Led by North Dakota State at No. 3, six Missouri Valley Football schools ranked in the Top 25 of the final AFCA Coaches poll. Five teams are ranked in the Stats Perform poll (UNI is 26th in that voting.)
Stats Perform FCS Top 25 (Nov. 22)
CHICAGO – Nov. 22, 2021 –- The schedules worked out for the Big South and Southern conferences to have de facto championship games this past Saturday.
Kennesaw State routed Monmouth in the Big South and ETSU edged Mercer in the SoCon, and each winning team has surged into the national playoffs with a 10-1 record and a top 10 ranking in the Stats Perform FCS Top 25.
The postseason will sort out the entire picture, of course, but No. 9 ETSU and No. 10 Kennesaw State have momentum from their title-clinching wins. Top-ranked and defending FCS champion Sam Houston (10-0), No. 2 James Madison (10-1) and No. 3 North Dakota State (10-1) also have double-figure win totals and top 10 rankings in the national media poll.
Add in No. 4 Eastern Washington (9-2) and the top four spots in the poll are held by the only FCS championship-winning programs since the title game moved to Frisco, Texas, in 2010. This season’s playoffs will conclude there again on Jan. 8.
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.
The final poll will be released on Jan. 10.
1. Sam Houston (10-0, 6-0 AQ7), 1,248 points (49 first-place votes)
Previous Ranking: 1;
Week 12 Result: 35-9 win at Abilene Christian
2. James Madison (10-1, 7-1 CAA), 1,190
Previous Ranking: 2;
Week 12 Result: 56-10 win over Towson
3. North Dakota State (10-1, 7-1 Missouri Valley), 1,154 (1)
Previous Ranking: 4;
Week 12 Result: 52-24 win over then-No. 16 South Dakota
4. Eastern Washington (9-2, 6-2 Big Sky), 1,027
Previous Ranking: 5;
Week 12 Result: 42-28 win at Portland State
5. Montana (9-2, 6-2 Big Sky), 1,013
Previous Ranking: 7;
Week 12 Result: 29-10 win over then-No. 3 Montana State
6. Villanova (9-2, 7-1 CAA), 996
Previous Ranking: 6;
Week 12 Result: 21-13 win at Delaware
7. Montana State (9-2, 7-1 Big Sky), 916
Previous Ranking: 3;
Week 12 Result: 29-10 loss at then-No. 7 Montana
8. Sacramento State (9-2, 8-0 Big Sky), 908
Previous Ranking: 11;
Week 12 Result: 27-7 win at then-No. 10 UC Davis
9. ETSU (10-1, 7-1 Southern), 886
Previous Ranking: 8;
Week 12 Result: 38-35 win over then-No. 21 Mercer
10. Kennesaw State (10-1, 7-0 Big South), 826
Previous Ranking: 9;
Week 12 Result: 49-17 win over Monmouth
11. South Dakota State (8-3, 5-3 Missouri Valley), 721
Previous Ranking: 12;
Week 12 Result: 24-21 win over North Dakota
12. Missouri State (8-3, 6-2 Missouri Valley), 701
Previous Ranking: 14;
Week 12 Result: 55-24 win at Dixie State
13. UIW (9-2, 7-1 Southland), 629
Previous Ranking: 18;
Week 12 Result: 55-14 win at Houston Baptist
14. UC Davis (8-3, 5-3 Big Sky), 581
Previous Ranking: 10;
Week 12 Result: 27-7 loss to then-No. 11 Sacramento State
15. Jackson State (10-1, 8-0 SWAC), 512
Previous Ranking: 19;
Week 12 Result: 24-10 win over Alcorn State
16. UT Martin (9-2, 5-1 Ohio Valley), 469
Previous Ranking: 13;
Week 12 Result: 31-14 loss at Southeast Missouri
17. South Dakota (7-4, 5-3 Missouri Valley), 372
Previous Ranking: 16;
Week 12 Result: 52-24 loss at then-No. 4 North Dakota State
18. Southeastern Louisiana (8-3, 6-2 Southland), 366
Previous Ranking: 15;
Week 12 Result: 45-42 loss to Nicholls
19. Dartmouth (9-1, 6-1 Ivy), 365
Previous Ranking: 20;
Week 12 Result: 52-31 win at Brown
20. Stephen F. Austin (8-3, 4-2 AQ7), 293
Previous Ranking: 22;
Week 12 Result: 42-6 win at Lamar
21. Southern Illinois (7-4, 5-3 Missouri Valley), 286
Previous Ranking: 17;
Week 12 Result: 35-18 loss to Youngstown State
22. Florida A&M (9-2, 7-1 SWAC), 239
Previous Ranking: 23;
Week 12 Result: 46-21 win over Bethune-Cookman
23. Princeton (9-1, 6-1 Ivy), 157
Previous Ranking: 24;
Week 12 Result: 34-14 win at Penn
24. Holy Cross (9-2, 6-0 Patriot), 103
Previous Ranking: Not Ranked;
Week 12 Result: 45-6 win at Bucknell
25. Mercer (7-3, 6-2 Southern), 99
Previous Ranking: 21;
Week 12 Result: 38-35 loss at then-No. 8 ETSU
Dropped Out: Rhode Island (24)
Others Receiving Votes (schools listed on two or more ballots): Northern Iowa 94, Sacred Heart 24, Eastern Kentucky 23, Harvard 17, Richmond 7, Monmouth 5, Rhode Island 4, Elon 3, Davidson 2
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 22, 2021
WACO, TEX.– Defending national champion Sam Houston ends the regular season where they started, at No. 1 in the AFCA FCS Coaches’ Top 25 Poll. The only undefeated team left in FCS, the Bearkats moved to 10-0 after a dominate 35-9 victory over Abilene Christian. Sam Houston received the No. 1 seed in the NCAA Division I FCS playoffs and will await the winner of No. 15 UIW and No. 19 Stephen F. Austin on December 4th.
