Five MVFC teams are ranked in the Top 16 of the AFCA coaches Top 25 (and five in the Top 17 of the Stats Perform). UNI and North Dakota are among schools receiving votes. North Dakota State leads the MVFC in both polls, clocking in at No. 4 in each ranking this week.
The MVFC is top-rated FCS league in the Sagarin, ahead of three FBS divisions (C-USA-West; MAC-East; Sun Belt-West).
- MVFC
- Big Sky
- Southern
- Southland
- Ivy
- AQ7
- CAA
Stats Perform FCS Top 25 (Nov. 15)
CHICAGO – Nov. 15, 2021 –- The race right behind top-ranked Sam Houston in the Stats Perform FCS Top 25 is sizzling heading into the final full week of the regular season.
On Monday, the Bearkats (9-0) remained as a unanimous No. 1, a spot they’ve held since the preseason. The voting, though, is competitive between No. 2 James Madison, No. 3 Montana State and No. 4 North Dakota State, which are all 9-1 and trying to position for one of the top two seeds in the 24-team playoff field, which the NCAA will announce on Sunday.
The top two seeds are guaranteed home-field advantage through the semifinals. Sam Houston, the defending national champion and only unbeaten FCS team, appears to be in line for the No. 1 seed if it beats Abilene Christian on Saturday, which would extend its Division I-high 20-game winning streak.
The other closing arguments: James Madison will host Towson, while Montana State (at Montana) and North Dakota State (South Dakota) face more difficult opponents.
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 (9-0, 5-0 AQ7), 1,250 points (50 first-place votes)
Previous Ranking: 1;
Week 11 Result: 42-28 win over Eastern Kentucky
2. James Madison (9-1, 6-1 CAA), 1,182
Previous Ranking: 2;
Week 11 Result: 32-22 win at then-No. 25 William & Mary
3. Montana State (9-1, 7-0 Big Sky), 1,163
Previous Ranking: 3;
Week 11 Result: 20-13 win over Idaho
4. North Dakota State (9-1, 6-1 Missouri Valley), 1,096
Previous Ranking: 5;
Week 11 Result: 49-17 win at Youngstown State
5. Eastern Washington (8-2, 5-2 Big Sky), 1,013
Previous Ranking: 7;
Week 11 Result: 38-20 win at then-No. 6 UC Davis
6. Villanova (8-2, 6-1 CAA), 938
Previous Ranking: 8;
Week 11 Result: 33-14 win over Stony Brook
7. Montana (8-2, 5-2 Big Sky), 889
Previous Ranking: 9;
Week 11 Result: 30-3 win at Northern Arizona
8. ETSU (9-1, 6-1 Southern), 811
Previous Ranking: 11;
Week 11 Result: 56-35 win at Western Carolina
9. Kennesaw State (9-1, 6-0 Big South), 802
Previous Ranking: 10;
Week 11 Result: 28-24 win at North Alabama
10. UC Davis (8-2, 5-2 Big Sky), 749
Previous Ranking: 6;
Week 11 Result: 38-20 loss to then-No. 7 Eastern Washington
11. Sacramento State (8-2, 7-0 Big Sky), 721
Previous Ranking: 12;
Week 11 Result: 49-20 win over Portland State
12. South Dakota State (7-3, 4-3 Missouri Valley), 701
Previous Ranking: 4;
Week 11 Result: 23-20 loss at then-No. 19 South Dakota
13. UT Martin (9-1, 5-0 Ohio Valley), 686
Previous Ranking: 13;
Week 11 Result: 42-3 win at Tennessee Tech
14. Missouri State (7-3, 6-2 Missouri Valley), 600
Previous Ranking: 16;
Week 11 Result: 34-27 win over then-No. 20 Northern Iowa
15. Southeastern Louisiana (8-2, 6-1 Southland), 577
Previous Ranking: 14;
Week 11 Result: 56-28 win over Northwestern State
16. South Dakota (7-3, 5-2 Missouri Valley), 552
Previous Ranking: 19;
Week 11 Result: 23-20 win over then-No. 4 South Dakota State
17. Southern Illinois (7-3, 5-2 Missouri Valley), 546
Previous Ranking: 15;
Week 11 Result: 47-21 win at Indiana State
18. UIW (8-2, 6-1 Southland), 479
Previous Ranking: 17;
Week 11 Result: 27-23 win at Nicholls
19. Jackson State (9-1, 7-0 SWAC), 373
Previous Ranking: 18;
Week 11 Result: 21-17 win at Southern
20. Dartmouth (8-1, 5-1 Ivy), 252
Previous Ranking: 22 (tie);
Week 11 Result: 41-7 win over Cornell
21. Mercer (7-2, 6-1 Southern), 228
Previous Ranking: Not Ranked;
Week 11 Result: 10-6 win over then-No. 22 Chattanooga
22. Stephen F. Austin (7-3, 3-2 AQ7), 105
Previous Ranking: Not Ranked;
Week 11 Result: 27-14 win at Central Arkansas
23. Florida A&M (8-2, 6-1 SWAC), 96
Previous Ranking: Not Ranked;
Week 11 Result: 37-7 win at Arkansas-Pine Bluff
24. Princeton (8-1, 5-1 Ivy), 93
Previous Ranking: Not Ranked;
Week 11 Result: 35-20 win over Yale
25. Rhode Island (7-3, 4-3 CAA), 76
Previous Ranking: Not Ranked;
Week 11 Result: 28-3 win over New Hampshire
Dropped Out: Northern Iowa (20), VMI (21), Chattanooga (22 tie), Prairie View A&M (24), William & Mary (25)
Others Receiving Votes (schools listed on two or more ballots): Northern Iowa 64, Monmouth 61, Holy Cross 37, VMI 25, Chattanooga 21, William & Mary 17, Prairie View A&M 14, North Dakota 11, Eastern Kentucky 7, Sacred Heart 7, Harvard 4
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 – November 15, 2021
WACO, TEX.– Mercer finally found its way into the AFCA FCS Coaches’ Top 25 Poll after upsetting then-No. 19 Chattanooga, 10-6. The Bears forced six turnovers and used a stout defense to hang on for the win. Mercer comes in at No. 23 and gets to test their new ranking as they travel to No. 10 East Tennessee State for the regular season finale. The winner will take home the Southern Conference title.
