Including polls of Oct. 11, the league has had seven or more teams ranked in the same week 19 times in its history, most recently on March 8, 2021. Notably, eight different MVFC teams were ranked during the same week (7 teams in the coaches poll and 7 in the media poll) on Sept. 29, 2014, setting a league record for total teams ranked in one week.
All five games this Saturday (Oct. 16) will have one or more ranked MVFC teams participating.
Stats Perform FCS Top 25 (Oct. 11)
CHICAGO – Oct. 1, 2021 – If the elbow room in the Stats Perform FCS Top 25 seems tight, consider the Missouri Valley Football Conference, which added a seventh team in the national media rankings on Monday.
South Dakota entered the rankings at No. 21, joining the biggest conference haul since the MVFC twice had seven during the spring season. The group also included North Dakota State (3), Southern Illinois (4), South Dakota State (7), Northern Iowa (16), Missouri State (20) and North Dakota (22). Southern Illinois (5-1, 3-0) is first in the MVFC standings after posting a 42-41, overtime win at then-No. 2 SDSU.
Defending national champion Sam Houston (5-0) strengthened its hold on the No. 1 ranking after posting an FCS-high 16
th straight win, and Eastern Washington (6-0) moved up to No. 2 – its highest ranking since the final 2018 season poll. Montana (4-1) moved up one spot to fifth, while Villanova (4-1) rose five spots to sixth after a 28-27 win at then-No. 3 James Madison.
Nine different conferences are represented in the rankings, including the Big Sky and CAA with five teams each.
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.
1. Sam Houston (5-0, 3-0 AQ7), 1,229 points (39 first-place votes)
Previous Ranking: 1;
Week 6 Result: 41-7 win over Lamar
2. Eastern Washington (6-0, 3-0 Big Sky), 1,186 (9)
Previous Ranking: 4;
Week 6 Result: 63-17 win at Northern Colorado
3. North Dakota State (5-0, 2-0 Missouri Valley), 1,174 (2)
Previous Ranking: 5;
Week 6 Result: 34-20 win over then-No. 16 Northern Iowa
4. Southern Illinois (5-1, 3-0 Missouri Valley), 1,081
Previous Ranking: 8;
Week 6 Result: 42-41 OT win at then-No. 2 South Dakota State
5. Montana (4-1, 2-1 Big Sky), 996
Previous Ranking: 6;
Week 6 Result: 31-14 win over Dixie State
6. Villanova (4-1, 2-0 CAA), 977
Previous Ranking: 11;
Week 6 Result: 28-27 win at then-No. 3 James Madison
7. South Dakota State (4-1, 1-1 Missouri Valley), 972
Previous Ranking: 2;
Week 6 Result: 42-41 OT loss to then-No. 8 Southern Illinois
8. James Madison (4-1, 2-1 CAA), 906
Previous Ranking: 3;
Week 6 Result: 28-27 loss to then-No. 11 Villanova
9. Montana State (5-1, 3-0 Big Sky), 881
Previous Ranking: 10;
Week 6 Result: 45-7 win over Cal Poly
10. ETSU (6-0, 3-0 Southern), 796
Previous Ranking: 12;
Week 6 Result: 48-21 win over The Citadel
11. Southeastern Louisiana (4-1, 2-0 Southland), 741
Previous Ranking: 14;
Week 6 Result: 58-48 win at then-No. 25 Nicholls
12. Rhode Island (5-0, 3-0 CAA), 694
Previous Ranking: 18;
Week 6 Result: 22-15 win over then-No. 9 Delaware
13. UC Davis (5-1, 2-1 Big Sky), 564
Previous Ranking: 7;
Week 6 Result: 27-17 loss at Idaho State
14. Delaware (3-2, 2-1 CAA), 559
Previous Ranking: 9;
Week 6 Result: 22-15 loss at then-No. 18 Rhode Island
15. Kennesaw State (4-1, 1-0 Big South), 543
Previous Ranking: 17;
Week 6 Result: 34-15 win at Hampton
16. Northern Iowa (3-2, 1-1 Missouri Valley), 410
Previous Ranking: 16;
Week 6 Result: 34-20 loss at then-No. 5 North Dakota State
17. UT Martin (4-1, 1-0 Ohio Valley), 409
Previous Ranking: 21;
Week 6 Result: 48-24 win over Murray State
18. UIW (4-1, 2-0 Southland), 344
Previous Ranking: 20;
Week 6 Result: Open week
19. Weber State (2-3, 1-1 Big Sky), 330
Previous Ranking: 19;
Week 6 Result: Open week
20. Missouri State (3-2, 2-1 Missouri Valley), 285
Previous Ranking: 15;
Week 6 Result: 41-33 loss at Youngstown State
21. South Dakota (4-2, 2-1 Missouri Valley), 229
Previous Ranking: Not Ranked;
Week 6 Result: 20-13 win over then-No. 13 North Dakota
22. North Dakota (2-3, 0-2 Missouri Valley), 216
Previous Ranking: 13;
Week 6 Result: 20-13 loss at South Dakota
23. New Hampshire (3-2, 2-1 CAA), 124
Previous Ranking: 22;
Week 6 Result: Open week
24. Jacksonville State (3-3, 1-0 AQ7), 122
Previous Ranking: 24;
Week 6 Result: 28-24 win over then-No. 23 Stephen F. Austin
25. Princeton (4-0, 1-0 Ivy), 88
Previous Ranking: Not Ranked;
Week 6 Result: 31-28 win at Monmouth
Dropped Out: Stephen F. Austin (23), Nicholls (25)
Others Receiving Votes (schools listed on two or more ballots): Mercer 78, Jackson State 63, VMI 60, Duquesne 48, Harvard 36, William & Mary 28, Central Arkansas 21, Youngstown State 20, Stephen F. Austin 11, Nicholls 10, Eastern Kentucky 9, Prairie View A&M 8
Stats Perform FCS Top 25 Voters – Stats Perform: Craig Haley, Gary Reasons.
