Six MVFC teams are ranked in both the coaches and STATS polls. HERO Sports’ BennettRank is also listed and is a computer predictive metric that ranks all FCS teams. Among conferences, the MVFC is the top-rated league in the FCS (Sagarin Rankings), but also ranks ahead of a number of FBS leagues, including the Mountain West (West Division), the C-USA (both the East and West divisions), the MAC (East Division), and the Sun Belt.
Sagarin Rankings, Conference Leaders (FCS)
1. MISSOURI VALLEY FOOTBALL
2. Southern
3. CAA Football
4. Big Sky
5. Big South
6. Ohio Valley
Ranked vs. Ranked
Before the two games this weekend (South Dakota/Illinois State and Western Illinois/North Dakota State), there have been 156 games in which two ranked MVFC teams have faced one another. In those games, the home team is 91-64 (there was one neutral site game), and the higher ranked team is 94-62. The NDSU-WIU meeting on Oct. 21 will mark the 38th game in league history in which both teams were ranked in the Top 10.
Ruling the Rankings
Eight MVFC teams rank in the Top 20 for FCS schools in the Sagarin Rankings, which includes 6 of the top 7 spots. No other conference has more than 3 schools ranked among the Top 20. HERO Sports’ BennettRank yields similar results -- with six MVFC schools ranked in the Top 11. North Dakota State, South Dakota and Youngstown State rank in the Top 4 in both metrics.
FCS COACHES TOP-25 POLL
James Madison unanimous No. 1 as top five remains the same
SPARTANBURG, S.C. – After a win over No. 14 Villanova, James Madison University remained atop the FCS Coaches Poll, receiving all 26 first-place votes for the first time this season. North Dakota State, Jacksonville State, South Dakota and Wofford round out the top five after week-seven victories.
With ESPN’s College GameDay on site, James Madison rolled past Villanova 30-8 on Saturday. The Dukes did not allow a point until the fourth quarter, holding the Wildcats to just 174 total yards. James Madison extended its winning streak to 18 games, which is the longest current winning streak in both the FCS and FBS.
North Dakota State survived in overtime, topping No. 8 Youngstown State 27-24 to improve to 6-0 on the season. The Bison were led by quarterback Easton Stick, who accounted for three touchdowns, including an 80-yard run to open up the fourth quarter. The Bison will have another test this weekend as it hosts Western Illinois.
No. 3 Jacksonville State hosted Eastern Kentucky on Saturday, defeating the Colonels 41-25. The Gamecocks dominated early, jumping out to a 31-3 lead and cruising to an Ohio Valley Conference-record 27
th straight win.
South Dakota remained at No. 4 after cruising to a 56-6 win over Indiana State on Saturday. The Coyotes racked up over 700 yards of total offense, led by quarterback Chris Streveler, who had 337 yards passing and 82 yards rushing. South Dakota will travel to No. 24 Illinois State on Saturday.
The Wofford Terriers fended off Southern Conference foe The Citadel 20-16 to remain No. 5 in the FCS Coaches Poll. Fullback Andre Stoddard scored a touchdown with 1:10 left in the game to help secure the Wofford victory.
The FCS Coaches Poll is based exclusively on a voting panel of head coaches in the FCS under the cooperation of the Collegiate Commissioners Association (CCA) and the American Football Coaches Association (AFCA) and is administered by the Southern Conference.
| RANK |
SCHOOL |
POINTS |
RECORD |
PREV |
| 1 |
James Madison (26) |
650 |
6-0 |
1 |
| 2 |
North Dakota State |
624 |
6-0 |
2 |
| 3 |
Jacksonville State |
589 |
5-1 |
3 |
| 4 |
South Dakota |
575 |
6-0 |
4 |
| 5 |
Wofford |
539 |
6-0 |
5 |
| 6 |
Central Arkansas |
516 |
5-1 |
6 |
| 7 |
Sam Houston State |
470 |
5-1 |
T-9 |
| 8 |
Eastern Washington |
467 |
5-2 |
T-9 |
| 9 |
Youngstown State |
389 |
3-3 |
8 |
| 10 |
Richmond |
388 |
4-2 |
13 |
| 11 |
North Carolina A&T |
382 |
7-0 |
11 |
| 12 |
Western Illinois |
366 |
5-1 |
17 |
| 13 |
South Dakota State |
315 |
4-2 |
7 |
| 14 |
Samford |
259 |
4-2 |
18 |
| 15 |
Elon |
243 |
5-1 |
20 |
| 16 |
Villanova |
223 |
4-3 |
14 |
| 17 |
Grambling State |
217 |
5-1 |
19 |
| 18 |
New Hampshire |
191 |
4-2 |
12 |
| 19 |
McNeese |
189 |
5-1 |
21 |
| 20 |
Nicholls |
127 |
5-2 |
23 |
| 21 |
Western Carolina |
125 |
5-2 |
25 |
| 22 |
Northern Arizona |
102 |
4-2 |
24 |
| 23 |
Weber State |
90 |
4-2 |
16 |
| 24 |
Illinois State |
79 |
4-2 |
15 |
| 25 |
Montana |
58 |
5-2 |
NR |
Others receiving votes: Stony Brook (50), Northern Iowa (49), Kennesaw State (40), N.C. Central (31), Monmouth (29), The Citadel (22), Southern Utah (16), Delaware (13), Saint Francis (10), Dartmouth (7), Alcorn State (5), Albany (4), SE Louisiana (1).
