FCS Poll: Top teams ready to face off

Most of the top-tier teams in the Stats Perform FCS Top 25 Poll are headed to the road this week, but one that’s not has the toughest assignment of all.

Second-ranked South Dakota State is hosting the biggest matchup on the FCS regular season calendar – against No. 1 North Dakota State, the defending national champion. The rivals will meet for the 118th time Saturday night.

This past weekend, NDSU overcame more than two hours of a weather delay at Indiana State and SDSU brushed off an injury to quarterback Chase Mason at Murray State to both improve to 7-0 and set up the 10th all-time meeting of the top two nationally ranked teams.

But other big games are ahead as well, with No. 3 Tarleton State, the Big Sky trio of Montana (4). Montana State (5) and UC Davis (6), and No. 7 Lehigh also on the road within conference play. Montana puts its 7-0 record on the line in perhaps the week’s second-biggest game at Sacramento State.

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.

Stats Perform FCS Top 25 Poll (Oct. 20)

1. North Dakota State (7-0, 4-0 MVFC)
Points: 1,399 (55 of 56 first-place votes); Previous Ranking: 1; Week 8: 38-7 win at Indiana State; Week 9: at No. 2 South Dakota State

2. South Dakota State (7-0, 3-0 MVFC)
Points: 1,339 (1 first-place vote); Previous Ranking: 2; Week 8: 35-14 win at Murray State; Week 9: No. 1 North Dakota State

3. Tarleton State (8-0, 4-0 UAC)
Points: 1,276; Previous Ranking: 3; Week 8: 45-10 win over West Georgia; Week 9: at Eastern Kentucky

4. Montana (7-0, 4-0 Big Sky)
Points: 1,220; Previous Ranking: 4; Week 8: 43-21 win over Sacred Heart; Week 9: at Sacramento State

5. Montana State (5-2, 3-0 Big Sky)
Points: 1,198; Previous Ranking: 5; Week 8: No game; Week 9: at Cal Poly

6. UC Davis (5-1, 3-0 Big Sky)
Points: 1,078; Previous Ranking: 6; Week 8: No game; Week 9: at Northern Colorado

7. Lehigh (7-0, 2-0 Patriot)
Points: 1,035; Previous Ranking: 7; Week 8: No game; Week 9: at Fordham

8. North Dakota (5-2, 3-0 MVFC)
Points: 995, Previous Ranking: 9; Week 8: 38-19 win at then-No. 12 Southern Illinois; Week 9: Indiana State

9. Tennessee Tech (7-0, 4-0 OVC-Big South)
Points: 987; Previous Ranking: 8; Week 8: 52-28 win at Lindenwood; Week 9: Southeast Missouri

10. Monmouth (6-1, 3-0 CAA)
Points: 909; Previous Ranking: 11; Week 8: 49-21 win over Stony Brook; Week 9: at Hampton

11. Villanova (5-2, 4-1 CAA)
Points: 683; Previous Ranking: 15; Week 8: 56-14 win over Hampton; Week 9: UAlbany

12. Jackson State (5-1, 3-0 SWAC)
Points: 638; Previous Ranking: 14; Week 8: No game; Week 9: Grambling State in Las Vegas

13. Rhode Island (6-2, 4-0 CAA)
Points: 631; Previous Ranking: 16; Week 8: 58-17 win at UAlbany; Week 9: Bryant

14. Harvard (5-0, 2-0 Ivy)
Points: 601; Previous Ranking: 18; Week 8: 31-7 win over Merrimack; Week 9: at Princeton

15. Lamar (6-1, 3-0 Southland)
Points: 585; Previous Ranking: 17; Week 8: 23-21 win over UTRGV; Week 9: at Northwestern State

16. Southern Illinois (4-3, 1-2 MVFC)
Points: 481; Previous Ranking: 12; Week 8: 38-19 loss to then-No. 9 North Dakota; Week 9: Northern Iowa

17. Mercer (5-1, 4-0 SoCon)
Points: 475; Previous Ranking: 20; Week 8: No game; Week 9: VMI

18. Illinois State (4-3, 1-2 MVFC)
Points: 429; Previous Ranking: 10; Week 8: 40-35 loss to Youngstown State; Week 9: at No. 21 South Dakota

19. Presbyterian (7-0, 3-0 Pioneer)
Points: 369; Previous Ranking: 21; Week 8: 42-7 win over Stetson; Week 9: at Dayton

20. Northern Arizona (4-3, 1-2 Big Sky)
Points: 342; Previous Ranking: 19; Week 8: No game; Week 9: at Idaho State

21. South Dakota (5-3, 3-1 MVFC)
Points: 296; Previous Ranking: 22; Week 8: 17-14 win at Northern Iowa; Week 9: No. 18 Illinois State

22. Youngstown State (4-3, 1-2 MVFC)
Points: 244; Previous Ranking: NR; Week 8: 40-35 win at then-No. 10 Illinois State; Week 9: Murray State

23. Abilene Christian (4-4, 3-1 UAC)
Points: 227; Previous Ranking: 13; Week 8: 31-24 loss at Southern Utah; Week 9: No game

24. Stephen F. Austin (5-2, 3-0 Southland)
Points: 226; Previous Ranking: 25; Week 8: 34-7 win over Nicholls; Week 9: at East Texas A&M

25. Austin Peay (4-3, 2-2 UAC)
Points: 182; Previous Ranking: 23; Week 8: No game; Week 9: North Alabama

Dropped Out of Top 25: Idaho (24)

Others Receiving Votes (schools listed on two or more ballots): Southeastern Louisiana (5-2, 3-0 Southland), 176; Western Carolina (5-3, 4-0 SoCon), 61; Sacramento State (4-3, 2-1 Big Sky), 47; North Carolina Central (5-2, 0-0 MEAC), 36; Lafayette (5-3, 3-0 Patriot), 9; Penn (4-1, 2-0 Ivy), 8; Gardner-Webb (4-3, 2-1 OVC-Big South), 7; Alabama State (4-2, 2-1 SWAC), 6; Duquesne (5-3, 3-0 NEC), 2; West Georgia (5-3, 2-3 UAC), 2