CSM Football Team Ranks No. 1 In Northern CA

By Fred Baer

November 5, 2025

The article below originally appeared in the San Mateo Daily Journal and is being reprinted with permission.

Defending 3C2A state champion College of San Mateo (8-1) is up from No. 4 to No. 3 this week and leads Northern California teams. The Bulldogs lead the Northern California power rankings and have, effectively, wrapped up a state playoff berth; also potentially, a first-round bye.

But the Bay 6 Conference is complicated, with three teams ranked top-10 in the state. No. 9 City College of San Francisco (7-2, 4-0) has a one-game lead over the Bulldogs for the conference title and closes at No. 7 Diablo Valley Friday night.

DVC and defending champion San Mateo are a game back at 3-1 (both 8-1 overall). CSM hosts fourth-place Laney (2-7, 1-3) Saturday at 1 p.m., still hoping to grab a share of the Bay 6 title.

Golden West takes its 6-0 Central Conference record to 10th-ranked Fullerton (7-2, 5-1), which is coming off a 19-17 loss at now No. 8 Cerritos. All could finish in a possible three-way tie for the division crown.

No. 2 Ventura has a one-game lead over fourth-ranked Mt. San Antonio (8-1, 5-1) in the Northern Conference and hosts the Mounties Saturday night. No. 5 El Camino and No. 6 Saddleback are both 8-1 and pit their perfect (6-0) Southern Conference records in a Saturday afternoon decider in Mission Viejo.

Butte (7-2), which was ranked No. 3 last week, was upset at College of the Redwoods, 22-21, in the NorCal Conference last week. That leaves four teams tied at 3-1 and meeting in head-to-head finales. Redwoods (3-6) lost its first six games this season, after moving up from the American Division. The Corsairs bring a three-game winning streak into Saturday’s league finale at American River (also 3-6), with the winner assured of a NorCal Conference co-championship. Butte finishes with a similar co-title showdown at Sierra (4-5, 3-1).

The situation in the Valley Conference is similar to the Central Conference. No. 12 Modesto (7-2) leads alone at 4-0 after formerly No. 10 College of the Sequoias was derailed last week at Fresno City College, 23-21. COS (7-2) fell to No. 14 in this week’s poll and can still obtain a co-championship with a win over Modesto. No. 15 Fresno (5-4) is also just a game back and looking at a possible 3-way deadlock.

No. 17 De Anza College (9-0) is the only unbeaten team in the American Division, which will play regional bowl games, including clashes matching the top two teams in each region.

This press release was produced by the College of San Mateo. The views expressed here are the author’s own.