NC State, Missouri and Virginia Tech move into top five of NWCA Div. I Coaches Poll

Manheim, Pa. – In a wild weekend which saw two top five teams beaten in dual meet action, N.C. State, Missouri and Virginia Tech have moved into the top five of the USA Today/NWCA Division I Coaches Poll released on Tuesday.

Penn State (5-0) remains a unanimous No. 1 after trouncing then No. 15 Wisconsin in front of nearly 13,000 fans at the Bryce Jordan Center. Iowa (8-0) registered a strong 29-6 win over Rutgers to stay at No. 2. Rutgers (10-2) would rebound and defeat No. 4 Nebraska 17-16 on criteria two days later.

N.C. State (10-0) remained unbeaten with a neutral-site win over provisional Division I program Grand Canyon.

Missouri (4-0) moved into the No. 4 spot after wins over Ohio State and Ohio. Coach Brian Smith’s squad has won 32 straight duals. The Tigers were the nation’s lone unbeaten dual team in 2014-15, finishing the season 24-0. Ohio State (3-1) slid three spots to No. 6. Idle Virginia Tech moved up to No. 5.

Oklahoma State (3-2) made a strong statement with a 37-3 victory over then-No. 7 Oklahoma in the first of two Bedlam duals this season. The Cowboys moved up to No. 7, while the Sooners dropped one spot to No. 8. Rutgers' victory over Nebraska pushed the Scarlet Knights up two spots to No. 9, while Nebraska slid six spots to No. 10.

Two new teams enter the Top 25 for the first time this season. Pittsburgh (5-1) became the fourth ACC team to enter the rankings after weekend wins over Edinboro and then No. 15 Wisconsin. The Panthers enter the poll at No. 20.

Indiana (4-0) makes its first appearance in the Top 25 in years as the Hoosiers were propelled by a 19-18 road victory over then-No. 17 Minnesota. The win was Indiana’s first Big Ten road victory since 2010. The Hoosiers also picked up wins over Division III Manchester and Eastern Michigan, which was receiving votes in last week’s coaches poll.

Indiana becomes the 10th Big Ten team included in this week’s poll.

Wisconsin (1-2) lost a pair of weekend duals and fell out of the Top 25, while Oregon State (2-3) also fell out of the rankings.

NOTE: The December 22 Coaches Poll will be the last of the 2015 calendar year, so there will be no poll on December 29 due to inactivity over the holiday break. The first rankings of the 2016 calendar year will be released on January 5.

Rank	Team (First)	Record	Points	Conference	Previous
1	Penn State (12)	5-0	300	Big Ten	1
2	Iowa	8-0	288	Big Ten	2
3	N.C. State	10-0	267	ACC	5
4	Missouri	4-0	263	MAC	8
5	Virginia Tech	3-1	251	ACC	6
6	Ohio State	3-1	240	Big Ten	3
7	Oklahoma State	3-2	234	Big 12	9
8	Oklahoma	5-1	204	Big 12	7
9	Rutgers	10-2	201	Big Ten	11
10	Nebraska	6-1	200	Big Ten	4
11	Illinois	8-0	173	Big Ten	12
12	Michigan	3-1	172	Big Ten	10
13	Lehigh	6-1	166	EIWA	13
14	Cornell	1-2	139	EIWA	14
15	North Carolina	6-1	130	ACC	16
16	Virginia	4-2	101	ACC	18
17	Central Michigan	4-0	98	MAC	20
18	Iowa State	3-2	89	Big 12	19
19	Purdue	5-1	63	Big Ten	24
20	Pittsburgh	5-1	60	ACC	NR
21	Ohio	3-1	51	MAC	21
22	Indiana	4-0	45	Big Ten	NR
23	Minnesota	4-5	43	Big Ten	17
24	Old Dominion	2-2	34	MAC	22
25	West Virginia	5-2	29	Big 12	25