TOP 25 DIVISION II

Team/'94 Record/'95 Projection/The Skinny

1. North Alabama 13-1 10-0
Back-to-back champs have 19 starters coming back

2. North Dakota State 9-3 10-1
Bison lead all Division II schools with eight national titles

3. Indiana of Pennsylvania 10-3 10-1
Dennis Robinson ran for 100 yards in 10 straight games last fall

4. Texas A&M-Kingsville 12-2 9-1
The Javelinas scored 48 rushing touchdowns in '94

5. Pittsburg State 10-1 10-0
Offense in good hands: Jeff Moreland is a nursing major

6. Ferris State 11-1 9-1
The Bulldogs have won 29 consecutive regular-season games

7. Portland State 9-3 8-3
The Vikings are moving up to Division I-AA in '96

8. Norfolk State 7-3 9-1
Aaron (Airin') Sparrow threw for 3,212 yards in '94

9. Carson-Newman 8-3 9-1
The Eagles have made the playoffs the last nine years

10. Albany State 10-2 10-1
In '94 Sultan Cooper was the division's third-rated passer

11. Mankato State 7-4 9-2
Quarterback John Hebgen catches for the baseball team

12. Northeast Missouri State 8-3 10-1
Jarrett Anderson runs a lot like Barry Sanders

13. Grand Valley State 8-4 9-2
QB III: The Lakers retain a trio of veteran quarterbacks

14. Missouri Southern 5-5 8-2
The Lions were 5-0 at home and 0-5 on road in '94

15. West Georgia 7-3 8-2
In '94 Chad Walker caught 25 passes, 12 for touchdowns

16. Bloomsburg 8-3 9-2
Mike Johnson-led ground attack averaged 189 yards per game

17. New Haven 7-3 8-2
Scoring average dropped from 54.7 points a game in '93 to 32.9

18. Edinboro 7-3 8-2
All five starters on the offensive line return this season

19. North Dakota 10-3 7-3
The Fighting Sioux beat rival North Dakota State twice last year

20. Central Arkansas 8-2 9-2
Big up front: The Bear offensive line averages 292 pounds

21. Saginaw Valley 6-4 8-2
Intimidated? The Cardinal coach is named Jerry Kill

22. Eastern New Mexico 6-4-1 8-3
Conrad Hamilton led or tied for team lead in six D categories

23. Angelo State 6-5 7-3
The Rams were last in their conference in rushing in '94

24. Western State 8-3 8-2
Won Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference in '91, '92 and '94

25. Bentley 11-0 10-0
The division's top-rated D allowed six points per game in '94

COLOR PHOTO: DAVID LIAM KYLE [football player with rankings of top 25 Division II teams superimposed over him]