Panthers Jump to No. 17 in STATS FCS Rankings
UNI jumped eight spots from No. 25 to No. 17 in the rankings after the Panthers defeated previously No. 2 ranked South Dakota State this past Saturday. North Dakota State continues to have its unanimous stranglehold in both polls while South Dakota State (8/7) and Illinois State (9/11) are also ranked in the AFCA and STATS polls, respectively. UNI is No. 23 in the AFCA coaches poll.
North Dakota State is looking to join 24 other teams in MVFC history that won their first five league games in a season. Twenty-two of the previous 24 earned a playoff berth, and 21 of those teams won the league crown. A league team has started 5-0 in back-to-back seasons five times: Western Illinois (87-88), UNI (94-95-96), Western Illinois (97-98), Southern Illinois (03-04) and North Dakota State (13-14). The Bison were 5-0 to start the 2017 league slate.
STATS FCS TOP-25 POLL
CHICAGO – Oct. 22, 2018 –– It doesn’t have the ring of “1-2-3,” but 4-5-6 must sound pretty good in the Big Sky Conference. That was the order of Weber State (5-2), Eastern Washington (5-2) and UC Davis (6-1), respectively, in the STATS FCS Top 25 on Monday. Each team moved up at least three spots as part of the continual shuffling behind unanimous No. 1 North Dakota State (7-0).
As the largest FCS conference with 13 teams, the Big Sky title race is particularly competitive. UC Davis has surpassed last year’s five wins and holds first place in coach Dan Hawkins’ second season – one game ahead of defending co-champ Weber State and preseason favorite Eastern Washington. The trio has a combined two losses to FCS competition, and one was Weber State beating Eastern Washington.
CAA Football is the only other conference to place three teams in the top 10, and it also has the high of six overall teams in the national media rankings. But everybody is looking up to reigning national champion North Dakota State, which collected all 163 first-place votes. The Bison beat then-No. 8 Illinois State 28-14 in the Missouri Valley Football Conference this past Saturday.
Following a loss by South Dakota State, Kennesaw State (6-1) moved up one spot to No. 2. The Big South power is in just its fourth season as a program. 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.
Others Receiving Votes: Dartmouth 394, Southeast Missouri 195, Chattanooga 132, Florida A&M 125, Rhode Island 111, Idaho State 91, UIW 70, Murray State 28, Montana State 21, Montana 12, Missouri State 11, Monmouth 9, San Diego 6, Western Illinois 4, Mercer 2, Samford 2, Alcorn State 1
AFCA COACHES RANKINGS
WACO, TEX.– Facing yet another tough Missouri Valley rival, North Dakota State was up to the task defeating then-No. 7 Illinois State, 28-14. The Bison extended their winning streak to seven games to remain No. 1 and undefeated in 2018. Illinois State dropped just two spots to a No. 9 ranking in the eighth week of the AFCA FCS Coaches’ Top 25 Poll. Next week, North Dakota State will travel to South Dakota as Missouri Valley play continues, while Illinois State looks to bounce back against No. 8 South Dakota State.
Northern Iowa has rejoined the Top 25 at No. 23 for the first time since week 5 after a huge upset of then-No. 3 South Dakota State, 24-9. Also joining the poll for the first time in 2018 is North Dakota. The Fighting Hawks sit at No. 24 after a 41-15 victory over Sacramento State.
Week 9 will bring four other Top 25 matchups besides the South Dakota State-Illinois State contest. In a pair of Colonial Athletic Association matchups, No. 3 James Madison will host No. 15 Stony Brook followed by No. 10 Towson traveling to No. 21 Delaware. The other two matchups see No. 24 North Dakota hosting No. 5 Weber State in Big Sky action, while No. 16 McNeese plays host to No. 14 Central Arkansas in Southland Conference play.
| Rank |
School (1st votes) |
Pts. |
Prev. |
Next Game |
| 1 |
North Dakota St. (26) |
650 |
1 |
Oct. 27 at South Dakota |
| 2 |
Kennesaw St. |
623 |
2 |
Oct. 27 at Charleston Southern |
| 3 |
James Madison |
595 |
5 |
Oct. 27 vs. No. 15 Stony Brook |
| 4 |
Eastern Washington |
559 |
8 |
Oct. 27 vs. Idaho |
| 5 |
Weber St. |
550 |
9 |
Oct. 27 at No. 24 North Dakota |
| 6 |
Elon |
486 |
11 |
Nov. 3 vs. Rhode Island |
| 7 |
Wofford |
448 |
12 |
Oct. 27 vs. Mercer |
| 8 |
South Dakota St. |
443 |
3 |
Oct. 27 at No. 9 Illinois St. |
| 9 |
Illinois St. |
424 |
7 |
Oct. 27 vs. No. 8 South Dakota St. |
| 10 |
Towson |
390 |
14 |
Oct. 27 at No. 21 Delaware |
| 11 |
Colgate |
379 |
13 |
Oct. 27 vs. Georgetown |
| 12 |
Jacksonville St. |
363 |
4 |
Oct. 27 at Murray St. |
| 13 |
UC Davis |
343 |
16 |
Oct. 27 at Montana |
| 14 |
Central Arkansas |
324 |
15 |
Oct. 27 at No. 16 McNeese |
| 15 |
Stony Brook |
299 |
17 |
Oct. 27 at No. 3 James Madison |
| 16 |
McNeese |
270 |
6 |
Oct. 27 vs. No. 14 Central Arkansas |
| 17 |
Princeton |
222 |
18t |
Oct. 27 vs. Cornell |
| 18 |
North Carolina A&T |
216 |
18t |
Oct. 27 vs. Norfolk St. |
| 19 |
Nicholls |
137 |
22 |
Oct. 27 vs. UIW |
| 20 |
Dartmouth |
135 |
24 |
Oct. 27 vs. Harvard |
| 21 |
Delaware |
128 |
25 |
Oct. 27 vs. No. 10 Towson |
| 22 |
Sam Houston St. |
118 |
10 |
Oct. 27 vs. Southeastern Louisiana |
| 23 |
Northern Iowa |
104 |
NR |
Oct. 27 at Western Illinois |
| 24 |
North Dakota |
90 |
NR |
Oct. 27 vs. No 5 Weber St. |
| 25 |
East Tennessee St. |
72 |
21 |
Oct. 27 vs. Western Carolina |
Others Receiving Votes: Maine, 17; Southeast Missouri State, 17; Chattanooga, 14; Idaho State, 12; Florida A&M, 7; Rhode Island, 7; UIW, 5; Montana State, 3.