SPARTANBURG, S.C. — Six games between teams ranked in the top 25 led to a shake-up of the FCS Coaches’ Poll this week, including three new teams entering the rankings.
For the first time in four weeks, North Dakota State was not the unanimous No. 1, as Towson stole one first-place vote from the Bison. NDSU received 649 points and 25 first-place votes following its 24-23 victory against UNI on Saturday. Towson’s 44-28 win against last week’s No. 18, New Hampshire, was convincing enough to give the Tigers a No. 1 vote and 623 points this week.
Sam Houston State remains in the third spot with 600 points after its bye week, while Eastern Illinois moved to No. 4 following a bye week of its own. UNI dropped one spot after dropping the one-point decision to North Dakota State.
Coastal Carolina (521), Montana State (502) and Eastern Washington (448) remained at spots 6 through 8, while Fordham (418) debuts in the top 10 at No. 9 after dropping last week’s No. 10, Lehigh, 52-34. Montana closed out the top 10 after the Grizzlies received 417 points.
McNeese State moved forward three spots following its convincing 59-28 win against Central Arkansas, which was ranked 11th last week. Wofford (319) and Bethune-Cookman (315) each jumped three positions in the poll to No. 12 and No. 13, respectively, after wins on Saturday. Lehigh fell five spots to 15th, receiving 284 points.
Villanova, Youngstown State and Maine moved inside the top 20 after being ranked No. 20, No. 22 and No. 23, respectively, last week. The Wildcats are No. 15 with 248 points, followed by Youngstown State’s 219 points. Maine jumped six spots to No. 17 after a 62-28 win against Delaware, which was ranked No. 25 a week ago.
South Dakota State, James Madison and Central Arkansas round out the top 20. Northern Arizona and New Hampshire each dropped four spots to No. 21 and No. 22, respectively, following losses during the weekend. Tennessee State, Jacksonville State and undefeated Charleston Southern finish out the top 25 after being unranked last week.
Cal Poly, Gardner-Webb and Delaware fell from the rankings after being ranked No. 19, No. 24 and No. 25, respectively, last week.
| RANK | SCHOOL (FIRST-PLACE VOTES) | RECORD | POINTS | PREVIOUS |
|---|
| 1. | North Dakota State (25) | 5-0 | 649 | 1 |
| 2. | Towson (1) | 6-0 | 623 | 2 |
| 3. | Sam Houston State | 4-1 | 600 | 3 |
| 4. | Eastern Illinois | 4-1 | 555 | 5 |
| 5. | Northern Iowa | 4-1 | 530 | 4 |
| 6. | Coastal Carolina | 5-0 | 521 | 6 |
| 7. | Montana State | 4-2 | 502 | 7 |
| 8. | Eastern Washington | 3-2 | 448 | 8 |
| 9. | Fordham | 6-0 | 418 | 13 |
| 10. | Montana | 4-1 | 417 | 12 |
| 11. | McNeese State | 5-1 | 393 | 14 |
| 12. | Wofford | 3-2 | 319 | 15 |
| 13. | Bethune-Cookman | 4-1 | 315 | 16 |
| 14. | Lehigh | 4-1 | 284 | 10 |
| 15. | Villanova | 3-2 | 248 | 20 |
| 16. | Youngstown State | 5-1 | 219 | 22 |
| 17. | Maine | 5-1 | 215 | 23 |
| 18. | South Dakota State | 3-3 | 211 | 9 |
| 19. | James Madison | 4-2 | 210 | 21 |
| 20. | Central Arkansas | 2-3 | 158 | 11 |
| 21. | Northern Arizona | 3-2 | 107 | 17 |
| 22. | New Hampshire | 1-3 | 77 | 18 |
| 23. | Tennessee State | 5-1 | 76 | NR |
| 24. | Jacksonville State | 5-1 | 66 | NR |
| 25. | Charleston Southern | 6-0 | 60 | NR |
Dropped out: No. 19 Cal Poly, No. 24 Gardner-Webb, No. 25 Delaware.
Others receiving votes: Gardner-Webb 35, Harvard 31, Cal Poly 29, South Carolina State 22, Samford 15, Yale 12, Southern Utah 7, William & Mary 7, Richmond 7, Delaware 6, Tennessee-Martin 5, Chattanooga 4, Murray State 4, Sacred Heart 3, Alabama 2, Jackson State 1, Southern Illinois 1, Alcorn State 1, Stephen F. Austin 1