STATS FCS TOP-25 POLL
FCS Coverage:
http://www.fcs.football/fcsfront.asp
Richmond Seeks to Keep Rising in FCS Top 25
(STATS) - FCS power Richmond has some solid wins this season, but none have been attention-grabbing. The Spiders will have plenty of opportunities to change that before concluding the regular season, and no game may stir the emotions like Saturday's visit to Delaware against their former coach, Danny Rocco.
Richmond will carry the No. 11 ranking in the STATS FCS Top 25 into the highly anticipated game. Up two spots this week, the Spiders are one of the six CAA Football teams in the national media poll, led by defending national champion James Madison. James Madison grabbed the spotlight as the host of ESPN's "College GameDay" this past Saturday, but Newark, Delaware, will command its share of attention when the Blue Hens, who sit just outside the Top 25, host Richmond. Both teams are 4-2, have won two straight games and are one game behind JMU and Elon in the conference standings. Rocco has had a profound effect on both teams. He coached Richmond for five seasons from 2012-16, winning 43 games and two CAA titles, guiding the Spiders to the FCS playoff semifinals in 2015 and quarterfinals last season. In December, he left Richmond to move across the CAA to Delaware, where he is quickly regenerating the Blue Hens, who struggled in recent seasons.
Richmond, which just won at Towson 23-3, features the No. 1 passing offense in the FCS with quarterback Kyle Lauletta, the school's all-time leading passer, and wide receivers Dejon Brissett and Cortrelle Simpson. Delaware has a stout defense that's limiting opponents to only 14 points and under 300 yards per game.
James Madison (6-0) and North Dakota State (6-0) have stood 1-2 in the rankings since the preseason. JMU, which posted a 30-8 win over Villanova this past Saturday, collected 160 of the 167 first-place votes and 4,167 points in the poll to outdistance the Bison, who beat Youngstown State 27-24 in overtime in a matchup of Top 10 teams. They collected the other seven first-place votes and 4,014 points.
The next four spots also remained the same from last week with Jacksonville State (5-1), South Dakota (6-0), Wofford (6-0) and Central Arkansas (5-1). Sam Houston State (5-1) moved up to No. 7 followed by Eastern Washington (5-2), Youngstown State (3-3) and Western Illinois (5-1). After Richmond at No. 11, there was North Carolina A&T (7-0), South Dakota State (4-2), Elon (5-1), Villanova (4-3), Samford (4-2), Grambling State (5-1), New Hampshire (4-2), Western Carolina (5-2) and McNeese (5-1). Rounding out the Top 25 were No. 21 Montana (5-2), Stony Brook (5-2), Weber State (4-2), Illinois State (4-2) and North Carolina Central (5-1). Stony Brook returned to the rankings following a one-week absence and The Citadel fell out.
A national panel of sports information and media relations directors, broadcasters, writers and other dignitaries select the STATS 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.
The Top 25 is released every Monday afternoon during the regular season, except for Sunday morning, Nov. 19, prior to the selection of the 24-team FCS playoff field. A final Top 25 will follow the FCS championship game, which will be held Jan. 6 in Frisco, Texas.
| RANK |
SCHOOL |
POINTS |
RECORD |
PREV |
| 1 |
James Madison (160) |
4167 |
6-0 |
1 |
| 2 |
North Dakota State (7) |
4014 |
6-0 |
2 |
| 3 |
Jacksonville State |
3741 |
5-1 |
3 |
| 4 |
South Dakota |
3663 |
6-0 |
4 |
| 5 |
Wofford |
3494 |
6-0 |
5 |
| 6 |
Central Arkansas |
3352 |
5-1 |
6 |
| 7 |
Sam Houston State |
3062 |
5-1 |
9 |
| 8 |
Eastern Washington |
2975 |
5-2 |
10 |
| 9 |
Youngstown State |
2642 |
3-3 |
8 |
| 10 |
Western Illinois |
2463 |
5-1 |
14 |
| 11 |
Richmond |
2456 |
4-2 |
13 |
| 12 |
North Carolina A&T |
2174 |
7-0 |
15 |
| 13 |
South Dakota State |
2138 |
4-2 |
7 |
| 14 |
Elon |
2057 |
5-1 |
16 |
| 15 |
Villanova |
1785 |
4-3 |
11 |
| 16 |
Samford |
1523 |
4-2 |
19 |
| 17 |
Grambling State |
1219 |
5-1 |
20 |
| 18 |
New Hampshire |
1164 |
4-2 |
12 |
| 19 |
Western Carolina |
1138 |
5-2 |
21 |
| 20 |
McNeese |
851 |
5-1 |
22 |
| 21 |
Montana |
736 |
5-2 |
24 |
| 22 |
Stony Brook |
688 |
5-2 |
NR |
| 23 |
Weber State |
416 |
4-2 |
18 |
| 24 |
Illinois State |
391 |
4-2 |
17 |
| 25 |
North Carolina Central |
356 |
5-1 |
25 |
|
|
|
|
|
Others receiving votes: Northern Arizona (276) , Dartmouth (247) , Nicholls (169) , UNI (164) , Delaware (160) , Citadel (109) , Southern Utah (100) , Albany (94) , Eastern Illinois (63) , Kennesaw State (62) , Columbia (48) , Monmouth (44) , Furman (14) , Charleston Southern (14) , Duquesne (12) , Southern Illinois (7) , Austin Peay (6) , Alcorn State (4) , Liberty (4) , Mercer (4) , Princeton (3) , Southeastern Louisiana (3) , UC Davis (2) , Saint Francis U (1)