If the Southern Conference is going to have a different champion for the fifth straight season, it could come from three different possibilities in the Stats Perform FCS Top 25 Poll, presented by FedEx Ground.
Not only on Monday was Furman (2-1), which last won the title in 2018, ranked No. 8, there were two teams that have yet to be a SoCon champion, No. 21 Mercer and No. 23 Western Carolina. Mercer (2-1) was idle this past weekend, while Western Carolina (2-1) followed up a 30-7 rout of defending SoCon champion Samford with a 27-24 win at Eastern Kentucky, a 2022 FCS playoff qualifier. The Catamounts moved into the rankings for the first time since Nov. 6, 2017.
Samford (1-2), which suffered an FBS loss at Auburn, was No. 20 in the national media poll.
The top three spots have not changed since the preseason: No. 1 South Dakota State followed by North Dakota State and Montana State. However, there was a change at No. 4 as Sacramento State (3-0) moved up four spots following an FBS win against Stanford, with William & Mary dropping to No. 5.
A national media panel selects the Stats Perform FCS Top 25 Poll. 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 3 Takeaways)
Stats Perform FCS Top 25 Poll (Sept. 18)
Presented by FedEx Ground
1. South Dakota State (3-0), 1,396 points (52 of 56 first-place votes)
Previous Ranking: 1; Week 3: 70-7 win over Drake in Minneapolis; Week 4: No game
2. North Dakota State (3-0), 1,339 (3)
Previous Ranking: 2; Week 3: 49-31 win over Central Arkansas; Week 4: No game
3. Montana State (2-1), 1,273
Previous Ranking: 3; Week 3: 57-20 win over Stetson; Week 4: at Weber State
4. Sacramento State (3-0), 1,175 (1)
Previous Ranking: 8; Week 3: 30-23 win at Stanford; Week 4: at Idaho
5. William & Mary (3-0, 1-0 CAA), 1,156
Previous Ranking: 4;Week 3: 15-7 win over Charleston Southern; Week 4: Maine
6. Holy Cross (2-1), 1,090
Previous Ranking: 6; Week 3: 49-24 win at Yale; Week 4: Colgate
7. Idaho (2-1), 1,081
Previous Ranking: 5; Week 3: 31-17 loss at California; Week 4: Sacramento State
8. Furman (2-1), 991
Previous Ranking: 7; Week 3: 31-28 win at Kennesaw State; Week 4: Mercer
9. UIW (2-1), 903
Previous Ranking: 10; Week 3: 27-20 win at Abilene Christian; Week 4: North American
10. Weber State (2-1), 861
Previous Ranking: 9; Week 3: 31-7 loss at Utah; Week 4: Montana State
11. New Hampshire (2-1), 841
Previous Ranking: 11; Week 3: 24-7 win over Dartmouth; Week 4: at Delaware
12. Southern Illinois (3-0), 831
Previous Ranking: 15; Week 3: 26-25 win at then-No. 13 Southeast Missouri; Week 4: No game
13. Montana (3-0), 732
Previous Ranking: 12; Week 3: 17-10 win over Ferris State; Week 4: at Northern Arizona
14. North Dakota (2-1), 609
Previous Ranking: 14; Week 3: 42-18 loss at Boise State; Week 4: No game
15. UC Davis (2-1), 583
Previous Ranking: 16; Week 3: 23-21 win over Southern Utah; Week 4: Eastern Washington
16. Southeast Missouri (1-2, 1-0 Big South-OVC), 508
Previous Ranking: 13; Week 3: 26-25 loss to then-No. 15 Southern Illinois; Week 4: at Eastern Kentucky
17. Rhode Island (2-1, 2-0 CAA), 357
Previous Ranking: 21; Week 3: 34-17 win at Maine; Week 4: at Villanova
18. North Carolina Central (2-1), 341
Previous Ranking: 17; Week 3: 59-7 loss at UCLA; Week 4: Mississippi Valley State (in Indianapolis)
19. Delaware (2-1, 1-0 CAA), 333
Previous Ranking: 22; Week 3: 42-14 win over Saint Francis; Week 4: New Hampshire
20. Samford (1-2, 0-1 SoCon), 280
Previous Ranking: 18; Week 3: 45-13 loss at Auburn; Week 4: Chattanooga
21. Mercer (2-1), 270
Previous Ranking: 20; Week 3: No game; Week 4: at Furman
22. Florida A&M (2-1, 1-0 SWAC), 239
Previous Ranking: 23; Week 3: 31-10 win over West Florida; Week 4: Alabama State
23. Western Carolina (2-1, 1-0 SoCon), 217
Previous Ranking: NR; Week 3: 27-24 win at Eastern Kentucky; Week 4: Charleston Southern
24. Youngstown State (2-1), 158
Previous Ranking: 25; Week 3: 48-28 win over Robert Morris; Week 4: No game
25. Villanova (2-1), 119
Previous Ranking: 24; 48-14 loss at UCF; Week 4: Rhode Island
Dropped Out: Southeastern Louisiana (19)
Others Receiving Votes (schools listed on two or more ballots): UT Martin (2-1) 96; Southeastern Louisiana (0-3) 72; Eastern Washington (1-2) 68; Northern Iowa (1-2) 57; Central Arkansas (1-2) 50; Fordham (2-1) 37; Campbell (2-1, 1-1 CAA) 33; Abilene Christian (2-1) 30; UAlbany (1-2) 19; Tennessee State (2-1) 11; Gardner-Webb (1-2) 8; Tarleton (2-1) 8; Austin Peay (2-1) 6; Eastern Illinois (2-1) 4; Harvard (1-0) 2; Stephen F. Austin (2-1) 2
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Stats Perform FCS Top 25 Voters – Stats Perform: Craig Haley, Gary Reasons. Big Sky Conference: Doug Kelly, Tyson Rodgers, Larry Weir. Big South-OVC Football Association: Mike Bradd, Brian Cleary, Kyle Schwartz, Mark Simpson. CAA Football: Matt Harmon, Scott Klatzkin, Rob Washburn. Ivy League: Rick Bender, Craig Larson. Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference: Kendrick Lewis, Patricia Porter-Mayfield. Missouri Valley Football Conference: Dom Izzo, Mike Kern, Randy Reinhardt. Northeast Conference: Sarah Boissonneault, Randy Brochu. Patriot League: Eric Malanoski, Ryan Sakamoto. Pioneer Football League: Cody Bush, Jack Cronin. Southern Conference: Scott Keeler, Andrew Miller, Ralan Wardlaw. Southland Conference: Matthew Bonnette, James Dixon, James Hill. Southwestern Athletic Conference: Ronnie Johnson, Joshua Padilla. United Athletic Conference: Steve East, Tony Jones, Brian Morgan, Jake Withee. National Representatives: Sean Anderson, Zack Carlton, Riley Corcoran, Joe DeLeone, Steven J. Gaither, Sam Herder, Emory Hunt, Kyle Kensing, Brandon Lawrence, Zach McKinnell, Brian McLaughlin, Jon Passman, Omar Rashon Borja, Ryan Roberts, Kent Schmidt, Phil Sokol, Reggie Thomas, Ralph Ventre, Jamie Williams.