The 3-week Conference Poll voting has completed and we have ties!
Jumping out at us immediately is the lockup between the Big 12 Kansas State Wildcats and the Kansas Jayhawks. They finish voting knotted up for fourth place.
Fourth place is the final spot in the Helmet Bowl III Conference Championship brackets. Leading the Big 12 are 1. Iowa State Cyclones 2. Texas Longhorns 3. West Virginia Mountaineers.
What now?
Thursday around noon we will launch a 24-hour tie-breaker poll for each of the ties.
Winner advances. Loser goes home.
Watch our account @helmetracker
Monday, we launch the Conference Championship brackets. Each one-on-one match-up lasts one week. The Championship brackets launch on Monday October 14 and we crown the Conference Champoinships October 21.
No Conference Three-peats for 3
Three of the 12 double Conference Champions – winners of their Conference in Helmet Bowl I and Helmet Bowl II, will not three-peat.
Mississippi Valley State Delta Devils – Southwestern Athletic Conference
The Delta Devils finish seventh and do not qualify for the Conference Championship bracket.
The Arkansas Pine-Bluff Lions win with two more votes than the loud and plain purple helmet of the Prairie View A&M Panthers. Rounding out the bracket will be the Southern University and A&M Jaguars and the Alcorn State Braves.
Valdosta State Blazers (GA) – Gulf South
The Blazers just could not muster this year, The #1 seed West Florida Argonauts are a force to contend with. Can the #2 North Greenville Crusaders swat away the West Alabama Tigers and build momentum. Could the Shorter Hawks, which surged this week to gain fourth-place from the Delta State Statesmen, surprise the Helmet Bowl world?
Idaho State Bengals (OR) – Big Sky
The Bengals' helmet is a gem and we are sorry to see it go. Though Idaho State moved the needle a bit after last week's update, it wasn't enough to get past 7th place. Ugh.
Seeds here:
- Montana State Bobcats
- Eastern Washington Eagles
- Sacramento State Hornets
- Montana Grizzlies
Three-peat possibilities
New Jersey Lions – New Jersey Athletic Conference
The Lions will be seeded 2nd, but will struggle unless they can drum up voting. The William Paterson Pioneers coasted into the #1 Seed. In this strong voting conference, the Kean Cougars and Wesley Wolverines round out the bracket.
Gallaudet Bison – Eastern Collegiate Football Conference
The Helmet Bowl I National Champions begin to turn up the heat and we can't see them being beat in the Conference Championship bracket here. The bracket: Dean Bulldogs, Alfred State Pioneers, and Maritime Privateers.
Ottawa Braves – Kansas Collegiate Athletic
The Braves more than doubled the second place Bethany Bison in open poll voting with strong third-week voting. The Sterling Warriors and Bethel Threshers hold on to sneak into the bracket.
Oregon Ducks – Pac 12
The Buffs closed the gap to two votes, but ended up in second to the Ducks in hard-fought voting. The Stanford Cardinals and Oregon State Beavers round out the bracket. The Washington State Cougars miss the bracket by ONE VOTE.
Northwest Missouri Bearcats – Mid-America Intercollegiate
The Bearcats win the #1 seed easily, but watch this closely as the Nebraska Karney Lopers moved from a lagging fourth place to finish second. Also in, the formindable Central Missouri Mules and Northeastern State RiverHawks.
College of Idaho Coyotes – Frontier
The Yotes finish with two-times the votes than second place Bulldogs of Montana Western. Southern Oregon Raiders, and YEAH! the Eastern Oregon Mountaineers bring their diagonally designed helmet into the bracket.
Finlandia Lions – Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association
We love this bracket – great helmets, all. The Lions are seeded #1, followed by the unique Alma Scots helmet. The Hope Flying Dutchmen (with an oddly placed anchor) and the Kalamazoo Hornets round out the top four. If the winner of the MIAA wants an automatic bid into the National Championship, voting must increase dramatically here.
Misericordia Cougars – Middle Atlantic Conference
The Fairleigh Dickinson Devils drive votes to the #1 seed but the defending Cougars closed the gap this week for #2. In third and fourth: the Alvernia Golden Wolves and Lebanon Valley Flying Dutchmen.
Kennesaw State Owls (GA) – Big South
The Owls squeaked into the #1 seed by just 2 votes over the behind the Garner-Webb Runnin’ Bulldogs. The Campbell Fighting Camels and Charleston Southern Buccaneers qualify.
TOP TEN
Falling out of the TOP TEN Conferences with the most votes are: The American Athletic Conference (now 12th), and the Missouri Valley Football Conference (now 11th).
Entering the TOP TEN Conferences with the most votes are: the Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic (6th), and the Centennial Conference (10th).
Bottom TWENTY
So important. When Conference Champjionship brackets launch Monday, we start keeping track of the number of votes that each team tallies. The top 60 Conference Champions gain an automatic bid into the Helmet Bowl National Championship Bracket of 64. That leaves out possibly 20 Conference Champions. If your team is in one of these two charts, you are in danger of celebrating your Conference Championship, then going home.
The bottom TEN Conferences with the least votes are:
| Great Northwest Athletic Conference (NCAA II) |
| USA South Athletic Conference (NCAA III) |
| North Coast Athletic Conference (NCAA III) |
| Northwest Conference (NCAA III) |
| Presidents' Athletic Conference (NCAA III) |
| Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (NCAA III) |
| Great Plains Athletic Conference (NAIA 1) 2019 |
| Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference |
| Old Dominion Athletic Conference 2019 |
| Heart of America Athletic Conference (NAIA 1) |
| Upper Midwest Athletic Conference (NCAA III) |
| Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference (NCAA II) |
| Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (NCAA II) |
| Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference (NCAA II) |
| Northeast-10 Conference (NCAA II) |
| Mid-South Conference (NAIA 1) |
| North Star Athletic Association (NAIA 1) |
| Sooner Athletic Conference (NAIA) |
| Kansas Collegiate Athletic Conference (NAIA 1) 2019 11 teams |
| Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (NCAA II) 2019 |