BALTIMORE, MD –- The Johns Hopkins football team picked up its third preseason national ranking on Thursday as the Blue Jays are ranked 23^rd in the 2010 d3football.com Preseason Poll.  JHU, which was previously ranked 15^th in the nation in The Sporting News Preseason Poll and 12^th by Lindy’s, is the only Centennial Conference team ranked in the d3football.com top 25.

Johns Hopkins received several preseason rankings a year ago, but exceeded even those lofty prognostications as the Blue Jays posted a 10-3 record, won the Centennial Conference Championship and advanced to the NCAA Quarterfinals.  Along the way, Hopkins stunned previously unbeaten and nationally-ranked Hampden-Sydney and Thomas More in the first two rounds of the NCAA Playoffs.  Johns Hopkins ended the 2009 season ranked eighth in the final AFCA Poll and 11^th in the d3football.com poll.

Johns Hopkins will open the 2010 season at Randolph-Macon on September 11 with its Centennial opener a week later at Gettysburg.  The road to a repeat in the Centennial will be challenging as the Blue Jays’ first three games will be on the road and Hopkins has just four home games on the 10-game slate.