Programs have eyes on Dirty 30 title

The 2020-21 regular football season is finally finished and a handful of programs remain in the hunt for the 16th JCGridiron Dirty 30 title. The NJCAA title game on June 5th should have a lot to say about which program holds the title of national champion.

When all is said and done, the 2020-21 season has arguably been the wildest ride we have ever seen. With teams starting play in late August and playing through the spring, a nine month season is what the doctors ordered and we have been right there with the teams to experience it.

Unless there is some sort of late curveball, it seems as if Hutchinson and Snow will play for the NJCAA title on June 5. They were the two top-ranked programs from the NJCAA a week ago and none of the top three programs played a game this past weekend.

Having said that, Hutchinson enters the final game as the top-ranked team in the JCGridiron Dirty 30 Rankings followed by Northwest (2), Snow (3) and Cisco (4). A win by Hutch in the final game would likely give them the title, but a slip could create a tangled mess. Northwest finished playing in December and has spent the majority of the spring as the top-ranked team in the country. A Mississippi title is an impressive thing, but a lack of games due to the Coronavirus is their main obstacle. Snow has had a season of long travel, making three separate trips to Iowa and a long journey to Pennsylvania along the way. Cisco was arguably the feel-good story of the year, winning the Southwest JCFC title and going undefeated.

The rest of the country finished up play this weekend with Iowa Western shaking off an early-season loss to Snow to finish 7-1 after a 40-6 win over Ellsworth. Garden City played second fiddle to Hutchinson in the Jayhawk Conference and defeated Butler on Sunday (52-40) to finish 7-1.

No. 17 Iowa Central will play No. 15 New Mexico in the Graphic Edge Bowl in the other lone bowl game of the spring on Saturday.

Here is the rest of the updated JCGridiron Dirty 30 Rankings. Just a reminder, the Dirty 30 Rankings do not include games against club teams, prep schools, non-CCCAA, non-NJCAA or non-HJCAC programs in its rankings. Most of the teams from California have been removed from the rankings as a result of not playing a fall or spring season.