ASUN: Patrick McCoy, Mike Parris.
Big Sky Conference: Doug Kelly
, Tyson Rodgers, Larry Weir.
Big South Conference: Brian Cleary, Matt Harmon, Mark Simpson.
CAA Football: Scott Klatzkin, Greg Madia, 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: Tad Maury, Ralph Ventre.
Ohio Valley Conference: Neal Bradley, Kyle Schwartz.
Patriot League: Eric Malanowski, Ryan Sakamoto.
Pioneer Football League: Cody Bush, Jack Cronin.
Southern Conference: David Fox, Jeff Hartsell, Phil Perry.
Southland Conference: Zack Carlton, Josh Yonis.
Southwestern Athletic Conference: Ronnie Johnson, Travis Jarome, Andrew Roberts.
Western Athletic Conference: Josh Criswell, Chris Thompson.
National Representatives: Josh Buchanan, Riley Corcoran, Sam Herder, Emory Hunt, Brett Huston, Kyle Kensing, Brandon Lawrence, Jon Passman, Lawrence Smith, Phil Sokol, Reggie Thomas, Jamie Williams.
American Football Coaches Association FCS Coaches’ Top 25 Poll – October 11, 2021
WACO, TEX.– Down 35-21 with 10 minutes left to play, Southern Illinois rallied to send their game against then-No. 3 South Dakota State into overtime. The Salukis scored first in the extra period, then the Jackrabbits answered, but decided to go for two. Southern Illinois linebacker Branson Combs broke up the attempted two-point conversion to clinch the win, 42-41. The win vaulted Southern Illinois to No. 4 in the AFCA FCS Coaches’ Top 25 Poll and dropped South Dakota State to No. 8.
With nine upsets in the Top 25 on Saturday, including four in the Top 10, the poll looks a lot different this week. Sam Houston is still No. 1, but Eastern Washington slots into the No. 2 spot thanks to then-No. 2 James Madison losing to new No. 5 Villanova, 28-27. North Dakota State is No. 3 after beating then-No. 12 Northern Iowa, 34-20.
Montana State and East Tennessee State enter the Top 10 for the first time this year at No. 9 and No. 10, respectively, while South Dakota and Jackson State enter the Top 25 for the first time. The Coyotes are No. 21 after handing then-No. 15 North Dakota a 20-13 loss. The Tigers come in at No. 25 with a 4-1 mark after a dominant 61-15 victory over Alabama A&M.
| Rank |
School (1st votes) |
Pts. |
Prev. |
Next Game |
| 1 |
Sam Houston (27) |
698 |
1 |
Oct. 23 vs. No. 22 Jacksonville St. |
| 2 |
Eastern Washington (1) |
664 |
4 |
Oct. 16 vs. Idaho |
| 3 |
North Dakota St. |
639 |
5 |
Oct. 16 at Illinois St. |
| 4 |
Southern Illinois |
588 |
7 |
Oct. 16 vs. No. 24 North Dakota |
| 5 |
Villanova |
566 |
9 |
Oct. 16 at Albany |
| 6 |
Montana |
562 |
6 |
Oct. 16 vs. Sacramento St. |
| 7 |
James Madison |
508 |
2 |
Oct. 16 at Richmond |
| 8 |
South Dakota St. |
483 |
3 |
Oct. 16 at Western Illinois |
| 9 |
Montana St. |
475 |
11 |
Oct. 15 at No. 18 Weber St. |
| 10 |
East Tennessee St. |
467 |
13 |
Oct. 16 at Chattanooga |
| 11 |
SE Louisiana |
413 |
14 |
Oct. 16 vs. Houston Baptist |
| 12 |
UC Davis |
346 |
8 |
Oct. 16 vs. Northern Colorado |
| 13 |
Kennesaw St. |
336 |
17 |
Oct. 16 vs. North Carolina A&T |
| 14 |
Rhode Island |
334 |
20 |
Oct. 16 at Towson |
| 15 |
Delaware |
261 |
10 |
Oct. 16 at Stony Brook |
| 16 |
UT Martin |
253 |
21 |
Oct. 16 at Eastern Illinois |
| 17 |
Northern Iowa |
244 |
12 |
Oct. 16 vs. No. 21 South Dakota |
| 18 |
Weber St. |
207 |
18 |
Oct. 15 vs. No. 9 Montana St. |
| 19 |
Harvard |
142 |
22 |
Oct. 16 vs. Lafayette |
| 20 |
Princeton |
125 |
24 |
Oct. 16 at Brown |
| 21 |
South Dakota |
104 |
NR |
Oct. 16 at No. 17 Northern Iowa |
| 22 |
Jacksonville St. |
102 |
23 |
Oct. 23 at No. 1 Sam Houston |
| 23 |
Missouri St. |
95 |
16 |
Oct. 16 vs. Indiana St. |
| 24 |
North Dakota |
94 |
15 |
Oct. 16 at No. 4 Southern Illinois |
| 25 |
Jackson St. |
73 |
NR |
Oct. 16 vs. Alabama St. |
Others Receiving Votes: Mercer, 66; Eastern Kentucky, 50; New Hampshire, 44; VMI, 43; UIW, 26; Duquesne, 19; William & Mary, 19; Florida A&M, 10; Central Arkansas, 9; Yale, 8; North Carolina A&T, 7; Stephen F. Austin, 6; Chattanooga, 5; Holy Cross, 3; Dartmouth, 2; Elon, 2; Monmouth (N.J.), 1; Nicholls, 1.