EMCC takes over top spot in opening rankings

The 2018 season officially cranked up for most of the teams in the country this past weekend, which means it is time to put out our first JCGridiron.com Dirty 30 Regular Season Rankings of the year. After much anticipation, the top of the rankings look fairly familiar.

East Mississippi opened the season with a resounding win and as a result have jumped one spot into the No. 1 team in the rankings. They were No. 2 in the preseason rankings but forced a running clock in the second half of their opening game in a dominating 50-0 win over a Hinds program that finished 6-3 in 2017. Michigan State bounce-back quarterback Messiah deWeaver was off the charts, throwing for 323 yards and four touchdowns in the opening half as the Lions opened up a 43-0 lead at the break. EMCC now travels to No. 36 Pearl River on Thursday.

Riverside City College is the new No. 2 after an impressive 34-7 win over a solid El Camino program. The Tigers used a similar formula to East Mississippi in the form of a bounce-back quarterback as former Northern Arizona slinger Stone Smartt was a difficult task for the Warriors. Smartt threw for 230 yards and three scores through the air while rushing for 114 on the ground. Riverside now gets a significant test as they host two-time defending champion Fullerton, who comes in at No. 8 in the rankings.

Iowa Western started the season as the top team in the JCGridiron Dirty 30 Preseason Rankings but have dropped to No. 3 in the rankings despite starting 2-0. The Reivers defeated Coffeyville 19-6 two weeks ago and then slipped by Iowa Central 26-20 this past weekend. Iowa Western has been impressive on defense through two games, but a little sloppy on offense. The talent is there, so don’t be surprised if they get it cranked up at some point. They get a touch battle this weekend when they travel to No. 12 Hutchinson, who is coming off a big win against Independence. An impressive win against the Blue Dragons could have the Reivers back on the rise.

It’s been awhile since City College of San Francisco has been in the top-5 after winning the 2015 national title but the Rams look as if they have recovered from a two-year funk and come in at No. 4. CCSF was impressive on opening weekend, streaking past Sierra College 56-13. The Rams held the Wolverines to just 176 yards of total offense while star running back Deshawn Collins rushed for 115 yards and three touchdowns. City will now travel to No. 37 Sacramento City, who comes in smarting after an opening loss to American River.

Rounding out the top-5 is another making its first appearance in a few years in Mt. San Antonio College. The Mounties used to be a mainstay near the top of the rankings but have had to watch Fullerton grab all the glory for a couple of years. Mt. SAC seems ready for a comeback and opened with a 45-24 win over a gritty Bakersfield program. Steven Nava was 30-of-39 for 351 yards and four touchdown passes on opening day while the running game averaged 5.5 yards-per-rush on the ground. Mt. SAC has another tough test to start the season when they host No. 25 Long Beach City this weekend.

The rest of the JCGridiron.com Dirty Rankings follow. Just a reminder, JCGridiron.com does not include games against prep schools, club teams, or non-affiliated programs in the records.