The logjam atop the Southern Conference standings reflects favorably in the Stats Perform FCS Top 25.
On Monday, a trio of SoCon teams rose right outside the top 10 of the national media poll with Chattanooga ranked 11th, Mercer an all-time-best 12th and Samford 13th.
The three teams posted conference road wins on Saturday. Each is 4-1 with only a loss to an FBS opponent and 2-0 to start a competitive SoCon schedule, which could produce a different champion for the fourth consecutive season.
The SoCon’s three teams in the rankings are the most behind the big three of the Big Sky, Missouri Valley and CAA, which are represented by five teams each. North Dakota State (4-1), the defending MVFC and FCS national champion, has been No. 1-ranked since the preseason.
A national media panel selects the Stats Perform FCS Top 25. 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.
(For more on the FCS college football weekend, here are our Week 5 Takeaways)
Stats Perform FCS Top 25 (Oct. 3)
1. North Dakota State (4-1, 2-0 Missouri Valley), 1,338 points (45 first-place votes)
Previous Ranking: 1; Week 5 Result: 27-14 win over Youngstown State
2. South Dakota State (4-1, 2-0 Missouri Valley), 1,276 (3)
Previous Ranking: 2; Week 5 Result: 34-10 win over Western Illinois
3. Montana (5-0, 2-0 Big Sky), 1,256 (6)
Previous Ranking: 3; Week 5 Result: 28-20 win at Idaho State
4. Montana State (4-1, 2-0 Big Sky), 1,163
Previous Ranking: 4; Week 5 Result: 41-24 win over UC Davis
5. Sacramento State (4-0, 1-0 Big Sky), 1,146
Previous Ranking: 5; Week 5 Result: 49-21 win at Cal Poly
6. Delaware (5-0, 3-0 CAA), 1,067
Previous Ranking: 6; Week 5 Result: 24-10 win over Towson
7. Weber State (4-0, 1-0 Big Sky), 1,001
Previous Ranking: 8; Week 5 Result: No game
8. Jackson State (4-0, 2-0 SWAC), 919
Previous Ranking: 9; Week 5 Result: No game
9. Holy Cross (5-0, 1-0 Patriot), 899
Previous Ranking: 10; Week 5 Result: 30-21 win at Harvard
10. UIW (4-1, 1-1 Southland), 839
Previous Ranking: 11; Week 5 Result: 48-20 win over McNeese
11. Chattanooga (4-1, 2-0 Southern), 823
Previous Ranking: 12; Week 5 Result: 24-16 win at ETSU
12. Mercer (4-1, 2-0 Southern), 674
Previous Ranking: 13; Week 5 Result: 42-7 win at Wofford
13. Samford (4-1, 2-0 Southern), 506
Previous Ranking: 16; Week 5 Result: 34-27 win at Furman
14. Elon (4-1, 2-0 CAA), 501
Previous Ranking: 23; Week 5 Result: 30-27, 2-OT win over then-No. 17 Richmond
15. Villanova (3-2, 1-1 CAA), 494
Previous Ranking: 14; Week 5 Result: 45-20 win at Maine
16. William & Mary (4-1, 1-1 CAA), 480
Previous Ranking: 18;Week 5 Result: 27-10 win at Stony Brook
17. Southern Illinois (3-2, 2-0 Missouri Valley), 447
Previous Ranking: 19; Week 5 Result: 19-14 win at Illinois State
18. UT Martin (3-2, 2-0 Ohio Valley), 442
Previous Ranking: 15; Week 5 Result: 45-28 win over Tennessee Tech
19. Southeastern Louisiana (3-2, 1-0 Southland), 395
Previous Ranking: 21; Week 5 Result: 48-14 win over Murray State
20. Missouri State (2-3, 0-2 Missouri Valley), 376
Previous Ranking: 7; Week 5 Result: 48-31 loss at North Dakota
21. Southeast Missouri (4-1, 1-0 Ohio Valley), 324
Previous Ranking: 24; Week 5 Result: 49-28 win at Lindenwood
22. North Dakota (3-2, 2-1 Missouri Valley), 277
Previous Ranking: Not Ranked; Week 5 Result: 48-31 win over then-No. 7 Missouri State
23. Richmond (3-2, 1-1 CAA), 189
Previous Ranking: 17; Week 5 Result: 30-27, 2-OT loss to then-No. 23 Elon
24. Eastern Washington (1-3, 0-1 Big Sky), 165
Previous Ranking: 20; Week 5 Result: 52-17 loss at Florida
25. Eastern Kentucky (3-2, 3-1 ASUN-WAC), 148
Previous Ranking: 25; Week 5 Result: 35-28 win over Southern Utah
Dropped Out: Austin Peay (22)
Others Receiving Votes (schools listed on two or more ballots): Rhode Island (3-2, 1-1 CAA) 89, Fordham (4-1, 1-0 Patriot) 75, Austin Peay (4-2, 4-1 ASUN-WAC) 74, Idaho (3-2, 2-0 Big Sky) 43, New Hampshire (3-2, 3-0 CAA) 22, UC Davis (1-4, 0-2 Big Sky) 22, Monmouth (3-2, 1-1 CAA) 20, Furman (3-2, 1-1 Southern) 15, Stephen F. Austin (2-3, 1-0 ASUN-WAC) 15, Abilene Christian (4-1, 3-0 ASUN-WAC) 9, Campbell (2-2, 0-0 Big South) 5, North Carolina Central (4-1, 0-0 MEAC) 4, South Dakota (1-3, 0-1 Missouri Valley) 2
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Stats Perform FCS Top 25 Voters – Stats Perform: Craig Haley, Gary Reasons. ASUN: John Bednarowski, Brian Morgan. Big Sky Conference: Doug Kelly, Tyson Rodgers, Larry Weir. Big South Conference: Brian Cleary, Mark Simpson. CAA Football: Matt Harmon,Scott Klatzkin, Rob Washburn. Ivy League: Rick Bender, Craig Larson. Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference: Bill Hamilton, Maurice Williams. Missouri Valley Football Conference: Dom Izzo, Mike Kern, Randy Reinhardt. Northeast Conference: Sarah Boissonneault, Randy Brochu. Ohio Valley Conference: Mike Bradd, Kyle Schwartz. Patriot League: Eric Malanowski, Ryan Sakamoto. Pioneer Football League: Cody Bush, Jack Cronin. Southern Conference: Scott Keeler, Andrew Miller, Phil Perry. Southland Conference: Matthew Bonnette, James Dixon, Josh Manck. Southwestern Athletic Conference: Ronnie Johnson, Andrew Roberts, Jacob Shames. Western Athletic Conference: Eric Danner, Dennis Driscoll. National Representatives: Josh Buchanan, Zack Carlton, Riley Corcoran, Sam Herder, Emory Hunt, Kyle Kensing, Brandon Lawrence, Zach McKinnell, Brian McLaughlin, Jon Passman, Kent Schmidt, Lawrence Smith, Phil Sokol, Reggie Thomas, Ralph Ventre, Jamie Williams.