Seven other teams received first-round byes in the 2021 playoffs. They are No. 2 James Madison, No. 3 North Dakota State, No. 5 Montana, No. 7 Villanova, No. 8 East Tennessee State, No. 9 Montana State and No. 12 Sacramento State. The Missouri Valley Football Conference got six teams in the playoffs for the first time ever, while the Big Sky Conference earned a league-record five bids. The only other conference to have six teams in the FCS playoffs was the Colonial Athletic Association in 2018.
Holy Cross and Northern Iowa both re-enter the poll in the final week of the regular season. The No. 24 Crusaders won the Patriot League and will host Sacred Heart in the first round of the playoffs. This is Holy Cross’ first home playoff game since 1983. No. 25 Northern Iowa received an at-large bid and will travel to No. 6 Eastern Washington in their first-round game.
| Rank |
School (1st votes) |
Pts. |
Prev. |
Next Game |
| 1 |
Sam Houston (27) |
675 |
1 |
Dec. 4 TBD |
| 2 |
James Madison |
647 |
2 |
Dec. 4 TBD |
| 3 |
North Dakota St. |
619 |
4 |
Dec. 4 TBD |
| 4 |
Kennesaw St. |
561 |
5 |
Nov. 27 vs. Davidson |
| 5 |
Montana |
556 |
7 |
Dec. 3 TBD |
| 6 |
Eastern Washington |
543 |
6 |
Nov. 27 vs. No. 25 Northern Iowa |
| 7 |
Villanova |
496 |
9 |
Dec. 3 TBD |
| 8 |
East Tennessee St. |
477 |
10 |
Dec. 4 TBD |
| 9 |
Montana St. |
447 |
3 |
Dec. 4 TBD |
| 10 |
Missouri St. |
404 |
14 |
Nov. 27 vs. No. 13 UT Martin |
| 11 |
South Dakota St. |
401 |
13 |
Nov. 27 vs. No. 16 UC Davis |
| 12 |
Sacramento St. |
377 |
18 |
Dec. 4 TBD |
| 13 |
UT Martin |
304 |
8 |
Nov. 27 at No. 10 Missouri St. |
| 14 |
Jackson St. |
301 |
17 |
Dec. 4 vs. Prairie View A&M |
| 15 |
UIW |
265 |
19 |
Nov. 27 vs. No. 19 Stephen F. Austin |
| 16 |
UC Davis |
261 |
11 |
Nov. 27 at No. 11 South Dakota St. |
| 17 |
Southeastern Louisiana |
197 |
12 |
Nov. 27 vs. No. 22 Florida A&M |
| 18 |
Princeton |
191 |
20 |
Season Complete |
| 19 |
Stephen F. Austin |
178 |
22 |
Nov. 27 at No. 15 UIW |
| 20t. |
Dartmouth |
175 |
21 |
Season Complete |
| 20t. |
South Dakota |
175 |
16 |
Nov. 27 vs. No. 23 Southern Illinois |
| 22 |
Florida A&M |
156 |
25 |
Nov. 27 at No. 17 Southeastern Louisiana |
| 23 |
Southern Illinois |
144 |
15 |
Nov. 27 at No. 20t South Dakota |
| 24 |
Holy Cross |
80 |
NR |
Nov. 27 vs. Sacred Heart |
| 25 |
Northern Iowa |
29 |
NR |
Nov. 27 at No. 6 Eastern Washington |
Others Receiving Votes: Eastern Kentucky, 26; Mercer, 26; Chattanooga, 14; Monmouth (N.J.), 12; Davidson, 8; Harvard, 8; Elon, 5; Nicholls, 5; Sacred Heart, 4; Rhode Island, 3; Maine, 2; Weber St., 2; Austin Peay, 1.