Retzlaff are a full go, I think it gives CSU Pueblo every chance to win the RMAC. The defense 鈥 which only returns five players that played significant minutes 鈥 will have an early learning curve with many new faces. Unfortunately, they won鈥檛 have much of a chance to ease in to the season with South Dakota Mines, Fort Hays State and Central Missouri as its first three matchups.
No. 9 Slippery Rock. Slippery Rock has proven that they don鈥檛 rebuild; it simply restructures. So, yes, there are an abundance of new faces, but the bottom line is this: Head coach Shawn Lutz has made the tournament in every season since 2018, one of the longest streaks in the division. The Rock has also won many playoff games in that span with quite a few DII record setters and award winners coming and going along the way. The Rock in the playoffs is as good as Christmas coming every Dec. 25. That kind of consistency, no matter who is on the field, deserves top 10 consideration.
No. 10 Angelo State. Quarterback Braeden Fuller was a Harlon Hill Trophy finalist a year ago, and he is back as what appears to me to be the cream of the crop in the Lone Star Conference. Now, there are some really good teams in the LSC 鈥 Central Washington is a proven playoff commodity, and UT Permian Basin and Texas A&M-Kingsville are big sleepers this year 鈥 but Angelo State has had a lot of success through a lot of change the past five seasons. With half the starting lineup back, there should be more of the same in 2025.
The first five out (in alphabetical order)
- Bemidji State: I am a little higher on Bemidji State, but no other program has at least one win in each of the last four tournaments in DII, not even Ferris State. This is a program that continues to impress with changing faces.
- Central Washington: The Wildcats are probably at 15 for me and barely edged out teams like Cal (PA). I gave Central Washington the edge because they are playoff tested and don鈥檛 have to replace their quarterback, as Kennedy McGill is a proven winner.
- Lenoir-Rhyne: The Bears need to replace their quarterback and one of the best defenders in the land, but there is still a lot of firepower back in Hickory, NC. However, a backfield of Zayvion Turner-Knox and LJ Turner is Harding football kind of special, and this team could be tough to stop.
- Minnesota State: I may be too low on the Mavericks. This is a verified DII football powerhouse that has been to eight DII tournaments with six NSIC titles in the past decade. Yes, there are some major personnel changes, but this program wins.
- Pittsburg State: The Gorillas have a brutal schedule to start their season with games against Ferris State, Central Oklahoma, Grand Valley State and Fort Hays State. We鈥檒l know soon enough what team they are.
Just missed: Cal (PA), Carson-Newman, Ouachita Baptist, Tiffin, Valdosta State
