Sports
Northwest Ranked 3rd in Sporting News Preseason Football Poll
Courtesy of Northwest Sports Information
Northwest Mississippi Community College is ranked third in the Sporting News 2016 College Football Preview magazine.
Compiled by junior college sportswriter Tony Jimenez and on newsstands nationwide, the Sporting News’ Top 25 preseason rankings considered all 138 of the nation’s two-year schools that feature football programs. Along with the 68 junior colleges affiliated with the NJCAA, the preseason poll also included the 70 members of the California Community College Athletic Association (CCCAA).
Snow College (10-1) is preseason No. 1, followed by City College of San Francisco (12-1), 10-time CCCAA national champions, at No. 2 and Northwest at No. 3.
Northwest, the defending NJCAA national champions, finished 11-1 last season with an unprecedented six wins over nationally-ranked opponents. Their 66-13 triumph over 2nd-ranked Rochester helped the Rangers claim their third national title in program history and first since 1992. They also won their ninth MACJC Championship en route to the title.
Fellow MACJC schools East Mississippi (No. 4), Mississippi Gulf Coast (No. 6) and Copiah-Lincoln (No. 11) are all ranked in the top 11 in the country in the nation’s toughest conference.
Northwest will kick off the 2016 season on Thursday, Sept. 1 at Hinds.
Sporting News College Football Preview Top 25:
1. Snow College (Utah), 10-1
2. City College of San Francisco, 12-1
3. Northwest Mississippi, 11-1
4. East Mississippi, 8-1
5. Iowa Western, 10-2
6. Mississippi Gulf Coast, 8-2
7. Riverside (Calif.), 8-3
8. Trinity Valley (Texas), 7-3
9. Butler (Kan.), 9-2
10. Butte (Calif.), 6-5
11. Copiah-Lincoln, 7-2
12. Long Beach City (Calif.), 10-2
13. Lackawanna (Pa.), 8-2
14. Saddleback (Calif.), 10-3
15. Cerritos (Calif.), 8-3
16. Mt. San Antonio (Calif.), 8-3
17. College of DuPage, 8-2
18. Ventura (Calif.), 8-3
19. Navarro (Texas), 7-4
20. Dodge City (Kan.), 9-3
21. Georgia Military, 8-4
22. Tyler (Texas), 7-3
23. Fullerton (Calif.), 6-5
24. Arizona Western, 7-4
25. Coffeyville (Kan.), 8-3
Courtesy of Northwest Sports Information
| Mon, Nov 4 |  | vs Long Island University | W, 90-60 |
| Fri, Nov 8 |  | vs Grambling | W, 66-64 |
| Tue, Nov 12 |  | vs South Alabama | W, 64-54 |
| Sat, Nov 16 |  | vs Colorado State | W, 84-69 |
| Thu, Nov 21 |  | vs Oral Roberts | L, 100-68 |
| Thu, Nov 28 |  | vs BYU | W, 96-85 OT |
| Fri, Nov 29 |  | vs 13 Purdue | L, 80-78 |
| Tue, Dec 3 |  | @ Louisville | W, 86-63 |
| Sat, Dec 7 |  | vs Lindenwood | W, 86-53 |
| Sat, Dec 14 |  | vs Southern Miss | W, 77-46 |
| Tue, Dec 17 |  | vs Southern | W, 74-61 |
| Sat, Dec 21 |  | vs Queens University | W, 80-62 |
| Sat, Dec 28 |  | @ Memphis | L, 87-70 |
| Sat, Jan 4 |  | vs Georgia | W, 63-51 |
| Wed, Jan 8 |  | @ 23 Arkansas | W, 73-66 |
| Sat, Jan 11 |  | vs LSU | W, 77-65 |
| Tue, Jan 14 |  | @ 5 Alabama | W, 74-64 |
| Sat, Jan 18 |  | @ 17 Mississippi State | L, 81-84 |
| Wed, Jan 22 |  | vs 13 Texas A&M | L, 62-63 |
| Sat, Jan 25 |  | @ Missouri | L, 83-75 |
| Wed, Jan 29 |  | vs Texas | W, 72-69 |
| Sat, Feb 1 |  | vs 2 Auburn | L, 92-82 |
| Tue, Feb 4 |  | vs 10 Kentucky | W, 98-84 |
| Sat, Feb 8 | | @ LSU | 7:30 PM SECN |
| Wed, Feb 12 |  | @ South Carolina | 6:00 PM SECN |
| Sat, Feb 15 | | vs 17 Mississippi State | 5:00 PM TBA |
| Sat, Feb 22 |  | @ Vanderbilt | 2:30 PM SECN |
| Wed, Feb 26 | | @ 2 Auburn | 6:00 PM TBA |
| Sat, Mar 1 |  | vs 12 Oklahoma | 1:00 PM TBA |
| Wed, Mar 5 |  | vs 1 Tennessee | 8:00 PM TBA |
| Sat, Mar 8 |  | @ 6 Florida | 5:00 PM SECN |