Through games of Oct. 16, 2021:
| Rank | School (No. 1 votes) | W-L | Points | Prev. |
| 1 | North Central (Ill.) (17) | 6-0 | 612 | 1 |
| 2 | Mary Hardin-Baylor (7) | 6-0 | 594 | 2 |
| 3 | UW-Whitewater | 6-0 | 580 | 3 |
| 4 | Mount Union (1) | 6-0 | 564 | 4 |
| 5 | St. John's | 6-0 | 505 | 5 |
| 6 | Wheaton (Ill.) | 5-1 | 496 | 6 |
| 7 | Linfield | 5-0 | 466 | 7 |
| 8 | Hardin-Simmons | 5-1 | 424 | 8 |
| 9 | Delaware Valley | 6-0 | 413 | 9 |
| 10 | Central | 6-0 | 383 | 10 |
| 11 | Washington and Jefferson | 6-0 | 334 | 12 |
| 12 | Salisbury | 4-1 | 313 | 13 |
| 13 | Union | 6-0 | 306 | 15 |
| 14 | UW-La Crosse | 5-1 | 305 | 11 |
| 15 | Bethel | 5-1 | 278 | 16 |
| 16 | Ithaca | 6-0 | 260 | 17 |
| 17 | Cortland | 6-0 | 216 | 19 |
| 18 | Muhlenberg | 5-1 | 212 | 21 |
| 19 | Susquehanna | 6-0 | 160 | 20 |
| 20 | Johns Hopkins | 5-1 | 108 | 14 |
| 21 | Trinity (Texas) | 5-0 | 95 | 23 |
| 22 | Birmingham-Southern | 6-0 | 84 | 24 |
| 23 | UW-Oshkosh | 3-2 | 79 | 18 |
| 24 | John Carroll | 4-2 | 74 | 22 |
| 25 | Baldwin Wallace | 5-1 | 71 | 25 |
Dropped out: None.
Others receiving votes: Hobart 51; Whitworth 30; Howard Payne 28; Chapman 21; Randolph-Macon 18; Huntingdon 12; UW-Stout 12; Aurora 7; Trinity (Conn.) 5; Merchant Marine 5; UW-River Falls 4; RPI 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.