Oct. 8, 2012

BALTIMORE, MD -- The Johns Hopkins football team continued its steady climb in the American Football Coaches Association (AFCA) Division III Poll as the Blue Jays jumped from 13th to 11th in this week's poll. The Blue Jays remain 18th in the D3football.com Poll. The Blue Jays earned 514 points to move from 13th to 11th in the AFCA Poll, while they totaled 204 points to hold their spot at #18 in the D3football.com Poll.

The #11 ranking in the AFCA Poll is tied for the second-highest ranking in school history. The Blue Jays were ranked 10th for two weeks late in the 2011 season and 11th for one week earlier that year.

The AFCA Poll, which the Johns Hopkins Athletic Communications Office uses to reflect JHU's official national ranking, is headed again this week by Mount Union, which grabbed 41 of 42 first-place votes and totaled 1,049 points. Mary Hardin-Baylor earned the remaining first-place vote and checks in at number two in the poll with 1,008 points, while St. Thomas (928 points), Linfield (893) and Wisconsin-Whitewater (856) round out the top five.

Johns Hopkins (5-0, 4-0 Centennial) has now been ranked in the top 25 by the AFCA for 14 consecutive weeks dating back to the start of the 2011 season and this is the 13th straight poll in which the Blue Jays have been ranked in the top 20. This is also the 32nd time Johns Hopkins has been ranked in the top 25 by the AFCA since 1999, when it first released its rankings.

Mount Union also tops the D3football.com Poll as the Purple Raiders grabbed 23 of 25 first-place votes and 623 points. Mary Hardin-Baylor grabbed the other two first-place votes and 598 points to check in at number two, while Linfield (563), St. Thomas (547) and Wisconsin-Whitewater (499) are also in the top five. This week's #18 ranking marks the 25th time Johns Hopkins has been ranked in the top 25 by D3football.com since its poll debuted in 2003.

Johns Hopkins opens the second half of the season on Saturday, October 13 as the Blue Jays travel to Dickinson.

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