Top teams starting to separate themselves

With nearly a month of football in the books, the top teams in the country have started to separate themselves from the rest of the pack. This is the latest JCGridiron Dirty 30 Rankings.

There wasn’t a ton of movement inside the top-10 this week, with a few minor adjustments. Out west, Riverside City College and City College of San Francisco enjoyed dominating wins, allowing them to move up while others such as Garden City College and Snow either struggled or played non-affiliated programs.

City College of San Francisco moved up to No. 6 with a convincing win over top-20 Modesto, 42-21. The Rams controlled the game from the outset, scoring 21 first quarter points in turning back the Pirates. Riverside City moved up two spots to No. 5 after stifling Saddleback, 33-6. The Tigers allowed just 225 yards of total offense to the Bobcats in turning a close game into a rout in the second half.

Iowa Western remains in the top spot after dismantling Ellsworth, 64-6. The Reivers now play in-state rival No. 14 Iowa Central on Sunday in what should be their toughest matchup of the season so far.

East Mississippi College was a machine on Thursday night, winning 56-3 over Mississippi Delta College. The Lions remain in the No. 2 spot and get Holmes College this Thursday.

The Jayhawk has been a bit of a mystery so far, but Garden City and Independence play this weekend in what could end up being an early title bout. Garden City dropped a couple of spots to No. 7 after struggling to a 15-6 win against Highland while Independence hammered Fort Scott (56-6) to rise four spots to No. 11. The third team in the equation is No. 13 Coffeyville, who had a bye this past weekend.

The Southwest Junior College Football Conference looks as if it could be a three-way battle between No. 12 Kilgore, No. 15 Trinity Valley and No. 23 New Mexico Military. Kilgore plays at New Mexico Military this weekend in a critical matchup.

Perennial power Lackawanna continues to drop in the rankings, falling six more spots to No. 25 in the rankings. The Falcons seem to be struggling in the passing game and the scheduling has been tough on their ranking. With non-affiliated Army JV and McDougle Tech on deck, Lackawanna is going to need to run up the score once they get a chance if they want to get themselves back in the mix.

The rest of the Dirty 30 Rankings follow. 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.