FLORENCE — The North Alabama football team dropped significantly in one poll Monday but did not fall very far in the most important one.

UNA (6-2, 0-2 GSC) fell from No. 5 to No. 17 in the latest American Football Coaches Association Division II poll. The Lions, though, dropped only two spots, from No. 2 to No. 4, in the latest Super Region 2 rankings.

The regional rankings determine which teams qualify for the Division II playoffs. The top six teams in each of the four regions earn postseason bids. If the playoffs started this week, UNA would be hosting the No. 5 seed in a first-round game.

While remaining in the top four was good news for UNA, coach Terry Bowden said he is not concerned with the rankings right now was the Lions prepare for Saturday’s key matchup against West Georgia (5-3, 1-1).

“Our focus just has to be on West Georgia,” Bowden said. “We need to have a great plan and play with great emotion and just focus on playing our best football and beating West Georgia.

“It’s just the way people think around here I guess, but from Day 1 everything is related to the playoffs. The nature of the playoffs is that it is not a one-game process. We need to come out and have a good plan and a good effort against West Georgia and the playoff thing will take care of itself.”

Delta State remained the No. 1 team in the region, followed by Mars Hill and West Alabama. North Greenville is No. 5 and Valdosta State fell to No. 6 after it’s 23-20 loss to West Georgia.

If the Lions get past West Georgia on Saturday then the regular-season finale against Valdosta State on Nov. 12 would likely determine which team makes the playoffs.

Bowden said he expects his team to bounce back after the back-to-back losses.

“I told our guys not to get discouraged and to keep your heads up,” he said. “They have to remember that Saturday 50 percent of every football player and coach lost. Everybody has to recover and we have to do the same thing. The main thing right now is pull together and improve as a team.”

West Georgia has shown significant improvement this year, as evidenced by last week’s victory over Valdosta State. Bowden expects Saturday’s game to be much like most of the other close games the Lions have played this season.

“We have been in a lot of close games this year because we have a team that has to fight and scratch and find a way to win,” he said. “In the first six weeks, we did it about the way we lost the last two, but we found a way to win at the end. We didn’t get it done the last two weeks.

“We’re going to face two more games and they will probably be the exact same way. That’s the kind of team we have. We have to continue to fight hard for everything.”