The Tusculum Pioneers are ranked sixth in this week’s NCAA Division II Super Region 2 Poll.
Tusculum owns an 8-1 region and overall record, which is the Pioneers best record in program history (thru 9 games). TU is 6-1 in league play and are currently tied for first place in the SAC Mountain Division standings.
Super Region 2 consists of football programs from the South Atlantic Conference, Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association, Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference and the Gulf South Conference.
Three SAC programs are listed in this week’s poll including No. 3 Wingate (8-1, 6-1 SAC), No. 6 Tusculum and No. 9 Limestone (6-3, 5-2 SAC).
Delta State is the top-ranked team in the Super Region, followed by Benedict, Wingate, West Florida, Virginia Union, Tusculum, Tuskegee, Albany State, Limestone and Fayetteville State.
Since there are no automatic bids in the Division II football championship, every team in the four Super Regions that are eligible can qualify for the playoffs. The NCAA Division II football national committee provides three Super Regional rankings over the final three weeks of the season, showing the top 10 teams from each region.
The top seven seeds in each regional ranking advance to the Division II Playoffs which will be announced on Nov. 13. The top seed in each of the four Super Regions gets a first-round bye. The NCAA II Playoffs begin on Nov. 19 at campus sites and culminating with the National Championship Game on Dec. 17 at McKinney ISD Stadium in McKinney, Texas.
Tusculum will be at Mars Hill (7-2, 6-1 SAC) this Saturday for a 1 p.m. kickoff, with the winner claiming the Mountain Division title and advance to next Saturday’s SAC Championship Game. The SAC Championship will be held at the Piedmont Division winner, which will be the winner of Saturday’s Wingate / Newberry contest.
The Pioneers are riding a six-game winning streak and are looking to earn their first NCAA Playoff appearance since 2008.
NCAA II Super Region 2 Poll
| Rk | Team | Overall DII Record | In-Region Record |
| 1 | Delta St. | 8-0 | 7-0 |
| 2 | Benedict | 9-0 | 9-0 |
| 3 | Wingate | 8-1 | 8-1 |
| 4 | West Florida | 6-1 | 5-1 |
| 5 | Virginia Union | 7-1 | 7-1 |
| 6 | TUSCULUM | 8-1 | 8-1 |
| 7 | Tuskegee | 7-1 | 7-1 |
| 8 | Albany St. | 7-1 | 7-1 |
| 9 | Limestone | 6-2 | 6-2 |
| 10 | Fayetteville St. | 7-2 | 7-2 |
