Poll-pourri

Three of the state’s six GAC teams are ranked in both Division II polls — the AFCA Top 25 coaches and

the D2football.com Top 25.

Ouachita Baptist (2-0, 14/15 AFCA/D2football), moved up 5 spots in both polls, Harding (1-1, 19/17) dropped 12 spots in the coaches poll, 8 spots in the D2football rankings, and Southern Arkansas (2-0, 25/24) debuted in both polls after knocking off Harding 28-23 on Sunday in Searcy.

SAU Coach Bill Keopple said he didn’t quite understand how Harding could be ranked ahead of his team after the Muleriders beat the Bisons last week, but polls at every level have a way of working themselves out as the season progresses.

The only rankings that really matter in Division

II are the region rankings, which ultimately determine which teams make the postseason bracket.

Four Division II regional advisory committees monitor the first seven weeks before delivering the first of three rankings in late October.

What happens if Harding wins out to finish 10-1, Ouachita loses to Harding but beats SAU, and all three teams finish 10-1? Can the GAC, which has sent two teams to playoffs three times since 2012, get three teams in?

It’s possible, but the GAC is competing with three other conferences — the 14-team Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association (MIAA), the 8-team Great Lakes Valley Conference (GLVC) and the 9-team Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletics Conference (GLIAC) — for the 7 playoff spots in its region.