Six Missouri Valley Football Conference teams are ranked in this week's Stats Perform Top 25 rankings, which includes five teams that are among the nation's Top 10.
STATS PERFORM TOP 25 (Craig Haley)
Tarleton State has ascended to No. 1 in the Stats Perform FCS Top 25 Poll – the first-ever top national ranking for a football program that played its first game in 1904. Stephen F. Austin (7-0) has the No. 2 ranking ahead of reigning FCS champion Montana State (6-1). Harvard (5-0), the other unbeaten, is 15th. The Stats Perform FCS Top 25 Poll is released each Monday during the regular season and one day after the FCS championship game (Jan. 11 in Nashville, Tennessee). 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.
| Rank |
Team |
Pts. |
Prev. |
| 1 |
Tarleton State (49) |
1417 |
2 |
| 2 |
Stephen F. Austin (4) |
1331 |
3 |
| 3 |
Montana State (3) |
1285 |
5 |
| 4 |
Youngstown State (1) |
1234 |
6 |
| 5 |
South Dakota State |
1181 |
1 |
| 6 |
North Dakota |
1123 |
11 |
| 7 |
Northern Arizona |
1082 |
8 |
| 8 |
South Dakota |
1049 |
9 |
| 9 |
Austin Peay |
916 |
12 |
| 10 |
Illinois State |
823 |
13 |
| 11 |
Lehigh |
809 |
4 |
| 12 |
Tennessee Tech |
803 |
15 |
| 13 |
Campbell |
721 |
16 |
| 14 |
Montana |
682 |
7 |
| 15 |
Harvard |
670 |
17 |
| 16 |
Lamar |
592 |
10 |
| 17 |
Mercer |
544 |
18 |
| 18 |
ETSU |
441 |
20 |
| 19 |
Monmouth |
335 |
23 |
| 20 |
UC Davis |
284 |
14 |
| 21 |
Northern Iowa |
266 |
19 |
| 22 |
Weber State |
179 |
NR |
| 23 |
Southeastern Louisiana |
118 |
NR |
| 24 |
Jackson State |
116 |
NR |
| 25 |
Richmond |
106 |
NR
|
Others Receiving Points (schools listed on two or more ballots): Abilene Christian (4-4, 3-0 UAC): 86; Princeton (4-1, 2-0 Ivy): 62; Idaho State (4-3, 1-3 Big Sky): 57; West Florida (4-2, 2-2 UAC): 45; Cornell (3-2, 1-1 Ivy): 39; South Carolina State (5-2, 0-0 MEAC): 35; Colgate (4-3, 3-1 Patriot): 18; Houston Christian (4-3, 3-1 Southland): 14; Morgan State (5-2, 0-0 MEAC): 12; Wofford (5-3, 3-2 Southern): 10; Alabama A&M (6-2, 3-1 SWAC): 9; Bryant (5-2, 3-0 CAA) 9; UAlbany (4-3, 2-1 CAA): 5; Rhode Island (4-3, 1-2 CAA): 2
Stats Perform FCS Top 25 Poll Voting Panel – Stats Perform: Craig Haley. Big Sky Conference: Riley Corcoran, Tyson Rodgers, Larry Weir. CAA Football: Roger Brown, Matt Harmon, Rob Washburn. Ivy League: JJ Klein, Craig Larson. Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference: Isaiah Green, Kendrick Lewis. Missouri Valley Football Conference: Kyle Grooms, Tom Miller, Randy Reinhardt. Northeast Conference: Sarah Boissonneault, Brian Cleary. Ohio Valley Conference: Mike Bradd, Kyle Schwartz, Mark Simpson. Patriot League: Bob Black, Eric Malanoski, Ryan Sakamoto. Pioneer Football League: Cody Bush, Larry Hansgen. Southern Conference: Scott Keeler, Andrew Miller, Ralan Wardlaw. Southland Conference: Anthony Goss, Matthew Bonnette, James Dixon. Southwestern Athletic Conference: Curtis Ford, Ronnie Johnson. United Athletic Conference: Claire Johnson, Benjamin Ray, Jake Withee. National Representatives: Sean Anderson, Stan Becton, Taylor Blue, Zack Carlton, Gene Clemons, Joe DeLeone, Matt Dixon, Steven J. Gaither, Sam Herder, Emory Hunt, Kyle Kensing, Brandon Lawrence, Zach McKinnell, Jon Passman, Omar Rashon Borja, Ryan Roberts, Timothy Rosario, Kent Schmidt, Phil Sokol, Reggie Thomas, Ralph Ventre, Jamie Williams.
AFCA COACHES TOP 25 (VINCE THOMPSON)
WACO, TEX.– North Dakota built a 21-3 halftime lead over South Dakota State, then used a dominant defensive effort to hold on for the win, 21-10. The Fighting Hawks held the Jackrabbits to just 157 yards rushing, nearly half of what they have been averaging this season, which was key in the victory. The win moved North Dakota up to No. 8 in this week’s AFCA FCS Coaches Poll while South Dakota State fell to No. 5. It was the Fighting Hawks first victory over a No. 1-ranked team since they moved to Division I in 2008.
