For the first time in the 76 years it has sponsored intercollegiate football, the University of Minnesota Duluth has cracked the top eight in a national football poll.

The Bulldogs accomplished that feat today when they found themselves sharing the No. 6 position (with California University of Pennsylvania) in the American Football Coaches Association Division II Coaches' Poll. UMD, which at 8-0 is one of just six remaining unbeaten NCAA II teams in the country, moved up three spots from last week after upending St. Cloud State University 38-21 on the road this past Saturday. The D2football.com poll, meanwhile, had the Bulldogs ranked ninth for the third week in a row.

Prior to this week, the highest ranking the Bulldogs had ever reached in a national poll was a No. 9 slotting on five previous occasions (in the AFCA II and d2football polls the past two weeks, in the AFCA II poll on Sept. 9, 2003 and in the NCAA II poll during both the 1981 and 1980 seasons).

UMD, which is also ranked second to Grand Valley State University (7-0) in the NCAA II Super Regional Three rankings for the the third consecutive week, will host Bemidji State University this Saturday afternoon at Malosky Stadium.

AFCA II Poll

D2Football.com Pol

NCAA II Super Regional Poll