For the second straight week, the Georgia Southern Eagles hold down the No. 1 spot in the FCS Top 25, securing a majority of first-place votes with 115. The Northern Iowa Panthers (15) and Appalachian St. Mountaineers (9) hold steady as well, while the formerly No. 4 William & Mary Tribe slipped to No. 6 thanks to a tight win over Division II New Haven.
No. 5 Richmond, which beat the Duke Blue Devils earlier in the year, also secured a passel of first-place votes (11). And Duke beat the Boston College Eagles, who almost beat the Northwestern Wildcats, who had an alum playing on Sunday Night Football! The Mike Kafka effect. We see it every year.
The defending national champion Eastern Washington Eagles now reside at No. 21 after an 0-3 start. If seeing a winless team remain ranked after three weeks bothers you, well, welcome to FCS football! EWU's losses have come to the No. 10 Montana Grizzlies and No. 18 South Dakota Coyotes -- plus they nearly topped the Washington Huskies -- so it's not all that outlandish. Cut the champs some slack, I guess.
Joining the top 25 this time around: Sam Houston State, Southern Utah, Murray State and South Carolina State. The complete poll results:
| Team (First-place votes) | Record | Points | Previous Rank |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. Georgia Southern Eagles (115) | 2-0 | 3,742 | 1 |
| 2. Northern Iowa Panthers (15) | 1-1 | 3,485 | 2 |
| 3. Appalachian State Mountaineers (9) | 2-1 | 3,402 | 3 |
| 4. Montana State Bobcats (1) | 2-1 | 3,179 | 5 |
| 5. Richmond Spiders (11) | 3-0 | 3,082 | 6 |
| 6. William & Mary Tribe (1) | 2-1 | 3,078 | 4 |
| 7. Delaware Blue Hens (1) | 2-1 | 2,918 | 7 |
| 8. North Dakota State Bison (1) | 2-0 | 2,728 | 8 |
| 9. Wofford Terriers | 1-1 | 2,637 | 9 |
| 10. Montana Grizzlies | 2-1 | 2,353 | 12 |
| 11. New Hampshire Wildcats | 1-1 | 2,290 | 11 |
| 12. James Madison Dukes | 2-1 | 1,927 | 13 |
| 13. Chattanooga Mocs | 2-1 | 1,855 | 14 |
| 14. Southern Illinois Salukis | 1-1 | 1,614 | 15 |
| 15. Lehigh Mountain Hawks | 2-1 | 1,596 | 16 |
| 16. Jacksonville State Gamecocks | 2-1 | 1,466 | 17 |
| 17. Massachusetts Minutemen | 2-0 | 1,247 | 21 |
| 18. South Dakota Coyotes | 2-1 | 955 | 24 |
| 19. McNeese State Cowboys | 1-1 | 846 | 23 |
| 20. Sam Houston State Bearkats | 2-0 | 688 | NR |
| 21. Eastern Washington Eagles | 0-3 | 594 | 10 |
| 22. Stephen F. Austin Lumberjacks | 1-2 | 568 | 19 |
| 23. Southern Utah Thunderbirds | 2-1 | 546 | NR |
| 24. Murray State Racers | 2-1 | 446 | NR |
| 25. South Carolina State Bulldogs | 1-2 | 336 | NR |
| Others receiving votes: Liberty 332, Jackson State 260, Central Arkansas 249, Old Dominion 240, Youngstown State 228, Towson 184, Maine 105, Indiana State 102, Sacramento State 101, Holy Cross 82, Weber State 52, Bethune-Cookman 50, Tennessee Tech 41, Alabama State 41, Eastern Kentucky 37, Yale 37, Hampton 37, Elon 31, South Dakota State 27, North Dakota 26, Portland State 26, Cal Poly 23, Brown 20, Rhode Island 19, Western Illinois 18, UC Davis 13, Central Connecticut Stae 13, Stony Brook 11, Penn 10, Villanova 9, Dartmouth 8, Idaho State 7, Campbell 7, Delaware State 6, UT Martin 6, Lafayette 4, Monmouth 3, Southeastern Louisiana 2, Jacksonville 2, Dayton 1, San Diego 1, North Carolina Central 1. |