The big trio of conferences usually lead the way in the Stats Perform FCS Top 25 – the Big Sky, CAA and Missouri Valley – but make room for other strong leagues across the nation.
A season-high 10 conferences were represented in the national media poll on Monday, with the SWAC being the latest to power in with No. 24 Jackson State and coach Deion Sanders. The Southland Conference had a Top 10 team (No. 9 Southeastern Louisiana) for the first time this season and was joined by the Ivy League and Southern Conference in having a pair of ranked teams behind the multiple teams of the MVFC (six), Big Sky (five) and CAA (four).
Defending national champion Sam Houston (5-0) maintained the No. 1 ranking following a bye in its schedule, but No. 2 Eastern Washington (7-0) and No. 3 North Dakota State (6-0) made strong cases for the top spot this past weekend. EWU, already the nation’s top-scoring team, pounded Idaho 71-21. NDSU, already top-ranked in scoring defense, posted its second shutout, winning 20-0 at Illinois State.
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.
Stats Perform FCS Top 25 (Oct. 18)
1. Sam Houston (5-0, 3-0 AQ7), 1,223 points (35 first-place votes)
Previous Ranking: 1; Week 7 Result: Open week
2. Eastern Washington (7-0, 4-0 Big Sky), 1,178 (14)
Previous Ranking: 2; Week 7 Result: 71-21 win over Idaho
3. North Dakota State (6-0, 3-0 Missouri Valley), 1,169 (1)
Previous Ranking: 3; Week 7 Result: 20-0 win at Illinois State
4. Southern Illinois (6-1, 4-0 Missouri Valley), 1,097
Previous Ranking: 4; Week 7 Result: 31-28 win over then-No. 22 North Dakota
5. Villanova (5-1, 3-0 CAA), 1,022
Previous Ranking: 6; Week 7 Result: 17-10 win at Albany
6. South Dakota State (5-1, 2-1 Missouri Valley), 980
Previous Ranking: 7; Week 7 Result: 41-17 win at Western Illinois
7. James Madison (5-1, 3-1 CAA), 951
Previous Ranking: 8; Week 7 Result: 19-3 win at Richmond
8. Montana State (6-1, 4-0 Big Sky), 919
Previous Ranking: 9; Week 7 Result: 13-7 win at then-No. 19 Weber State
9. Southeastern Louisiana (5-1, 3-0 Southland), 842
Previous Ranking: 11; Week 7 Result: 61-24 win over Houston Baptist
10. UC Davis (6-1, 3-1 Big Sky), 750
Previous Ranking: 13; Week 7 Result: 32-3 win over Northern Colorado
11. Montana (4-2, 1-2 Big Sky), 694
Previous Ranking: 5; Week 7 Result: 28-21 loss to Sacramento State
12. Kennesaw State (5-1, 2-0 Big South), 658
Previous Ranking: 15; Week 7 Result: 14-0 win over North Carolina A&T
13. UT Martin (5-1, 2-0 Ohio Valley), 583
Previous Ranking: 17; Week 7 Result: 28-17 win at Eastern Illinois
14. ETSU (6-1, 3-1 Southern), 556
Previous Ranking: 10; Week 7 Result: 21-16 loss at Chattanooga
15. South Dakota (5-2, 3-1 Missouri Valley), 521
Previous Ranking: 21; Week 7 Result: 34-21 win at then-No. 16 Northern Iowa
16. UIW (5-1, 3-0 Southland), 518
Previous Ranking: 18; Week 7 Result: 38-21 win over Nicholls
17. Missouri State (4-2, 3-1 Missouri Valley), 486
Previous Ranking: 20; Week 7 Result: 37-7 win over Indiana State
18. Rhode Island (5-1, 3-1 CAA), 405
Previous Ranking: 12; Week 7 Result: 28-7 loss at Towson
19. Sacramento State (4-2, 3-0 Big Sky), 251
Previous Ranking: Not Ranked; Week 7 Result: 28-21 win at then-No. 5 Montana
20. Northern Iowa (3-3, 1-2 Missouri Valley), 190
Previous Ranking: 16; Week 7 Result: 34-21 loss to then-No. 21 South Dakota
21. VMI (5-2, 3-1 Southern), 173
Previous Ranking: Not Ranked; Week 7 Result: 45-7 win at Mercer
22. Princeton (5-0, 2-0 Ivy), 166
Previous Ranking: 25; Week 7 Result: 56-42 win at Brown
23. Delaware (3-3, 2-2 CAA), 152
Previous Ranking: 14; Week 7 Result: 34-17 loss at Stony Brook
24. Jackson State (5-1, 3-0 SWAC), 148
Previous Ranking: Not Ranked; Week 7 Result: 28-7 win over Alabama State
25. Dartmouth (5-0, 2-0 Ivy), 120
Previous Ranking: Not Ranked; Week 7 Result: 38-21 win at then-No. 23 New Hampshire
Dropped Out: Weber State (19), North Dakota (22), New Hampshire (23), Jacksonville State (24)
Others Receiving Votes (schools listed on two or more ballots): Jacksonville State 104, Harvard 101, Eastern Kentucky 85, Weber State 73, Duquesne 44, North Dakota 27, Prairie View A&M 16, Youngstown State 11, Chattanooga 8, William & Mary 7, Stephen F. Austin 5, Mercer 4
Stats Perform FCS Top 25 Voters – Stats Perform: Craig Haley, Gary Reasons. ASUN: Patrick McCoy, Mike Parris. Big Sky Conference: Doug Kelly, Tyson Rodgers, Larry Weir. Big South Conference: Brian Cleary, Matt Harmon, Mark Simpson. CAA Football: Scott Klatzkin, Greg Madia, 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: Tad Maury, Ralph Ventre. Ohio Valley Conference: Neal Bradley, Kyle Schwartz. Patriot League: Eric Malanowski, Ryan Sakamoto. Pioneer Football League: Cody Bush, Jack Cronin. Southern Conference: David Fox, Jeff Hartsell, Phil Perry. Southland Conference: Zack Carlton, Josh Yonis. Southwestern Athletic Conference: Ronnie Johnson, Travis Jarome, Andrew Roberts. Western Athletic Conference: Josh Criswell, Chris Thompson. National Representatives: Josh Buchanan, Riley Corcoran, Sam Herder, Emory Hunt, Brett Huston, Kyle Kensing, Brandon Lawrence, Jon Passman, Lawrence Smith, Phil Sokol, Reggie Thomas, Jamie Williams.