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.
Villanova has been navigating the largest conference in FCS history from the front and with a steady pace.
Add in a come-from-behind component regularly and the Wildcats may climb even higher than their No. 5 ranking in the Stats Perform FCS Top 25 Poll on Monday.
Villanova (5-1) has been ranked fifth or sixth in the national media poll since the preseason. Coach Mark Ferrante’s squad had lost nine straight games when it trailed at halftime, but on Saturday at Stony Brook, it reversed a 24-14 deficit with 28 unanswered points in the second half for a 42-24 win. It lifted them to 2-0 in CAA Football to maintain a first-place tie with Delaware, Rhode Island and Richmond in the 16-team standings.
The ’Cats, who earned a share of last year’s CAA title and two of the last three, have been as steady as the teams above them – No. 1 South Dakota State (4-1), No. 2 North Dakota State (5-1), No. 3 Montana State (6-0) and No. 4 South Dakota (4-1). The only losses among the top six teams – UC Davis (5-1) is No. 6 – are to FBS opponents.
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 Week 6 Review)
Stats Perform FCS Top 25 Poll
1. South Dakota State (4-1, 1–0 MVFC), 1,376 points (36 of 56 first-place votes)
Previous Ranking: 1; Week 6: 41-3 win at Northern Iowa; Week 7: Youngstown State
2. North Dakota State (5-1, 2-0 MVFC), 1,346 (14)
Previous Ranking: 2; Week 6: 41-17 win over then-No. 7 North Dakota; Week 7: at Southern Illinois
3. Montana State (6-0, 2-0 Big Sky), 1,309 (6)
Previous Ranking: 3; Week 6: 55-17 win over Northern Colorado; Week 7: No. 7 Idaho
4. South Dakota (4-1, 2-0 MVFC), 1,220
Previous Ranking: 4; Week 6: 59-0 win at Murray State; Week 7: Northern Iowa
5. Villanova (5-1, 2-0 CAA), 1,145
Previous Ranking: 6; Week 6: 42-24 win at Stony Brook; Week 7: No game
6. UC Davis (5-1, 2-0 Big Sky), 1,084
Previous Ranking: 9; Week 6: 27-26 win at Portland State; Week 7: Cal Poly
7. Idaho (4-2, 1-1 Big Sky), 1,062
Previous Ranking: 10; Week 6: 23-17 win over then-No. 25 Northern Arizona; Week 7: at No. 3 Montana State
8. Mercer (5-0, 3-0 SoCon), 939
Previous Ranking: 11; Week 6: No game; Week 7: Princeton
9. North Dakota (4-2, 1-1 MVFC), 869
Previous Ranking: 7; Week 6: 41-17 loss at then-No. 2 North Dakota State; Week 7: No game
10. Abilene Christian (4-2, 3-0 UAC), 854
Previous Ranking: 16; Week 6: 41-25 win over then-No. 5 Central Arkansas; Week 7: at North Alabama
11. Southeast Missouri (5-1, 2-0 Big South-OVC), 840
Previous Ranking: 13; Week 6: 38-27 win at Eastern Illinois; Week 7: Tennessee Tech
12. Central Arkansas (4-2, 1-1 UAC), 795
Previous Ranking: 5; Week 6: 41-34 loss at then-No. 16 Abilene Christian; Week 7: West Georgia
13. Tarleton State (5-1, 2-0 UAC), 717
Previous Ranking: 14; Week 6: 38-37 OT win at Southern Utah; Week 7: Utah Tech
14. Montana (4-2, 1-1 Big Sky), 683
Previous Ranking: 8; Week 6: 55-48 OT loss to Weber State; Week 7: No. 24 Northern Arizona
15. UIW (3-2, 0-0 Southland), 662
Previous Ranking: 15; Week 6: 56-28 win over Prairie View A&M; Week 7: Nicholls
16. Illinois State (4-2, 1-1 MVFC), 532
Previous Ranking: 18; Week 6: 45-10 win at then-No. 19 Southern Illinois; Week 7: Missouri State
17. William & Mary (4-2, 1-1 CAA), 442
Previous Ranking: 12; Week 6: 34-27 loss at Towson; Week 7: No game
18. Sacramento State (2-3, 0-1 Big Sky), 404
Previous Ranking: 17; Week 6: No game; Week 7: Eastern Washington
19. Rhode Island (4-1, 2-0 CAA), 359
Previous Ranking: 20; Week 6: 46-44 two-OT win at Hampton; Week 7: Brown
20. Weber State (3-3, 2-0 Big Sky), 252
Previous Ranking: NR; Week 6: 55-48 OT win at then-No. 8 Montana; Week 7: Northern Colorado
21. Richmond (4-2, 2-0 CAA), 229
Previous Ranking: NR; Week 6: 20-17 win over North Carolina A&T; Week 7: No game
22. Lamar (3-2, 0-0 Southland), 206
Previous Ranking: 24; Week 6: No game; Week 7: Stephen F. Austin
23. Chattanooga (2-3, 1-1 SoCon), 166
Previous Ranking: NR; Week 6: 17-10 win at then-No. 23 ETSU; Week 7: at Furman
24. Northern Arizona (3-3, 1-1 Big Sky), 101
Previous Ranking: 25; Week 6: 23-17 loss at then-No. 4 Idaho; Week 7: at No. 14 Montana
25. North Carolina Central (4-2, 2-0 MEAC), 85
Previous Ranking: NR; Week 6: 45-14 win at Campbell; Week 7: Virginia-Lynchburg
Dropped Out: Southern Illinois (19), New Hampshire (21), McNeese (22), ETSU (23)
Others Receiving Votes (schools listed on two or more ballots): Florida A&M (3-2, 1-0 SWAC), 67; ETSU (3-3, 1-1 SoCon), 58; McNeese (4-3, 1-1 Southland), 49; Southern Illinois (2-4, 0-2 MVFC), 47; Dartmouth (3-0, 1-0 Ivy), 45; Lafayette (3-2, 1-0 Patriot), 37; Stony Brook (4-2, 1-1 CAA), 32; UT Martin (3-3, 1-1 Big South-OVC), 27; Western Carolina (2-3, 1-0 SoCon), 26; Duquesne (3-2, 1-0 NEC), 25; Nicholls (2-3, 0-0 Southland), 21; New Hampshire (3-2, 1-0 CAA), 16; Towson (2-3, 1-1 CAA), 15; Houston Christian (3-3, 1-0 Southland), 12; Butler (5-0, 1-0 Pioneer), 7; Harvard (2-1, 0-1 Ivy), 7; Monmouth (3-3, 1-1 CAA), 6; Tennessee State (4-2, 2-1 Big South-OVC), 6
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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.
Villanova Wildcats Top Photo Courtesy of Villanova Athletics
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