For the next trophy the Montana Grizzlies hope to raise high …
After collecting the Big Sky Conference championship and the Great Divide rivalry trophies by routing Montana State 37-7 on Saturday, Montana enters the FCS playoffs not just as the No. 2 seed, but, as of Monday, with the No. 2 ranking in the Stats Perform FCS Top 25 Poll, presented by FedEx Ground. It’s the Grizzlies’ highest ranking in the national media poll since they were top-ranked on Sept. 6, 2010.
Coach Bobby Hauck’s 10-1 squad received all 56 second-place votes, trailing only unanimous No. 1 South Dakota State. The defending national champion Jackrabbits (11-0), also the No. 1 playoff seed, and Montana are guaranteed home games through the semifinals if they keep winning, with the title game scheduled for Jan. 7 in Frisco, Texas. The Grizzlies’ storied program has captured two national titles and been the runner-up five times.
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.
A final poll will be announced on Jan. 8, the day after the FCS championship game.
Stats Perform FCS Top 25 Poll (Nov. 20)
Presented by FedEx Ground
1. South Dakota State (11-0, 8-0 MVFC), 1,400 points (56 of 56 first-place votes)
Previous Ranking: 1; Week 12 Result: 35-17 win over Missouri State
2. Montana (10-1, 7-1 Big Sky), 1,344
Previous Ranking: 3; Week 12 Result: 37-7 win over then-No. 4 Montana State
3. South Dakota (9-2, 7-1 MVFC), 1,280
Previous Ranking: 5; Week 12 Result: 48-6 win at Western Illinois
4. Idaho (8-3, 6-2 Big Sky), 1,191
Previous Ranking: 6; Week 12 Result: 63-21 win over Idaho State
5. Montana State (8-3, 6-2 Big Sky), 1,088
Previous Ranking: 4; Week 12 Result: 37-7 loss at then-No. 3 Montana
6. Villanova (9-2, 7-1 CAA), 1,052
Previous Ranking: 10; Week 12 Result: 35-7 win at then-No. 7 Delaware
7. Furman (9-2, 7-1 SoCon), 1,000
Previous Ranking: 2; Week 12 Result: 19-13 loss at Wofford
8. North Dakota State (8-3, 5-3 MVFC), 995
Previous Ranking: 9; Week 12 Result: 48-27 win at then-No. 22 Northern Iowa
9. UAlbany (9-3, 7-1 CAA), 963
Previous Ranking: 12; Week 12 Result: 41-0 win over Monmouth
10. Florida A&M (10-1, 8-0 SWAC), 828
Previous Ranking: 11; Week 12 Result: 24-7 win over Bethune-Cookman
11. Delaware (8-3, 6-2 CAA), 802
Previous Ranking: 7; Week 12 Result: 35-7 loss to then-No. 10 Villanova
12. North Dakota (7-4, 5-3 MVFC), 754
Previous Ranking: 13; Week 12 Result: 22-21 win over Illinois State
13. Austin Peay (9-2, 6-0 UAC), 751
Previous Ranking: 15; Week 12 Result: 14-12 win over Central Arkansas
14. Southern Illinois (7-4, 4-4 MVFC), 588
Previous Ranking: 16; Week 12 Result: 38-9 win over Indiana State
15. Sacramento State (7-4, 4-4 Big Sky), 574
Previous Ranking: 8; Week 12 Result: 31-21 loss at UC Davis
16. North Carolina Central (9-2, 4-1 MEAC), 547
Previous Ranking: 17; Week 12 Result: 55-14 win over Delaware State
17. Mercer (8-3, 6-2 SoCon), 427
Previous Ranking: 21; Week 12 Result: No game
18. Chattanooga (7-4, 6-2 Southern), 410
Previous Ranking: 18; Week 12 Result: 66-10 loss at Alabama
19. UIW (8-2, 6-1 Southland), 396
Previous Ranking: 20; Week 12 Result: 45-24 win at Houston Christian
20. Lafayette (9-2, 5-1 Patriot), 268
Previous Ranking: 24; Week 12 Result: 49-21 win at Lehigh
21. Youngstown State (7-4, 5-3 MVFC), 266
Previous Ranking: 25; Week 12 Result: 34-17 win at Murray State
22. Richmond (8-3, 7-1 CAA), 263
Previous Ranking: NR; Week 12 Result: 27-26 win at William & Mary
23. Western Carolina (7-4, 5-3 SoCon), 230
Previous Ranking: 14; Week 12 Result: 27-24 loss at VMI
24. UT Martin (8-3, 5-1 Big South-OVC), 194
Previous Ranking: 19; Week 12 Result: 27-17 loss at Samford
25. UC Davis (7-4, 5-3 Big Sky), 179
Previous Ranking: NR; Week 12 Result: 31-21 win over then-No. 8 Sacramento State
Dropped Out: Northern Iowa (22), Harvard (23)
Others Receiving Votes (schools listed on two or more ballots): Tarleton (8-3, 4-2 UAC) 83; Northern Iowa (6-5, 5-3 MVFC) 73; Nicholls (6-4, 7-0 Southland, including forfeit win) 59; Gardner-Webb (7-4, 5-1 Big South-OVC) 47; Drake (8-3, 8-0 Pioneer) 38; Holy Cross (7-4, 5-1 Patriot) 38; Central Arkansas (7-4, 4-2 UAC) 29; Eastern Illinois (8-3, 4-2 Big South-OVC) 16; Duquesne (7-4, 6-1 NEC) 11; Harvard (8-2, 5-2 Ivy) 11; Yale (7-3, 5-2) 5
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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.