By Brian Ramsey
OBU Sports Information

WACO, Texas – Following Ferris State’s 58-17 win over Valdosta State 58-17 on Saturday in the NCAA Division II National Championship game, the American Football Coaches Association has released its final top 25 poll for the 2021 season.

Ouachita Baptist University checks in at No. 23 in the final poll following a 9-2 season. The Tigers just missed out on what would have been the program’s fourth consecutive NCAA playoffs appearance.

The 9-2 finish is just the seventh nine-plus win season in Ouachita history with five of the seven coming since 2014. This year also yielded the 13th consecutive winning season for Ouachita, which closed out the campaign with its fifth straight win over Henderson State in 94th Annual Battle of the Ravine.

Individually, Ouachita set a new school record with a total of 19 all-conference selections. Four of those Tigers earned all-region honors, and two were recently named to All-America teams.

The future looks bright for the Tigers with 36 of the 46 names listed on the two-deep depth chart set to return for the 2022 season.

Ferris State is the unanimous No. 1 pick in the final top 25 poll. The win over Valdosta State this past Saturday gave the Bulldogs their first NCAA Division II national title. Harding was the only other Great American Conference school to earn a spot in the poll. The Bisons are ranked No. 10 after finishing the season 11-2, losing in the second round of the playoffs.

Ouachita is one of just three non-playoff teams be ranked in the final top 25 poll.