Each week, throughout the college football season, alumni, fans, media and the teams themselves look to the Stats Perform FCS Top 25 Poll to see who is rising and moving within the national rankings.
The Cardinals are flying not just in the Southland Conference, but in the Stats Perform FCS Top 25 Poll as well.
The UIW Cardinals and the Lamar Cardinals checked in at No. 15 and 19, respectively, in the national media rankings on Monday. Lamar moved into them a week ago for the first time in program history, and soon found it to the liking – something UIW has long known, with appearances in each of the last 43 polls.
This past Saturday, UIW (2-2) bounced back from top-10 losses at South Dakota State and Southern Illinois to handle Northern Arizona 38-14, while Lamar (3-1) rallied in the closing minutes to defeat Texas Southern 20-17.
The Southland title race figures to be competitive, with two other programs, McNeese and defending champion Nicholls, receiving votes in the poll. UIW and Lamar combined with United Athletic Conference members Tarleton State (16) and Abilene Christian (20) to give the state of Texas four teams between the No. 15 to 20 spots.
South Dakota State (3-1) posted a 41-0 shutout of Southeastern Louisiana, a Southland squad, and maintained No. 1 for the 26th consecutive poll since 2022.
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 college football weekend, here is our FCS Football Week 4 Review)
Stats Perform FCS Top 25 Poll
1. South Dakota State (3-1, 0–0 MVFC), 1,379 points (40 of 56 first-place votes)
Previous Ranking: 1; Week 4: 41-0 win at Southeastern Louisiana; Week 5: No game
2. North Dakota State (3-1, 0-0 MVFC), 1,308 (5)
Previous Ranking: 2; Week 4: 41-24 win over Towson; Week 5: at No. 18 Illinois State
3. Montana State (4-0, 0-0 Big Sky), 1,295 (6)
Previous Ranking: 3; Week 4: 52-13 win over Mercyhurst; Week 5: at Idaho State
4. Idaho (3-1, 0-0 Big Sky), 1,272 (5)
Previous Ranking: 4; Week 4: 27-24 win at then-No. 19 Abilene Christian; Week 5: at No. 14 UC Davis
5. South Dakota (2-1, 0-0 MVFC), 1,137
Previous Ranking: 6; Week 4: 42-3 win over Drake; Week 5: No. 17 Southern Illinois
6. Villanova (3-1, 1-0 CAA), 1,070
Previous Ranking: 5; Week 4: 38-20 loss at Maryland; Week 5: LIU
7. Central Arkansas (3-1, 1-0 UAC), 1,008
Previous Ranking: 8; Week 4: 56-17 win at Arkansas-Pine Bluff; Week 5: No. 19 Lamar
8. Montana (3-1, 0-0 Big Sky), 993
Previous Ranking: 9; Week 4: 46-35 win over then-No. 24 Western Carolina; Week 5: at Eastern Washington
9. North Dakota (3-1, 0-0 MVFC), 959
Previous Ranking: 10; Week 4: 41-24 win over San Diego; Week 5: Murray State
10. Sacramento State (2-2, 0-0 Big Sky), 912
Previous Ranking: 11 Week 4: 34-0 win at Texas A&M-Commerce; Week 5: at Northern Arizona
11. William & Mary (3-1, 0-0 CAA), 798
Previous Ranking: 12; Week 4: 34-24 win over Furman; Week 5: Hampton
12. Mercer (4-0, 2-0 SoCon), 699
Previous Ranking: 14; Week 4: 38-21 win over The Citadel; Week 5: at No. 23 Wofford
13. Southeast Missouri (3-1, 1-0 Big South-OVC), 691
Previous Ranking: 21; Week 4: 38-21 win at then-No. 7 Southern Illinois; Week 5: Northwestern State
14. UC Davis (3-1, 0-0 Big Sky), 681
Previous Ranking: 13; Week 4: 32-14 win over Utah Tech; Week 5: No. 4 Idaho
15. UIW (2-2, 0-0 Southland), 574
Previous Ranking: 15; Week 4: 38-14 win over Northern Arizona; Week 5: No game
16. Tarleton State (3-1, 1-0 UAC), 568
Previous Ranking: 16; Week 4: 28-14 win at North Alabama; Week 5: Southeastern Louisiana
17. Southern Illinois (2-2, 0-0 MVFC), 549
Previous Ranking: 7; Week 4: 38-21 loss to then-No. 21 Southeast Missouri; Week 5: at No. 5 South Dakota
18. Illinois State (3-1, 0-0 MVFC), 524
Previous Ranking: 17; Week 4: 31-7 win over Eastern Illinois; Week 5: No. 2 North Dakota State
19. Lamar (3-1, 0-0 Southland), 284
Previous Ranking: 22; Week 4: 20-17 win over Texas Southern; Week 5: at No. 7 Central Arkansas
20. Abilene Christian (2-2, 1-0 UAC), 276
Previous Ranking: 19; Week 4: 27-24 loss to then-No. 4Idaho; Week 5: at Utah Tech
21. UAlbany (1-2, 0-0 CAA), 198
Previous Ranking: 20; Week 4: No game; Week 5: Maine
22. Rhode Island (3-1, 1-0 CAA), 128
Previous Ranking: NR; Week 4: 28-21 win at LIU; Week 5: No game
23. Wofford (2-1, 0-0 SoCon), 103
Previous Ranking: NR; Week 4: No game; Week 5: No. 12 Mercer
24. New Hampshire (3-1, 1-0 CAA), 101
Previous Ranking: NR; Week 4: 38-17 win over Bryant; Week 5: No game
25. Weber State (2-2, 1-0 Big Sky), 94
Previous Ranking: 20; Week 4: 39-0 win at Northwestern State; Week 5: McNeese
Dropped Out: Lafayette (18), Chattanooga (23), Western Carolina (24), Northern Iowa (25)
Others Receiving Votes (schools listed on two or more ballots): Chattanooga (0-3, 0-1 SoCon) 80; ETSU (2-2, 0-0 SoCon) 75; Northern Iowa (2-2, 0-0 MVFC) 73; Richmond (2-2, 0-0 CAA) 72; Lafayette (2-2, 0-0 Patriot) 51; Western Carolina (1-3, 0-0 SoCon) 47; Florida A&M (2-2, 0-0 SWAC) 43; North Carolina Central (2-2, 0-0 MEAC) 28; Columbia (1-0, 0-0 Ivy) 21; Harvard (1-0, 0-0 Ivy) 19; McNeese (3-2, 1-0 Southland) 18; Duquesne (2-2, 0-0 NEC) 12; Nicholls (1-3, 0-0 Southland) 12; Lehigh (3-1, 0-0 Patriot) 10; Stony Brook (3-1, 1-0 CAA) 9; Monmouth (2-2, 1-0 CAA) 4; Yale (1-0, 0-0 Ivy) 3
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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, Kyle Schwartz, Mark Simpson. CAA Football: Roger Brown, Matt Harmon, Rob Washburn. Ivy League: JJ Klein, Craig Larson. Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference: Kendrick Lewis, Alysse Scripter. Missouri Valley Football Conference: Dom Izzo, Mike Kern, Randy Reinhardt. Northeast Conference: Sarah Boissonneault, Brian Cleary. Patriot League: Eric Malanoski, Ryan Sakamoto. Pioneer Football League: Cody Bush, Larry Hansgen. 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: Brian Morgan, Benjamin Ray, Jake Withee. National Representatives: Sean Anderson, Stan Becton, Zack Carlton, Gene Clemons, 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.
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