Each week, throughout the college football season, alumni, fans, media and the teams themselves look to the Stats Perform FCS Top 25 Poll to see who is rising and moving within the national rankings.
As North Dakota Stats appeared in the Stats Perform FCS Top 25 Poll for a record 196th straight time on Monday, it occurred from a familiar perch.
The Bison (7-1, 4-0 MVFC) moved up one spot to No. 1 in the national media rankings, collecting 40 of the 56 first-place votes.
It came on the heels of Saturday night’s 13-9 victory over previous No. 1 South Dakota State, which held the top spot for 29 consecutive polls after taking it from NDSU just over two years ago. In breaking a tie with Montana’s 1998-2002 squads for consecutive appearances, the Bison have appeared in every poll since Nov. 1, 2020.
NDSU and SDSU have combined on 11 of the last 13 FCS national titles. The last time one of them was not No. 1 in the Top 25 poll occurred when Sam Houston ended the 2021 regular season as an unbeaten defending national champion.
The Jackrabbits fell two spots after their loss in the Dakota Marker rivalry game, with Montana State (8-0, 4-0 Big Sky) moving up to No. 2. Coach Brent Vigen’s Bobcats, who received 16 first-place votes, are one of two unbeaten FCS teams (also No. 22 Dartmouth) and one of six to have a win over an FBS opponent (New Mexico).
A national media panel selects the Stats Perform FCS Top 25 Poll. 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.
(For more on the college football weekend, here is our FCS Week 8 Review)
Stats Perform FCS Top 25 Poll
1. North Dakota State (7-1, 4-0 MVFC), 1,384 points (40 of 56 first-place votes)
Previous Ranking: 2; Week 8: 13-9 win over then-No. 1 South Dakota State; Week 9: at Murray State
2. Montana State (8-0, 4-0 Big Sky), 1,351 (16)
Previous Ranking: 3; Week 8: 44-14 win at Portland State; Week 9: No game
3. South Dakota State (5-2, 2-1 MVFC), 1,286
Previous Ranking: 1; Week 8: 13-9 loss at then-No. 2 North Dakota State; Week 9: No. 3 South Dakota
4. South Dakota (6-1, 4-0 MVFC), 1,237
Previous Ranking: 4; Week 8: 27-17 win at Youngstown State; Week 9: at No. 4 South Dakota State
5. UC Davis (7-1, 4-0 Big Sky), 1,172
Previous Ranking: 6; Week 8: 48-38 win at Eastern Washington; Week 9: No game
6. Southeast Missouri (7-1, 4-0 Big South-OVC), 1,074
Previous Ranking: 8; Week 8: 26-13 win at Charleston Southern; Week 9: Gardner-Webb
7. North Dakota (5-2, 2-1 MVFC), 1,006
Previous Ranking: 9; Week 8: 31-7 win over Northern Iowa; Week 9: at Youngstown State
8. Tarleton State (6-1, 3-0 UAC), 929
Previous Ranking: 10; Week 8: No game; Week 9: at Austin Peay
9. Montana (5-2, 2-1 Big Sky), 854
Previous Ranking: 11; Week 8: No game; Week 9: at Northern Colorado
10. UIW (5-2, 2-0 Southland), 826
Previous Ranking: 14; Week 8: 30-17 win over McNeese; Week 9: at Southeastern Louisiana
11. Idaho (5-3, 2-2 Big Sky), 809
Previous Ranking: 13; Week 8: 34-29 win over Cal Poly; Week 9: Eastern Washington
12. Central Arkansas (5-2, 2-1 UAC), 785
Previous Ranking: 12; Week 8: No game; Week 9: North Alabama
13. Villanova (5-2, 2-1 CAA), 736
Previous Ranking: 5; Week 8: 35-7 loss at Maine; Week 9: New Hampshire
14. Mercer (6-1, 3-1 SoCon), 708
Previous Ranking: 7; Week 8: 55-35 loss at Samford; Week 9: No. 24 Western Carolina
