The Muhlenberg football team inched up a spot to No. 16 in both Division III polls this week.

The 7-1 Mules were ranked as high as eighth earlier in the season but fell to No. 24 following a 42-35 loss to Ursinus in the third game. They have been rising back up steadily as they have reeled off five wins in a row, most notably a 21-6 defeat of Johns Hopkins, at the time ranked 11th by the American Football Coaches Association and 14th by D3football.com.

Muhlenberg has appeared in 25 consecutive D3football.com polls: The Mules entered the top 25 in the final regular-season ranking of 2018 and were ranked ninth in the final poll. The remained in the top 25 for all 13 polls of 2019 (preseason, regular season and final) and have been in every poll this year.

Muhlenberg is the highest ranked of the three Centennial Conference teams that are tied for first place with two weeks to go in the regular season. Johns Hopkins is ranked 17th by D3football.com and 18th by the AFCA, while Susquehanna is ranked 25th by D3football.com and sits just outside the AFCA top 25.

The Mules travel to Susquehanna on Saturday for a big matchup that will go a long way to determining the CC champion and the league's automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament. The Mules are the only one of the three teams that doesn't need help: If they win their final two regular-season games, they will clinch at least a share of the CC title and earn their third consecutive NCAA berth.

In the NCAA statistical rankings, Muhlenberg has once again established itself as one of the strongest defensive teams in Division III. The Mules are in the top 20 in the country in fewest first downs allowed (eighth), tackles for loss (eighth), sacks (ninth), interceptions (11th), blocked kicks (12th), red zone defense (13th), rushing defense (17th) and turnovers gained (19th). The offense, for its part, ranks seventh in completion percentage, 13th in passing yards and 14th in passing efficiency.