If the Southern Conference is going to have a different champion for the fifth straight season, it could come from three different possibilities in the Stats Perform FCS Top 25 Poll, presented by FedEx Ground.

Not only on Monday was Furman (2-1), which last won the title in 2018, ranked No. 8, there were two teams that have yet to be a SoCon champion, No. 21 Mercer and No. 23 Western Carolina. Mercer (2-1) was idle this past weekend, while Western Carolina (2-1) followed up a 30-7 rout of defending SoCon champion Samford with a 27-24 win at Eastern Kentucky, a 2022 FCS playoff qualifier. The Catamounts moved into the rankings for the first time since Nov. 6, 2017.

Samford (1-2), which suffered an FBS loss at Auburn, was No. 20 in the national media poll.

The top three spots have not changed since the preseason: No. 1 South Dakota State followed by North Dakota State and Montana State. However, there was a change at No. 4 as Sacramento State (3-0) moved up four spots following an FBS win against Stanford, with William & Mary dropping to No. 5.

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 FCS college football weekend, here are our Week 3 Takeaways)

Stats Perform FCS Top 25 Poll (Sept. 18)

Presented by FedEx Ground

1. South Dakota State (3-0), 1,396 points (52 of 56 first-place votes)

Previous Ranking: 1; Week 3: 70-7 win over Drake in Minneapolis; Week 4: No game

2. North Dakota State (3-0), 1,339 (3)

Previous Ranking: 2; Week 3: 49-31 win over Central Arkansas; Week 4: No game

3. Montana State (2-1), 1,273

Previous Ranking: 3; Week 3: 57-20 win over Stetson; Week 4: at Weber State

4. Sacramento State (3-0), 1,175 (1)

Previous Ranking: 8; Week 3: 30-23 win at Stanford; Week 4: at Idaho

5. William & Mary (3-0, 1-0 CAA), 1,156

Previous Ranking: 4;Week 3: 15-7 win over Charleston Southern; Week 4: Maine

6. Holy Cross (2-1), 1,090

Previous Ranking: 6; Week 3: 49-24 win at Yale; Week 4: Colgate

7. Idaho (2-1), 1,081

Previous Ranking: 5; Week 3: 31-17 loss at California; Week 4: Sacramento State

8. Furman (2-1), 991

Previous Ranking: 7; Week 3: 31-28 win at Kennesaw State; Week 4: Mercer

9. UIW (2-1), 903

Previous Ranking: 10; Week 3: 27-20 win at Abilene Christian; Week 4: North American

10. Weber State (2-1), 861

Previous Ranking: 9; Week 3: 31-7 loss at Utah; Week 4: Montana State

11. New Hampshire (2-1), 841

Previous Ranking: 11; Week 3: 24-7 win over Dartmouth; Week 4: at Delaware

12. Southern Illinois (3-0), 831

Previous Ranking: 15; Week 3: 26-25 win at then-No. 13 Southeast Missouri; Week 4: No game

13. Montana (3-0), 732

Previous Ranking: 12; Week 3: 17-10 win over Ferris State; Week 4: at Northern Arizona

14. North Dakota (2-1), 609

Previous Ranking: 14; Week 3: 42-18 loss at Boise State; Week 4: No game

15. UC Davis (2-1), 583

Previous Ranking: 16; Week 3: 23-21 win over Southern Utah; Week 4: Eastern Washington

16. Southeast Missouri (1-2, 1-0 Big South-OVC), 508

Previous Ranking: 13; Week 3: 26-25 loss to then-No. 15 Southern Illinois; Week 4: at Eastern Kentucky

17. Rhode Island (2-1, 2-0 CAA), 357

Previous Ranking: 21; Week 3: 34-17 win at Maine; Week 4: at Villanova

18. North Carolina Central (2-1), 341

Previous Ranking: 17; Week 3: 59-7 loss at UCLA; Week 4: Mississippi Valley State (in Indianapolis)

19. Delaware (2-1, 1-0 CAA), 333

Previous Ranking: 22; Week 3: 42-14 win over Saint Francis; Week 4: New Hampshire

20. Samford (1-2, 0-1 SoCon), 280

Previous Ranking: 18; Week 3: 45-13 loss at Auburn; Week 4: Chattanooga

21. Mercer (2-1), 270

Previous Ranking: 20; Week 3: No game; Week 4: at Furman

22. Florida A&M (2-1, 1-0 SWAC), 239

Previous Ranking: 23; Week 3: 31-10 win over West Florida; Week 4: Alabama State

23. Western Carolina (2-1, 1-0 SoCon), 217

Previous Ranking: NR; Week 3: 27-24 win at Eastern Kentucky; Week 4: Charleston Southern

24. Youngstown State (2-1), 158

Previous Ranking: 25; Week 3: 48-28 win over Robert Morris; Week 4: No game

25. Villanova (2-1), 119

Previous Ranking: 24; 48-14 loss at UCF; Week 4: Rhode Island

Dropped Out: Southeastern Louisiana (19)

Others Receiving Votes (schools listed on two or more ballots): UT Martin (2-1) 96; Southeastern Louisiana (0-3) 72; Eastern Washington (1-2) 68; Northern Iowa (1-2) 57; Central Arkansas (1-2) 50; Fordham (2-1) 37; Campbell (2-1, 1-1 CAA) 33; Abilene Christian (2-1) 30; UAlbany (1-2) 19; Tennessee State (2-1) 11; Gardner-Webb (1-2) 8; Tarleton (2-1) 8; Austin Peay (2-1) 6; Eastern Illinois (2-1) 4; Harvard (1-0) 2; Stephen F. Austin (2-1) 2

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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, Brian Cleary, Kyle Schwartz, Mark Simpson. CAA Football: Matt Harmon, Scott Klatzkin, Rob Washburn. Ivy League: Rick Bender, Craig Larson. Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference: Kendrick Lewis, Patricia Porter-Mayfield. Missouri Valley Football Conference: Dom Izzo, Mike Kern, Randy Reinhardt. Northeast Conference: Sarah Boissonneault, Randy Brochu. Patriot League: Eric Malanoski, Ryan Sakamoto. Pioneer Football League: Cody Bush, Jack Cronin. 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: Steve East, Tony Jones, Brian Morgan, Jake Withee. National Representatives: Sean Anderson, Zack Carlton, 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.