| | '97 Record | '97 Rank* | Returning Starters |
| 1 | Simpson (Iowa) | 12-1 | 3 | 16 |
| Fullback Guy Leman is centerpiece of Storm offense that averaged division-best 565.3 yards in '97
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| 2 | Mount Union (Ohio) | 14-0 | 1 | 10 |
| Purple Raiders, last year's D-III champs, have college football's longest winning streak (28 games)
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| 3 | Lycoming (Pa.) | 12-1 | 4 | 18 |
| Quarterback Jason Marraccini is threat in the air (13 TD passes) and on the ground (seven TD runs)
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| 4 | Trinity (Texas) | 10-1 | 10 | 15 |
| Tigers have had school-record five straight winning seasons and are 35-6 over the past four years
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| 5 | John Carroll (Ohio) | 10-2 | 7 | 14 |
| Blue Streaks seek to bounce back from 59-7 shellacking by league rival Mt. Union in last year's playoffs
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| 6 | College of New Jersey | 9-3 | 18 | 12 |
| Rugged defensive end Tom Ruggia had 19 sacks in '97, tops in the New Jersey Athletic Conference
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| 7 | College of Wooster (Ohio) | 9-1 | 11 | 18 |
| Scots coming off best finish since 1923; wideout Brandon Good has caught a pass in 30 straight games
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| 8 | Ohio Northern | 8-2 | 23 | 14 |
| QB Joe Zarlinga is catalyst of an offense that averaged 481.8 yards per game in 1997
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| 9 | Mississippi College | 8-2 | 22 | 13 |
| Defensive back Michael Meurrier and end Bryant Shaw lead Choctaw D with eight returning starters
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| 10 | Wisconsin-La Crosse | 7-2 | N.R. | 11 |
| All-America safety Mike Scheuer (seven interceptions, 75 tackles in'97) is heart of experienced D
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| 11 | Western Maryland | 10-1 | 15 | 19 |
| Nine starters are back from Green Terror defense that held opponents to 7.3 points per game last fall
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| 12 | Allegheny (Pa.) | 9-2 | 9 | 16 |
| Untested trio (Tedd Gozur, Luke Kuffer, Scott Neill) vies to replace All-America QB Kyle Adamson
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| 13 | Rowan (N.J.) | 11-1 | 2 | 13 |
| Profs are a perennial power (69-15-1 since 1991) but must replace their entire offensive backfield
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| 14 | Catholic (Washington, D.C.) | 10-1 | 6 | 15 |
| Running back Andrew Notarfrancesco (1,307 yards, 21 touchdowns last season) leads Cardinals
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| 15 | Widener (Pa.) | 7-3 | N.R. | 21 |
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RB Leon Payne (1,028 yards in '97) will carry the offensive load with the graduation of QB Brian Greene
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| 16 | Wisconsin-Whitewater | 9-1 | 5 | 13 |
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Senior QB Ty Grovesteen set NCAA record with 25 straight completions over three games last year
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| 17 | Albright (Pa.) | 9-1 | 19 | 7 |
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WR Eric Nemec set Middle Atlantic Conference record for receiving yards per game (127.4) in '97
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| 18 | St. John's (Minn.) | 6-4 | N.R. | 13 |
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Johnnies are 74-14-2 in the 1990s with five Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic championships
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| 19 | Augsburg (Minn.) | 10-2 | 14 | 15 |
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Scott Hvistendahl and Tim Hamer are one of D-III's top receiving duos, but QB Paul Tetzloff is untested
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| 20 | Central (Iowa) | 8-2 | 8 | 13 |
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Under 28-year-old coach Rich Kacmarynski, the Dutch shoot for 38th consecutive winning season
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| 21 | Hanover (Ind.) | 10-1 | 24 | 12 |
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Wideouts Tarrik Wilson and Andy Mitchel combined for 122 catches, 1,616 yards and 12 TDs in 1997
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| 22 | Williams (Mass.) | 7-1 | N.R. | 12 |
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Ephs, with 10 straight winning seasons, are led by big-play WR Matt Sigrsit (39 catches, 639 yards)
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| 23 | Buffalo State | 8-2 | 12 | 15 |
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Bengals are 14-0 in regular-season home games over the past three seasons
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| 24 | Dickinson (Pa.) | 7-3 | N.R. | 13 |
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Red Devils option attack remains strong with RBs Tommy Chung, Ben Catanese and Craig Sutyak
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| 25 | Cortland State (N.Y.) | 8-3 | N.R. | 8 |
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Running back Omar Darling rushed for 993 yards and a school-record 16 touchdowns in 1997
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