For the third consecutive week, the North Dakota State Bison (4-0) received all 26 possible first-place votes. This week, NDSU defeated then-No. 20 Illinois State, 31-10. Quarterback Easton Stick passed for three touchdowns in the second quarter to propel the Bison over the Redbirds.
No. 2 Sam Houston State (4-0), No. 3 Chattanooga (5-0), No. 4 Jacksonville State (3-1), No. 5 Eastern Washington (4-1), No. 6 James Madison (4-1), No. 7 Richmond (4-1) and No. 8 Charleston Southern maintained last week’s rankings in this week’s poll after collecting wins this weekend, with the exception of Jacksonville State, who was idle.
Rounding out the top 10 are The Citadel and Montana at No.
9 and 10, respectively. Both squads moved up one slot in this week’s poll after Western Illinois fell from No. 8 to No.15 in this week’s poll.
No. 21 North Dakota, No. 24 Central Arkansas and No. 25 Grambling State cracked the top 25 for the first time this week after all three teams recorded wins on Saturday.
Ten conferences are represented among the top 25 teams in this week’s poll. The Missouri Valley leads the pack with six ranked teams, followed by the Colonial and the Big Sky with four teams each. The Southland totaled three teams, while the Ohio Valley and Southern have two teams each. The Big South, Ivy League, Mid-Eastern Atlantic and Southwestern Athletic each claimed one representative in the top 25.
The FCS Coaches Poll is based exclusively on a voting panel of head coaches in the FCS under the cooperation of the Collegiate Commissioners Association (CCA) and the American Football Coaches Association (AFCA) and is administered by the Southern Conference.