BALTIMORE, MD - The Johns Hopkins football team, which has won its first three games of the season, is ranked 12th in this week's American Football Coaches Association (AFCA) Division III Poll. This is the first AFCA Poll of the 2014 season and the Blue Jays earned 591 points to claim the #12 spot. The AFCA Poll debuts early each season and this is the highest Johns Hopkins has ever been ranked in the first poll of the season. Johns Hopkins is also ranked 14th in this week's D3football.com Poll.

The AFCA Poll, which the Johns Hopkins Athletic Communications office uses to reflect JHU's official national ranking, is headed by defending national champion Wisconsin-Whitewater, which earned 36 first-place votes and totaled 1,041 points to earn the top spot. Mary Hardin-Baylor grabbed two first-place votes and 988 points to rank second, while Mount Union earned the final four first-place votes and 986 points to rank third. Wesley (889 points) and North Central (883) round out the top five.

Johns Hopkins (3-0, 2-0 Centennial Conference) is ranked in the top 20 by the AFCA for the 30th consecutive week. The #12 ranking is the highest initial ranking in school history, topping JHU's #13 ranking in the first AFCA poll of the 2013 season.

Johns Hopkins will put its three-game season-opening, 14-game regular-season and 18-game September winning streaks on the line this Saturday when the Blue Jays travel to Allentown, Pennsylvania to take on 23rd-ranked Muhlenberg (3-0, 2-0). This week's Johns Hopkins-Muhlenberg game is the only game in the nation that will feature two nationally-ranked teams. Muhlenberg leads the all-time series 23-22-1, although Johns Hopkins has won three straight and four of the last five head-to-head matchups.

AFCA Division III Coaches Poll (9-22-2014)
1. Wisconsin-Whitewater (36) 3-0 • 1,041 points
2. Mary Hardin-Baylor (2) 3-0 • 988
3. Mount Union (OH) (4) 2-0 • 986
4. Wesley (DE) 3-0 • 889
5. North Central (IL) 2-0 • 883
6. Linfield (OR) 2-0 • 808
7. St. John Fisher (NY) 2-0 • 685
8. John Carroll (OH) 2-0 • 656
9. Wartburg (IA) 3-0 • 637
10. St. Thomas (MN) 2-0 • 636
11. Hobart (NY) 3-0 • 596
12. Johns Hopkins 3-0 • 591
13. Wabash (IN) 2-0 • 550
14. Wheaton (IL) 3-0 • 453
15. Ithaca (NY) 2-0 • 355
16. Wisconsin-Platteville 2-1 • 296
17. Pacific Lutheran (WA) 1-0 • 278
18. Widener (PA) 3-0 • 277
19. Concordia-Moorhead (MN) 3-0 • 266
20. Bethel (MN) 1-1 • 221
21. Texas Lutheran 3-0 • 206
22. Wittenberg (OH) 1-1 • 197
23. Muhlenberg (PA) 3-0 • 181
24. Washington & Jefferson (PA) 3-0 • 174
25. Thomas More (KY) 2-1 • 165

- Pride and Poise -