The D3football.com Top 25, through games of Sunday, Sept. 5, 2021:
| Rank | School (No. 1 votes) | W-L | Points | Prev. |
| 1 | Mary Hardin-Baylor (12) | 1-0 | 594 | 1 |
| 2 | Mount Union (4) | 1-0 | 581 | 2 |
| 3 | UW-Whitewater (1) | 1-0 | 573 | 4 |
| 4 | North Central (Ill.) (4) | 0-0 | 562 | 3 |
| 5 | Wheaton (Ill.) (4) | 1-0 | 544 | 5 |
| 6 | St. John's | 1-0 | 462 | 6 |
| 7 | Hardin-Simmons | 1-0 | 431 | 7 |
| 8 | Salisbury | 1-0 | 412 | 8 |
| 9 | Muhlenberg | 1-0 | 410 | 13 |
| 10 | Delaware Valley | 1-0 | 365 | 12 |
| 11 | UW-Oshkosh | 1-0 | 349 | 9 |
| 12 | Linfield | 0-0 | 346 | 10 |
| 13 | Washington and Jefferson | 1-0 | 299 | 19 |
| 14 | Union | 1-0 | 263 | 15 |
| 15 | Wartburg | 1-0 | 233 | 18 |
| 16 | Central | 1-0 | 204 | 14 |
| 17 | Bethel | 1-0 | 195 | 16 |
| 18 | Chapman | 1-0 | 170 | 21 |
| 19 | Randolph-Macon | 1-0 | 163 | 17 |
| 20 | Brockport | 1-0 | 148 | 22 |
| 21 | Aurora | 0-1 | 142 | 23 |
| 22 | John Carroll | 0-1 | 99 | 11 |
| 23 | Heidelberg | 1-0 | 84 | 24 |
| 24 | Whitworth | 1-0 | 61 | -- |
| 25 | Johns Hopkins | 1-0 | 56 | -- |
Dropped out: No. 20 Westminster (Pa.); No. 25 Berry.
Others receiving votes: UW-La Crosse 55; Berry 49; Bridgewater (Va.) 34; Susquehanna 31; Westminster (Pa.) 29; Ithaca 28; Redlands 27; Wabash 27; Case Western Reserve 21; Hobart 16; East Texas Baptist 10; Hope 9; Centre 8; Cortland 8; Hanover 5; Middlebury 5; Hendrix 4; UW-Stevens Point 4; Western New England 4; Baldwin Wallace 2; Huntingdon 1.
The D3football.com Top 25 is voted on by a panel of 25 coaches, Sports Information Directors and media members from across the country, and is published weekly. Points are awarded on a 25-24-23-22-etc. basis.