The top-three spots are still the same with Sam Houston continuing to lead the way after beating then-No. 25 Eastern Kentucky, 42-28. North Dakota State moves into the fourth spot after UC Davis lost to Eastern Washington, 38-20. The Aggies fell to No. 11 while EWU moved up two places to No. 6. Kennesaw State rounds out the top-five and will face No. 24 Monmouth (N.J.) for the Big South Conference title.
Stephen F. Austin and Florida A&M join Mercer as newcomers to the poll. The Lumberjacks come in at No. 22 and are 7-3 on the season after beating Central Arkansas, 27-14. SFA will travel to Lamar to end the regular season. Florida A&M jumps into the poll at No. 25. The Rattlers are 8-2 after a dominating, 37-7 win over Arkansas-Pine Bluff. They will end the regular season against Bethune-Cookman on Saturday.
| Rank |
School (1st votes) |
Pts. |
Prev. |
Next Game |
| 1 |
Sam Houston (27) |
698 |
1 |
Nov. 20 at Abilene Christian |
| 2 |
James Madison |
665 |
2 |
Nov. 20 vs. Towson |
| 3 |
Montana St. (1) |
644 |
3 |
Nov. 20 at No. 7 Montana |
| 4 |
North Dakota St. |
575 |
6 |
Nov. 20 vs. No. 16 South Dakota |
| 5 |
Kennesaw St. |
563 |
5 |
Nov. 20 vs. No. 24 Monmouth (N.J.) |
| 6 |
Eastern Washington |
559 |
8 |
Nov. 20 at Portland St. |
| 7 |
Montana |
510 |
9 |
Nov. 20 vs. No. 3 Montana St. |
| 8 |
UT Martin |
486 |
10 |
Nov. 20 at Southeast Missouri |
| 9 |
Villanova |
465 |
11 |
Nov. 20 at Delaware |
| 10 |
East Tennessee St. |
444 |
12 |
Nov. 20 vs. No. 23 Mercer |
| 11 |
UC Davis |
413 |
4 |
Nov. 20 vs. No. 18 Sacramento St. |
| 12 |
Southeastern Louisiana |
381 |
13 |
Nov. 20 vs. Nicholls |
| 13 |
South Dakota St. |
352 |
7 |
Nov. 20 vs. North Dakota |
| 14 |
Missouri St. |
326 |
14 |
Nov. 20 at Dixie St. |
| 15 |
Southern Illinois |
294 |
16 |
Nov. 20 vs. Youngstown St. |
| 16 |
South Dakota |
278 |
17 |
Nov. 20 at No. 4 North Dakota St. |
| 17 |
Jackson St. |
277 |
15 |
Nov. 20 vs. Alcorn St. |
| 18 |
Sacramento St. |
246 |
18 |
Nov. 20 at No. 11 UC Davis |
| 19 |
UIW |
187 |
21 |
Nov. 20 at Houston Baptist |
| 20 |
Princeton |
147 |
22 |
Nov. 20 at Penn |
| 21 |
Dartmouth |
136 |
23 |
Nov. 20 at Brown |
| 22 |
Stephen F. Austin |
99 |
NR |
Nov. 20 at Lamar |
| 23 |
Mercer |
88 |
NR |
Nov. 20 at No. 10 East Tennessee St. |
| 24 |
Monmouth (N.J.) |
86 |
NR |
Nov. 20 at No. 5 Kennesaw St. |
| 25 |
Florida A&M |
53 |
NR |
Nov. 20 vs. Bethune-Cookman |
Others Receiving Votes: Holy Cross, 35; Rhode Island, 33; Chattanooga, 18; Eastern Kentucky, 17; Northern Iowa, 5; VMI, 4; Weber St., 4; Central Arkansas, 3; William & Mary, 3; Jacksonville St., 2; Maine, 2; Harvard, 1; Sacred Heart, 1.