FCS Poll: Tennessee Tech moves up to 11th

The FCS conference schedule is arriving at the right time because more teams are already in mid-season form.

A season-high 10 conferences are represented in the new Stats Perform FCS Top 25 Poll, including Harvard as the first Ivy League entrant at No. 25. Additionally, defending Southern Conference champion Mercer – a part of two earlier polls – is knocking at the door in the first spot outside the national media rankings. 

The top three spots went unchanged with North Dakota State, South Dakota State and Tarleton State. Montana, which earned a Top 10 win over Idaho, edged past Montana State into the No. 4 spot.

The Stats Perform FCS Top 25 Poll is released each Monday during the regular season and one day after the FCS championship game (to be played Jan. 5 in Nashville, Tennessee). 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.

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Stats Perform FCS Top 25 Poll (Sept. 29)

1. North Dakota State (4-0, 1-0 MVFC)

Points: 1,395 (51 of 56 first-place votes); Previous Ranking: 1; Week 5: 51-13 win over then-No. 17 South Dakota; Week 6: at No. 6 Illinois State 

2. South Dakota State (4-0)

Points: 1,342 (4 first-place votes); Previous Ranking: 2; Week 5: 51-7 win over Mercyhurst; Week 6: at No. 24 Youngstown State

3. Tarleton State (5-0, 1-0 UAC)

Points: 1,271 (1 first-place vote); Previous Ranking: 3; Week 5: No game; Week 6: Southern Utah  

4. Montana (4-0, 1-0 Big Sky)

Points: 1,217; Previous Ranking: 5; Week 5: 41-30 win over then-No. 8 Idaho; Week 6: at Idaho State

5. Montana State (3-2, 1-0 Big Sky)

Points: 1,203; Previous Ranking: 4; Week 5: 57-3 win over Eastern Washington; Week 6: at No. 13 Northern Arizona

6. Illinois State (3-1)

Points: 982; Previous Ranking: 7; Week 5: No game; Week 6: No. 1 North Dakota State

7. UC Davis (3-1, 1-0 Big Sky)

Points: 979; Previous Ranking: 9; Week 5: 34-12 win over Weber State; Week 6: at Cal Poly

8. Rhode Island (4-1, 2-0 CAA)

Points: 974; Previous Ranking: 6; Week 5: 47-14 loss at Western Michigan; Week 6: vs. Brown in Pawtucket, Rhode Island

9. Lehigh (5-0, 2-0 Patriot)

Points: 915; Previous Ranking: 10; Week 5: 44-30 win over Penn; Week 6: Yale

10. Southern Illinois (3-1)

Points: 874; Previous Ranking: 11; Week 5: No game; Week 6: Indiana State

11. Tennessee Tech (4-0, 1-0 OVC-Big South)

Points: 826; Previous Ranking: 13; Week 5: 35-8 win at Tennessee State; Week 6: Western Illinois

12. Idaho (2-3, 0-1 Big Sky)

Points: 765; Previous Ranking: 8; Week 5: 41-30 loss at then-No. 5 Montana; Week 6: No game

13. Northern Arizona (4-1, 1-0 Big Sky)

Points: 708; Previous Ranking: 15; Week 5: 31-17 win at Portland State; Week 6: No. 5 Montana State

14. Monmouth (3-1, 1-0 CAA)

Points: 680; Previous Ranking: 16; Week 5: No game; Week 6: Delaware State

15. North Dakota (2-2)

Points: 668; Previous Ranking: 14; Week 5: No game; Week 6: at Northern Iowa

16. West Georgia (5-0, 2-0 UAC)

Points: 566; Previous Ranking: 18; Week 5: 27-24 win at Southern Utah; Week 6: at No. 22 Austin Peay

17. Jackson State (3-1, 1-0 SWAC)

Points: 422; Previous Ranking: 19; Week 5: 38-13 win at Southern; Week 6: Alabama A&M in Mobile, Alabama

18. Villanova (2-2, 1-1 CAA)

Points: 336; Previous Ranking: 20; Week 5: 31-24 win over William & Mary; Week 6: at New Hampshire

19. Abilene Christian (2-3, 1-0 UAC)

Points: 298; Previous Ranking: 12; Week 5: 38-7 loss at UIW; Week 6: North Alabama

20. Lamar (3-1)

Points: 285; Previous Ranking: 22; Week 5: 35-32 win over Central Arkansas; Week 6: Nicholls 

21. South Dakota (2-3, 0-1 MVFC)

Points: 245; Previous Ranking: 17; Week 5: 51-13 loss at then-No. 1 North Dakota State; Week 6: Murray State

22. Austin Peay (3-2, 1-1 UAC)

Points: 241; Previous Ranking: 23; Week 5: 42-10 win over Utah Tech; Week 6: No. 16 West Georgia

23. Presbyterian (5-0, 1-0 Pioneer)

Points: 208; Previous Ranking: 25; Week 5: 41-0 win over Morehead State; Week 6: No game

24. Youngstown State (3-1)

Points: 190; Previous Ranking: 24; Week 5: No game; Week 6: No. 2 South Dakota State

25. Harvard (2-0, 1-0 Ivy)

Points: 163; Previous Ranking: NR; Week 5: 41-7 win over Brown; Week 6: at Holy Cross 

Dropped Out of Top 25: Sacramento State (21)

Others Receiving Votes (schools listed on two or more ballots): Mercer (3-1, 3-0 SoCon): 126; UIW (2-3, 0-1 Southland): 121; Stephen F. Austin (3-2, 1-0): 48; Sacramento State (2-3, 0-1 Big Sky): 31; Richmond (3-2, 0-1 Patriot): 29; Dartmouth (2-0): 25; Gardner-Webb (2-2): 20; New Hampshire (3-2, 1-0 CAA): 13; Yale (2-0, 1-0 Ivy): 10; North Carolina Central (4-2): 7