If Jackson State coach Deion Sanders grades his team with a C+ after a six-touchdown conference victory, imagine what could be ahead for the Tigers.
On Monday, they moved up two spots to No. 9 in the Stats Perform FCS Top 25 – their first top-10 ranking in the national media poll in 25 years, and the first by a SWAC program since Grambling State was No. 8 at the end of the 2002 season.
Jackson State, the defending SWAC champion, routed Mississippi Valley State 49-7 on Saturday to improve to 4-0 for the first time since 1996, although Coach Prime’s post-game grade left room for improvement with the Tigers.
Still, they have their highest ranking since being No. 8 on Sept. 15, 1997, their defense is top-ranked in the FCS and quarterback Shedeur Sanders, one of two Sanders’ sons on the team, is third nationally in passing yards and touchdown passes.
After two spots in the top five were ties in last week’s voting, there was separation this week with No. 1, defending national champion North Dakota State followed by South Dakota State, Montana, Montana State and Sacramento State.
Additionally, four new teams moved into the rankings: No. 21 Southeastern Louisiana, No. 22 Austin Peay, No. 23 Elon and No. 24 Southeast Missouri.
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.
(For more on the FCS college football weekend, here are our Week 4 Takeaways)
Stats Perform FCS Top 25 (Sept. 26)
1. North Dakota State (3-1, 1-0 Missouri Valley), 1,337 points (44 first-place votes)
Previous Ranking: 1; Week 4 Result: 34-17 win at South Dakota
2. South Dakota State (3-1, 1-0 Missouri Valley), 1,272 (3)
Previous Ranking: T2; Week 4 Result: 28-14 win at then-No. 6 Missouri State
3. Montana (4-0, 1-0 Big Sky), 1,264 (7)
Previous Ranking: T2; Week 4 Result: 53-16 win over Portland State
4. Montana State (3-1, 1-0 Big Sky), 1,158
Previous Ranking: T4; Week 4 Result: 38-35 win at then-No. 15 Eastern Washington
5. Sacramento State (3-0, 0-0 Big Sky), 1,142
Previous Ranking: 7; Week 4 Result: 41-10 win at Colorado State
6. Delaware (4-0, 2-0 CAA), 1,053
Previous Ranking: 8; Week 4 Result: 35-3 win over Hampton
7. Missouri State (2-2, 0-1 Missouri Valley), 943
Previous Ranking: 6; Week 4 Result: 28-14 loss to then-No. 2 (tie) South Dakota State
8. Weber State (4-0, 1-0 Big Sky), 942
Previous Ranking: 12; Week 4 Result: 17-12 win at UC Davis
9. Jackson State (4-0, 2-0 SWAC), 907
Previous Ranking: 11; Week 4 Result: 49-7 win over Mississippi Valley State
10. Holy Cross (4-0, 1-0 Patriot), 837
Previous Ranking: 13; Week 4 Result: 35-10 win at Colgate
11. UIW (3-1, 0-1 Southland), 808
Previous Ranking: T6; Week 4 Result: 41-35 loss at Southeastern Louisiana
12. Chattanooga (3-1, 1-0 Southern), 753
Previous Ranking: 10; Week 4 Result: 31-0 loss at Illinois
13. Mercer (3-1, 1-0 Southern), 551
Previous Ranking: 17; Week 4 Result: 45-14 win at Gardner-Webb
14. Villanova (2-2, 0-1 CAA), 452
Previous Ranking: 9; Week 4 Result: 49-42 loss to Monmouth
15. UT Martin (2-2, 1-0 Ohio Valley), 403
Previous Ranking: 18; Week 4 Result: 56-26 win over Lindenwood
16. Samford (3-1, 1-0 Southern), 380
Previous Ranking: 21; Week 4 Result: 35-12 win over Western Carolina
17. Richmond (3-1, 1-0 CAA), 348
Previous Ranking: 22; Week 4 Result: 51-7 win over Stony Brook
18. William & Mary (3-1, 0-1 CAA), 346
Previous Ranking: 14;Week 4 Result: 35-31 loss to Elon
19. Southern Illinois (2-2, 1-0 Missouri Valley), 345
Previous Ranking: 24; Week 4 Result: 34-17 win over then-No. 19 North Dakota
20. Eastern Washington (1-2, 0-1 Big Sky), 344
Previous Ranking: 15; Week 4 Result: 38-35 loss to then-No. 4 (tie) Montana State
21. Southeastern Louisiana (2-2, 1-0 Southland), 338
Previous Ranking: Not Ranked; Week 4 Result: 41-35 win over then-No. 4 (tie) UIW
22. Austin Peay (4-1, 4-0 ASUN-WAC), 328
Previous Ranking: Not Ranked; Week 4 Result: 31-20 win over then-No. 16 Eastern Kentucky
23. Elon (3-1, 1-0 CAA), 226
Previous Ranking: Not Ranked; Week 4 Result: 35-31 win at then-No. 14 William & Mary
24. Southeast Missouri (3-1, 0-0 Ohio Valley), 171
Previous Ranking: Not Ranked; Week 4 Result: 35-27 win over Central Arkansas
25. Eastern Kentucky (2-2, 2-1 ASUN-WAC), 154
Previous Ranking: 16; Week 4 Result: 31-20 loss at Austin Peay
Dropped Out: North Dakota (19), Rhode Island (20), Stephen F. Austin (23), North Carolina Central (25)
Others Receiving Votes (schools listed on two or more ballots): North Carolina Central (4-0, 0-0 MEAC) 133; Furman (3-1, 1-0 Southern) 129; Rhode Island (2-2, 1-1 CAA) 115; Stephen F. Austin (2-2, 1-0 ASUN-WAC) 100; North Dakota (2-2, 1-1 Missouri Valley) 82; Fordham (3-1, 0-0 Patriot) 42; New Hampshire (3-1, 3-0 CAA) 37; UC Davis (1-3, 0-1 Big Sky) 31; Kennesaw State (1-2, 1-1 ASUN-WAC) 29; ETSU (2-2, 0-2 Southern) 20; Idaho (2-2, 1-0 Big Sky) 11; Monmouth (2-2, 1-1 CAA) 8; Youngstown State (2-1, 0-0 Missouri Valley) 3
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Stats Perform FCS Top 25 Voters – Stats Perform: Craig Haley, Gary Reasons. ASUN: John Bednarowski, Brian Morgan. Big Sky Conference: Doug Kelly, Tyson Rodgers, Larry Weir. Big South Conference: Brian Cleary, Mark Simpson. CAA Football: Matt Harmon, Scott Klatzkin, 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: Sarah Boissonneault, Randy Brochu. Ohio Valley Conference: Mike Bradd, Kyle Schwartz. Patriot League: Eric Malanowski, Ryan Sakamoto. Pioneer Football League: Cody Bush, Jack Cronin. Southern Conference: Scott Keeler, Andrew Miller, Phil Perry. Southland Conference: Matthew Bonnette, James Dixon, Josh Manck. Southwestern Athletic Conference: Ronnie Johnson, Andrew Roberts, Jacob Shames. Western Athletic Conference: Eric Danner, Dennis Driscoll. National Representatives: Josh Buchanan, Zack Carlton, Riley Corcoran, Sam Herder, Emory Hunt, Kyle Kensing, Brandon Lawrence, Zach McKinnell, Brian McLaughlin, Jon Passman, Kent Schmidt, Lawrence Smith, Phil Sokol, Reggie Thomas, Ralph Ventre, Jamie Williams.