KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- Three is the magic number for the Montana Tech football team this week.
Saturday, the Orediggers used a dominant performance to top rival Montana Western for their third win of the season. Monday, the NAIA's coaches voted Montana Tech No. 3 in the latest STADIONIC top 25 poll.
It is the highest-ever ranking for the Oredigger football program.
Montana Tech was nearly flawless in Saturday's road 34-7 victory at then-No. 18 Montana Western. The Orediggers piled up nearly 500 total yards and held the Bulldogs to just seven points, the fewest allowed to the team from Dillon since a 2012 game Tech won, 43-7.
That victory came on the heels of two more impressive wins to start the season. Montana Tech bested (RV) Ottawa (Ariz.), 48-0, in the season-opener on August 27 and followed that with a 24-14 victory over then-No. 11 Carroll at home September 5.
Tech's defense ranks fifth in the NAIA in points allowed per game, and Oredigger receiver
Levi Torgerson has an NAIA-best 25 receptions through three games.
Monday's ranking established a new high-water mark for the Oredigger program when it comes to the NAIA coaches' top 25. Tech's previous best ranking was No. 4, reached in the October 20 and November 10 polls last season.
The Orediggers were the highest-ranked Frontier Conference team in the top 25, joined by No. 4 The College of Idaho, No. 15 Carroll, No. 21 Montana Western, and No. 23 Dakota State.
The defending Frontier Conference East Division champions will be at home again this weekend when Southern Oregon comes to town Saturday at a 1 p.m. contest. Montana Tech will celebrate its 2026 Hall of Fame class at a banquet Friday evening inside Valley Bank Arena and again during Saturday's game.
STADIONIC-NAIA Football Coaches' Top 25 Poll (Sept. 14)
| TREND |
RANK |
LAST |
INSTITUTION [FIRST-PLACE VOTES] |
RECORD |
| ● |
1 |
1 |
Grand View (Iowa) [13] |
3-0 |
| ● |
2 |
2 |
Keiser (Fla.) |
1-1 |
| ▲ |
3 |
5 |
Montana Tech |
3-0 |
| ● |
4 |
4 |
College of Idaho |
2-0 |
| ▲ |
5 |
6 |
Lindsey Wilson (Ky.) |
3-0 |
| ▲ |
6 |
T-9 |
Indiana Wesleyan |
3-0 |
| ▲ |
7 |
T-9 |
Friends (Kan.) |
3-0 |
| ▼ |
8 |
7 |
Morningside (Iowa) |
2-1 |
| ▼ |
9 |
3 |
Benedictine (Kan.) |
2-1 |
| ▲ |
10 |
14 |
Campbellsville (Ky.) |
3-0 |
| ▼ |
T-11 |
8 |
Dordt (Iowa) |
1-1 |
| ▲ |
T-11 |
12 |
Marian (Ind.) |
2-1 |
| ▲ |
13 |
24 |
Northwestern (Iowa) |
2-1 |
| ▲ |
14 |
16 |
St. Thomas (Fla.) |
3-0 |
| ▼ |
15 |
11 |
Carroll (Mont.) |
1-1 |
| ▼ |
16 |
15 |
Southeastern (Fla.) |
2-0 |
| ▲ |
17 |
19 |
Evangel (Mo.) |
3-0 |
| ▲ |
18 |
21 |
McPherson (Kan.) |
3-0 |
| ▲ |
T-19 |
RV |
Louisiana Christian |
3-0 |
| ▼ |
T-19 |
13 |
William Penn (Iowa) |
2-1 |
| ▼ |
21 |
18 |
Montana Western |
1-1 |
| ▲ |
22 |
RV |
Olivet Nazarene (Ill.) |
2-0 |
| ▲ |
23 |
25 |
Dakota State (S.D.) |
2-1 |
| ▲ |
T-24 |
RV |
Baker (Kan.) |
2-0 |
| ▼ |
T-24 |
20 |
Georgetown (Ky.) |
1-2 |
Dropped out of the Top 25: Reinhardt (Ga.), Saint Francis (Ind.), Southwestern (Kan.)
Receiving Votes: Cumberland (Tenn.), Cumberlands (Ky.), Kansas Wesleyan, MidAmerica Nazarene (Kan.), Midland (Neb.), Ottawa (Kan.), OUAZ (Ariz.), Pikeville (Ky.), Southwestern (Kan.), Taylor (Ind.)
Visit Montana Tech athletics' home online, GoDiggers.com, anytime for up-to-the-minute news and coverage of the Orediggers. Give Montana Tech athletics a like on Facebook, and follow the Orediggers on X and Instagram at @DiggerAthletics.
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