With South Dakota State’s loss, Tarleton State moves to the No. 1 spot for the first time in program history as a member of Division I-FCS. The Texans are just one of three undefeated teams left in FCS this season at 7-0. One of the other two is new No. 2 Stephen F. Austin, who blanked Nicholls, 56-0, and moved its record to 7-0. The last undefeated team is Harvard at No. 17. The Crimson are 5-0 after beating Holy Cross, 30-7.
Nine top 25 teams lost this past weekend, causing a major shakeup in the poll. Then-No. 4 Lehigh lost to Cornell (N.Y.), 48-38, allowing Montana State and Youngstown State to move up to the third and fourth spots, respectively, while the Mountain Hawks dropped to No. 12. Montana lost to Idaho, 42-35, and fell seven spots to No. 14, as did Lamar, who lost to Southeastern Louisiana, 34-31, and dropped from No. 8 to No. 15. UC Davis had the biggest fall, going from No. 12 to No. 21 after losing to Southern Utah, 38-17.
| AFCA COACHES TOP 25 (Oct. 19) |
| Rank |
School |
Pts. |
Prev. |
| 1 |
Tarleton St. (24) |
648 |
2 |
| 2 |
Stephen F. Austin (2) |
623 |
3 |
| 3 |
Montana St. |
591 |
5 |
| 4 |
Youngstown St. |
567 |
6 |
| 5 |
South Dakota St. |
520 |
1 |
| 6 |
South Dakota |
491 |
9 |
| 7 |
Northern Arizona |
482 |
10 |
| 8 |
North Dakota |
457 |
15 |
| 9 |
Austin Peay |
452 |
11 |
| 10 |
Illinois St. |
396 |
13 |
| 11 |
Tennessee Tech |
380 |
14 |
| 12 |
Lehigh |
375 |
4 |
| 13 |
Mercer |
305 |
16 |
| 14 |
Montana |
296 |
7 |
| 15 |
Lamar |
288 |
8 |
| 16 |
Campbell |
265 |
18 |
| 17 |
Harvard |
264 |
17 |
| 18 |
Monmouth (N.J.) |
200 |
20 |
| 19 |
Richmond |
152 |
22 |
| 20 |
ETSU |
144 |
24 |
| 21 |
UC Davis |
124 |
12 |
| 22 |
Jackson St. |
108 |
NR |
| 23 |
West Florida |
57 |
NR |
| 24 |
Southeastern Louisiana |
39 |
NR |
| 25 |
South Carolina St. |
37 |
NR |
Others Receiving Votes: ACU, 26; Northern Iowa, 24; Colgate, 18; Idaho St., 18; Princeton, 17; Bryant, 16; UAlbany, 15; Yale, 13; Weber St., 12; Cornell (N.Y.), 9; Wofford, 9; Morgan St., 5; Alabama A&M, 2; Southeast Missouri St., 2; Central Connecticut St., 1; Delaware St., 1; Marist, 1.
| AGS TOP 25 (Oct. 19) |
| Rank |
School |
Pts. |
1st-Place |
| 1 |
Tarleton State Texans |
1017 |
34 |
| 2 |
Stephen F. Austin Lumberjacks |
948 |
4 |
| 3 |
Youngstown State Penguins |
927 |
2 |
| 4 |
Montana State Bobcats |
908 |
1 |
| 5 |
South Dakota State Jackrabbits |
846 |
|
| 6 |
Northern Arizona Lumberjacks |
807 |
|
| 7 |
South Dakota Coyotes |
788 |
|
| 8 |
North Dakota Fighting Hawks |
762 |
|
| 9 |
Austin Peay Governors |
658 |
|
| 10 |
Illinois State Redbirds |
597 |
|
| 11 |
Tennessee Tech Golden Eagles |
529 |
|
| 12 |
Lehigh Mountain Hawks |
522 |
|
| 13 |
Campbell Fighting Camels |
518 |
|
| 14 |
Harvard Crimson |
513 |
|
| 15 |
Montana Grizzlies |
484 |
|
| 16T |
Lamar Cardinals |
389 |
|
| 16T |
Mercer Bears |
389 |
|
| 18 |
East Tennessee State Buccaneers |
362 |
|
| 19 |
Monmouth Hawks |
281 |
|
| 20 |
Northern Iowa Panthers |
192 |
|
| 21 |
Abilene Christian Wildcats |
142 |
|
| 22 |
Cornell Big Red |
101 |
|
| 23 |
Southeastern Louisiana Lions |
94 |
|
| 24 |
West Florida Argonauts |
78 |
|
| 25 |
UC Davis Aggies |
75 |
|
