South Dakota State held the No. 1 ranking in the Stats Perform FCS Top 25 for the sixth straight week on Monday, matching the Jackrabbits’ top seed in the national playoff.
The Jackrabbits (10-1) are considered the team to beat on the Road to Frisco, having won 10 straight games and their first outright Missouri Valley Football Conference championship heading into their 11th straight playoff appearance and 12th all-time.
Like coach John Stiegelmeier’s squad, No. 2 Sacramento State (11-0), No. 3 Montana State (10-1) and No. 4 North Dakota State (9-2) have held the same spots in the national media poll since Oct. 17. NDSU defeated Montana State in last season’s national championship game.
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.
The final poll will be announced on Jan. 9, the day after the FCS championship game.
(A list of 2022 FCS conference champions and postseason qualifiers)
Stats Perform FCS Top 25 (Nov. 21)
1. South Dakota State (10-1, 8-0 MVFC), 1,340 points (45 of 54 first-place votes)
Previous Ranking: 1; Week 12 Result: No game
2. Sacramento State (11-0, 8-0 Big Sky), 1,296 (9)
Previous Ranking: 2; Week 12 Result: 27-21 win over then-No. 24 UC Davis
3. Montana State (10-1, 8-0 Big Sky), 1,239
Previous Ranking: 3; Week 12 Result: 55-21 win over then-No. 13 Montana
4. North Dakota State (9-2, 7-1 MVFC), 1,192
Previous Ranking: 4; Week 12 Result: 42-21 win over then-No. 16 North Dakota
5. UIW (10-1, 5-1 Southland), 1,050
Previous Ranking: 5; Week 12 Result: 66-7 win at Northwestern State
6. William & Mary (10-1, 7-1 CAA), 1,031
Previous Ranking: 8;Week 12 Result: 37-26 win at then-No. 11 Richmond
7. Holy Cross (11-0, 6-0 Patriot), 1,008
Previous Ranking: 6; Week 12 Result: 47-10 win at Georgetown
8. Samford (10-1, 8-0 Southern), 981
Previous Ranking: 9; Week 12 Result: 50-44 double-OT win over then-No. 19 Mercer
9. Weber State (9-2, 6-2 Big Sky), 964
Previous Ranking: 7; Week 12 Result: 33-31 win at Northern Arizona
10. Jackson State (11-0, 8-0 SWAC), 883
Previous Ranking: 10; Week 12 Result: 24-13 win at Alcorn State
11. Furman (9-2, 7-1 Southern), 835
Previous Ranking: 12; Week 12 Result: 63-28 win over Wofford
12. Elon (8-3, 6-2 CAA), 682
Previous Ranking: 14; Week 12 Result: No game
13. Richmond (8-3, 6-2 CAA), 623
Previous Ranking: 11; Week 12 Result: 37-26 loss to then-No. 8 William & Mary
14. Southeast Missouri (9-2, 5-0 Ohio Valley), 618
Previous Ranking: 17; Week 12 Result: 52-22 win over Murray State
15. New Hampshire (8-3, 7-1 CAA), 561
Previous Ranking: 18; Week 12 Result: 42-41 OT win at Maine
16. Fordham (9-2, 5-1 Patriot), 409
Previous Ranking: 21 (tie); Week 12 Result: 52-38 win over Colgate
17. Southeastern Louisiana (8-3, 5-1 Southland), 401
Previous Ranking: 23; Week 12 Result: 40-17 win at Nicholls
18. Idaho (7-4, 6-2 Big Sky), 384
Previous Ranking: 21 (tie); Week 12 Result: 38-7 win at Idaho State
19. Montana (7-4, 4-4 Big Sky), 373
Previous Ranking: 13; Week 12 Result: 55-21 loss at then-No. 4 Montana State
20. North Dakota (7-4, 5-3 MVFC), 342
Previous Ranking: 16; Week 12 Result: 42-21 loss at then-No. 4 North Dakota State
21. Chattanooga (7-4, 5-3 Southern), 272
Previous Ranking: 15; Week 12 Result: 32-29 loss at Western Carolina
22. Mercer (7-4, 5-3 Southern), 271
Previous Ranking: 19; Week 12 Result: 50-44, double-OT loss at then-No. 9 Samford
23. Delaware (7-4, 4-4 CAA), 137
Previous Ranking: 20; Week 12 Result: 29-26 loss at Villanova
24. UC Davis (6-5, 5-3 Big Sky), 109
Previous Ranking: 24; Week 12 Result: 27-21 loss at then-No. 2 Sacramento State
25. UT Martin (7-4, 5-0 Ohio Valley), 107
Previous Ranking: 25; Week 12 Result: 34-31 win over Eastern Illinois
Others Receiving Votes (schools listed on two or more ballots): Eastern Kentucky (7-4, 3-2 ASUN) 98, Saint Francis (9-2, 7-0 NEC) 92, Rhode Island (7-4, 5-3 CAA) 64, North Carolina Central (9-2, 4-1 MEAC) 39, Florida A&M (9-2, 7-1 SWAC) 34, Yale (8-2, 6-1 Ivy) 32, Austin Peay (7-4, 3-2 ASUN-WAC) 28, St. Thomas (10-1, 8-0 Pioneer) 20, Youngstown State (7-4, 5-3 MVFC) 16
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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 Malanoski, 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.