Week 11 Spreadsheet Madness: Gallaudet’s Road to Little Rock
Gallaudet’s SCAC Championship Weekend seed hinges on NPI, with a win over Keystone and help from Alvernia offering a path to the third-place game.
Schools in this article
The Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference (SCAC) will have one of the most fascinating conference races in college football history. The league will use the NCAA’s Power Index (NPI) to place affiliate member Gallaudet in the conference standings.
As we covered in the offseason, the SCAC invited Gallaudet as a football-only member for the next two seasons. The move gave the league a sixth-team to fill out their Championship Weekend tripleheader after the departure of Schreiner.
However, this came with a caveat. Gallaudet would not play a single conference game in the regular season. Instead, the SCAC would seed them for its Championship Weekend based on their NPI at the end of November 7th.
Beginning with this week’s release of the NCAA’s first NPI rankings of 2026, we will take a look at Gallaudet’s NPI placement and games relevant to their seeding.
SCAC Standings Based on NPI
| Team | Record (SCAC) | NPI | Change From Last Week | Remaining Opponents |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Texas Lutheran | 7-1 (3-0) | 35 | +4 | Centenary |
| Hendrix | 5-3 (2-1) | 97 | -18 | Lyon |
| Lyon | 3-5 (2-1) | 158 | -19 | Hendrix |
| Centenary | 2-5 (1-2) | 199 | -13 | TLU |
| Austin | 1-6 (0-4) | 224 | -2 | N/A |
| Gallaudet | 0-5 | 241 | -1 | Keystone (NPI: 161) |
Currently, Gallaudet seems destined for the fifth-place game with the 240th-highest NPI, the second worst in Division III. They are 16 spots behind Austin, the next worst team, and 42 behind Centenary, the 4th place team.
There does not seem to be much room for growth for the Bison. Gallaudet plays in Keystone on November 7th. However, the Giants carry the 157th-best NPI.
SCAC Slate
Hendrix (#97 NPI) @ Lyon (#158 NPI)
Centenary (#199 NPI) @ Texas Lutheran (#39 NPI)
Non-Conference Games Relevant to Gallaudet’s NPI
#109 Alvernia @ #56 Delaware Valley
Keystone’s lone win came against Alvernia. Alvernia leaped 34 spots after beating #126 Albright. They also leaped 30 more spots after beating then #27 Eastern. An Alvernia win combined with Gallaudet beating Keystone could vault the Bison over Centenary and into the 3rd-place game against the loser of Lyon-Hendrix.
