Sam Houston coach K.C. Keeler has been talking about his team recently facing in succession what he considered to be the three best FCS teams – North Dakota State, James Madison and South Dakota State.
The description has been amended for the 2020-21 season – his Bearkats are the nation’s best team.
A day after the Bearkats beat South Dakota State 23-21 to capture their first FCS national championship, they were voted a unanimous No. 1 in the Stats Perform FCS Top 25 on Monday.
Their 10-0 season was cemented by Eric Schmid’s 10-yard touchdown pass to Ify Adeyi with 16 seconds remaining, which gave Sam Houston the title and a seventh win over a nationally ranked opponent.
“You would think for us going into the last drive of the season for a national championship, there would have been some panic on the sideline,” Keeler said. “There was resolve.”
In completing a season that was delayed by the COVID-19 pandemic last fall, Sam Houston became the second Southland Conference team to win the FCS title, joining Northeast Louisiana in 1987. The Huntsville, Texas, university is leaving the conference this summer to become a Western Athletic Conference member.
South Dakota State was second in the national media poll followed by national semifinalists James Madison and Delaware. The Missouri Valley and CAA led conferences with five selections each.
A national panel selects the Stats Perform FCS Top 25, which this spring included only schools that committed to playing a regular schedule. A first-place vote is worth 25 points, a second-place vote 24 points, all the way down to one point for a 25th-place vote.
STATS PERFORM FCS TOP 25 (MAY 17)
1. Sam Houston (10-0, 6-0 Southland), 1,000 points (40 first-place votes)
Previous Ranking: 4; Postseason Results: 21-15 win over Monmouth; 24-20 win over North Dakota State; 38-35 win over James Madison; 23-21 win over South Dakota State
2. South Dakota State (8-2, 5-1 Missouri Valley), 958
Previous Ranking: 2; Postseason Results: 31-3 win over Holy Cross; 31-26 win over Southern Illinois; 33-3 win over Delaware; 23-21 loss to Sam Houston
3. James Madison (7-1, 3-0 CAA), 918
Previous Ranking: 1; Postseason Results: 31-24 win over VMI; 34-21 win over North Dakota; 38-35 loss to Sam Houston
4. Delaware (7-1, 4-0 CAA), 859
Previous Ranking: 5; Postseason Results: 19-10 win over Sacred Heart; 20-14 win over Jacksonville State; 33-3 loss to South Dakota State
5. North Dakota State (7-3, 5-2 Missouri Valley), 827
Previous Ranking: 6; Postseason Results: 42-20 win over Eastern Washington; 24-20 loss to Sam Houston
6. North Dakota (5-2, 4-1 Missouri Valley), 783
Previous Ranking: 7; Postseason Results: 44-10 win over Missouri State; 34-21 loss to James Madison
7. Jacksonville State (10-3, 6-1 Ohio Valley), 732
Previous Ranking: 8; Postseason Results: 49-14 win over Davidson; 20-14 loss to Delaware
8. Southern Illinois (6-4, 3-3 Missouri Valley), 706
Previous Ranking: 14; Postseason Results: 34-31 win over Weber State; 31-26 loss to South Dakota State
9. Weber State (5-1, 5-0 Big Sky), 705
Previous Ranking: 3; Postseason Result: 34-31 loss to Southern Illinois
10. Eastern Washington (5-2, 5-1 Big Sky), 630
Previous Ranking: 9; Postseason Result: 42-20 loss to North Dakota State
11. Monmouth (3-1, 3-0 Big South), 606
Previous Ranking: 10; Postseason Result: 21-15 loss to Sam Houston
12. VMI (6-2, 6-1 Southern), 572
Previous Ranking: 11; Postseason Result: 31-24 loss to James Madison
13. Missouri State (5-5, 5-1 Missouri Valley), 503
Previous Ranking: 12; Postseason Result: 44-10 loss to North Dakota
14. UC Davis (3-2 Big Sky), 405
Previous Ranking: 13; Postseason Result: No game
15. Richmond (3-1 CAA), 402
Previous Ranking: 15; Postseason Result: No game
16. Villanova (2-2 CAA), 356
Previous Ranking: 16; Postseason Result: No game
17. Kennesaw State (4-1, 2-1 Big South), 345
Previous Ranking: 17; Postseason Result: No game
18.(tie) Murray State (5-2 Ohio Valley), 247
Previous Ranking: 19; Postseason Result: No game
18.(tie) Rhode Island (2-1 CAA), 247
Previous Ranking: 18; Postseason Result: No game
20. Southeastern Louisiana (4-3 Southland), 223
Previous Ranking: 20; Postseason Result: No game
21. ETSU (4-2 Southern), 155
Previous Ranking: 22; Postseason Result: No game
22. Sacred Heart (3-2, 3-1 Northeast), 154
Previous Ranking: Unranked; Postseason Result: 19-10 loss to Delaware
23. Austin Peay (4-5, 4-2 Ohio Valley), 153
Previous Ranking: 21; Postseason Result: No game
24. Alabama A&M (5-0, 3-0 SWAC), 152
Previous Ranking: Unranked; Postseason Result: 40-33 win over Arkansas-Pine Bluff
25. Nicholls (4-3, 3-3 Southland), 110
Previous Ranking: 23; Postseason Result: No game
Dropped Out: Arkansas-Pine Bluff (24), Northern Iowa (25)
Others Receiving Votes (schools listed on two or more ballots): Holy Cross 64, Northern Iowa 59, Davidson 31, Arkansas-Pine Bluff 30, Southern 19, Samford 16, Maine 12, Duquesne 8, UIW 3