All the Princeton Tigers do is win.
In September and October, that is.
The Ivy League’s first-place team entered the Stats Perform FCS Top 25 at No. 25 on Monday, two days after beating Cornell 34-9 on Homecoming Day to improve to 7-0 this season.
Princeton has a 34-3 record since 2018 and none of the losses has occurred prior to the month of November. The Tigers will seek a finishing touch over their final three games and try to claim the Ivy title for the fifth time under coach Bob Surace since 2013.
Second-ranked Sacramento State, No. 6 Holy Cross and No. 9 Jackson State – all 8-0 – are the FCS’ only other unbeaten teams. South Dakota State (8-1), whose only loss is to Iowa, received 53 of the 54 first-place votes in holding No. 1 for the third straight week.
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 9 Takeaways)
Stats Perform FCS Top 25 (Oct. 31)
1. South Dakota State (8-1, 6-0 MVFC), 1,349 points (53 of 54 first-place votes)
Previous Ranking: 1; Week 9 Result: 49-7 win over Indiana State
2. Sacramento State (8-0, 5-0 Big Sky), 1,281 (1)
Previous Ranking: 2; Week 9 Result: 31-28 win over then-No. 14 Idaho
3. Montana State (7-1, 5-0 Big Sky), 1,236
Previous Ranking: 3; Week 9 Result: No game
4. North Dakota State (6-2, 4-1 MVFC), 1,196
Previous Ranking: 4; Week 9 Result: 24-7 win over Illinois State
5. Weber State (7-1, 4-1 Big Sky), 1,103
Previous Ranking: 5(tie); Week 9 Result: 24-21 win over then-No. 11 Montana
6. Holy Cross (8-0, 4-0 Patriot), 1,052
Previous Ranking: 5(tie); Week 9 Result: 53-52 OT win over then-No. 22 Fordham
7. UIW (8-1, 3-1 Southland), 1,012
Previous Ranking: 8; Week 9 Result: 35-7 win at Texas A&M-Commerce
8. William & Mary (7-1, 4-1 CAA), 949
Previous Ranking: 10;Week 9 Result: 31-30 win over then-No. 18 Rhode Island
9. Jackson State (8-0, 5-0 SWAC), 940
Previous Ranking: 9; Week 9 Result: 35-0 win over Southern
10. Samford (7-1, 5-0 Southern), 855
Previous Ranking: 13; Week 9 Result: 38-3 win over The Citadel
11. Chattanooga (6-2, 4-1 Southern), 674
Previous Ranking: 7; Week 9 Result: 24-20 loss at then-No. 24 Furman
12. Mercer (7-2, 5-1 Southern), 665
Previous Ranking: 16; Week 9 Result: 55-14 win at VMI
13. Furman (7-2, 5-1 Southern), 631
Previous Ranking: 24; Week 9 Result: 24-20 win over then-No. 7 Chattanooga
14. Richmond (6-2, 4-1 CAA), 590
Previous Ranking: 17; Week 9 Result: 31-21 win at Maine
15. Idaho (5-3, 4-1 Big Sky), 559
Previous Ranking: 14; Week 9 Result: 31-28 loss at then-No. 2 Sacramento State
16. Montana (5-3, 2-3 Big Sky), 537
Previous Ranking: 11; Week 9 Result: 24-21 loss at then-No. 5(tie) Weber State
17. New Hampshire (6-2, 5-0 CAA), 471
Previous Ranking: 19; Week 9 Result: No game
18. Delaware (6-2, 3-2 CAA), 457
Previous Ranking: 12; Week 9 Result: 27-7 loss at Elon
19. Elon (6-3, 4-2 CAA), 322
Previous Ranking: Not Ranked; Week 9 Result: 27-7 win over then-No. 12 Delaware
20. UT Martin (5-3, 3-0 Ohio Valley), 308
Previous Ranking: 21; Week 9 Result: 52-28 win at Houston Christian
21. North Dakota (5-3, 3-2 MVFC), 268
Previous Ranking: 23; Week 9 Result: 34-31 win over Abilene Christian
22. Southeast Missouri (6-2, 2-0 Ohio Valley), 248
Previous Ranking: 15; Week 9 Result: 28-23 loss to Eastern Kentucky
23. Rhode Island (5-3, 3-2 CAA), 223
Previous Ranking: 18; Week 9 Result: 31-30 loss at then-No. 10 William & Mary
24. Fordham (6-2, 2-1 Patriot), 181
Previous Ranking: 22; Week 9 Result: 53-52 OT loss at then-No. 5(tie) Holy Cross
25. Princeton (7-0, 4-0 Ivy), 154
Previous Ranking: Not Ranked; Week 9 Result: 35-9 win over Cornell
Dropped Out: Southern Illinois (20), Austin Peay (25)
Others Receiving Votes (schools listed on two or more ballots): Eastern Kentucky (5-3, 5-2 ASUN-WAC) 87; Southeastern Louisiana (5-3, 2-1 Southland) 86; Villanova (5-3, 3-2 CAA) 34; Southern Illinois (5-4, 4-2 MVFC) 28; Northern Iowa (5-4, 4-2 MVFC) 15; UC Davis (4-4, 3-2 Big Sky) 13; Austin Peay (5-3, 5-2 ASUN-WAC) 6; Saint Francis (6-2, 5-0 NEC) 6
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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.