For the third straight week, the top-three of The Sports Network FCS Top-25 College Football Poll remained unchanged, with Villanova, Appalachian State and James Madison -- combined winners of five of the past six national championships -- holding their positions.
The Wildcats further strengthened their grip on the No. 1 spot, earning 94 of the possible 146 first-place votes (up from 87 last week) following their 22-10 win over UPenn on Saturday.
Appalachian State picked up a couple more first-place votes after they improved to 4-0 in 2010 with a 35-17 drubbing of Samford. The Dukes of JMU held steady at No. 3, defeating Liberty, 10-3, in their first action since knocking off Virginia Tech Sept. 11. The Flames' (2-2) loss dropped them from No. 22 to No. 25.
Jacksonville State (4-0) and Delaware (4-0) round out the top-five.
The Colonial Athletic Association continued its dominance of FCS football: three teams in the top-five (Villanova, JMU and Delaware), along with five of the top-eight (No. 7 William & Mary and No. 8 UMass) and seven of the top-14 (with No. 11 Richmond No. 14 New Hampshire).
Full rankings of Thee Sports Network/Fathead.com FCS Top-25 College Football Poll for Week 5 (as voted on by the sports information and media relations directors, broadcasters and writers) are as follows (first-place votes included):
1. Villanova Wildcats (94)
2. Appalachian State Mountaineers (24)
3. James Madison Dukes (22)
4. Jacksonville State Gamecocks (5)
5. Delaware Blue Hens (1)
6. Stephen F. Austin Lumberjacks
7. William & Mary Tribe
8. Massachusetts Minutemen
9. South Carolina State Bulldogs
10. Montana State Bobcats
11. Richmond Spiders
12. Montana Grizzlies
13. North Dakota State Bison
14. New Hampshire Wildcats
15. Cal Poly Mustangs
16. Eastern Washington Eagles
17. Northern Iowa Panthers
18. Furman Paladins
19. Georgia Southern Eagles
20. Texas State Bobcats
21. Elon Phoenix
22. Youngstown State Penguins
23. Illinois State Redbirds
24. Southern Illinois Salukis
25. Liberty Flames
Week 5's games to watch in the FCS: No. 24 Southern Illinois at No. 23 Illinois State, No. 1 Villanova at No. 7 W&M and No. 5 Delaware at No. 3 JMU.
Additional College Football Polls: AP Poll Sets Up Oregon And Stanford's Top-Ten Clash | Oregon Leaps, Texas Plummets In Coaches Poll