15. Rhode Island (6-1, 3-0 CAA), 637
Previous Ranking: 16; Week 8: 26-9 win at then-No. 24 New Hampshire; Week 9: Maine
16. William & Mary (5-2, 3-1 CAA), 558
Previous Ranking: 15; Week 8: 35-28 win over Campbell; Week 9: at Stony Brook
17. Abilene Christian (5-3, 4-1 UAC), 518
Previous Ranking: 17; Week 8: 34-20 win over Eastern Kentucky; Week 9: No game
18. Richmond (5-2, 3-0 CAA), 512
Previous Ranking: 18; Week 8: 28-9 win over Delaware; Week 9: at Bryant
19. Chattanooga (4-3, 3-1 SoCon), 395
Previous Ranking: 19; Week 8: 37-5 win over Wofford; Week 9: VMI
20. North Carolina Central (5-2, 2-0 MEAC), 237
Previous Ranking: 20; Week 8: No game; Week 9: Morgan State
21. Illinois State (5-3, 2-2 MVFC), 199
Previous Ranking: 21; Week 8: 40-32 win at Murray State; Week 9: No game
22. Dartmouth (5-0, 3-0 Ivy), 184
Previous Ranking: 22; Week 8: 20-16 win over Central Connecticut State; Week 9: at Columbia
23. ETSU (4-3, 2-1 SoCon), 142
Previous Ranking: 23; Week 8: No game; Week 9: at Wofford
24. Western Carolina (4-3, 3-0 SoCon), 124
Previous Ranking: NR; Week 8: 52-20 win at Furman; Week 9: at No. 14 Mercer
25. Tennessee State (6-2, 3-1 Big South-OVC), 103
Previous Ranking: NR; Week 8: 27-14 win at Howard; Week 9: No game
Dropped Out: New Hampshire (24), Florida A&M (25 tie), UT Martin (25 tie)
Others Receiving Votes (schools listed on two or more ballots): UT Martin (4-3, 2-1 Big South-OVC), 82; Stony Brook (5-2, 2-1 CAA), 69; Duquesne (4-2, 2-0 NEC), 39; Sacramento State (3-4, 1-2 Big Sky), 36; Harvard (4-1, 1-1 Ivy), 32; Monmouth (4-3, 2-1 CAA), 30; Jackson State (5-2, 3-0 SWAC), 29; Northern Arizona (4-4, 2-2 Big Sky), 28; Southeastern Louisiana (4-4, 3-0 Southland), 18; Drake (5-1, 4-0 Pioneer), 14; New Hampshire (4-3, 2-1 CAA), 12; Florida A&M (3-3, 1-1 SWAC), 6; Dayton (5-1, 3-0 Pioneer), 5; Samford (3-3, 2-1 SoCon), 5; Lamar (4-3, 1-1 Southland), 4; Maine (4-3, 2-2 CAA), 2
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Stats Perform FCS Top 25 Voters – Stats Perform: Craig Haley, Gary Reasons. Big Sky Conference: Doug Kelly, Tyson Rodgers, Larry Weir. Big South-OVC Football Association: Mike Bradd, Kyle Schwartz, Mark Simpson. CAA Football: Roger Brown, Matt Harmon, Rob Washburn. Ivy League: JJ Klein, Craig Larson. Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference: Kendrick Lewis, Alysse Scripter. Missouri Valley Football Conference: Dom Izzo, Mike Kern, Randy Reinhardt. Northeast Conference: Sarah Boissonneault, Brian Cleary. Patriot League: Eric Malanoski, Ryan Sakamoto. Pioneer Football League: Cody Bush, Larry Hansgen. Southern Conference: Scott Keeler, Andrew Miller, Ralan Wardlaw. Southland Conference: Matthew Bonnette, James Dixon, James Hill. Southwestern Athletic Conference: Ronnie Johnson, Joshua Padilla. United Athletic Conference: Brian Morgan, Benjamin Ray, Jake Withee. National Representatives: Sean Anderson, Stan Becton, Zack Carlton, Gene Clemons, Riley Corcoran, Joe DeLeone, Steven J. Gaither, Sam Herder, Emory Hunt, Kyle Kensing, Brandon Lawrence, Zach McKinnell, Brian McLaughlin, Jon Passman, Omar Rashon Borja, Ryan Roberts, Kent Schmidt, Phil Sokol, Reggie Thomas, Ralph Ventre, Jamie Williams.
Top photo of North Dakota State Bison with Dakota Marker rivalry trophy. (NDSU Athletics)
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