STATS FCS Top 25

Big Sky Goes 4-5-6 in STATS FCS Top 25

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CHICAGO – Oct. 22, 2018 –– It doesn’t have the ring of “1-2-3,” but 4-5-6 must sound pretty good in the Big Sky Conference.

That was the order of Weber State (5-2), Eastern Washington (5-2) and UC Davis (6-1), respectively, in the STATS FCS Top 25 on Monday. Each team moved up at least three spots as part of the continual shuffling behind unanimous No. 1 North Dakota State (7-0). The No. 4 ranking for Weber is the highest in school history, as is the No. 6 ranking for Davis. EWU moved up four spots to No. 5 despite having a bye last week and the status of All-American senior quarterback Gage Gubrud still unknown.

As the largest FCS conference with 13 teams, the Big Sky title race is particularly competitive. UC Davis has surpassed last year’s five wins and holds first place in coach Dan Hawkins’ second season – one game ahead of defending co-champ Weber State and preseason favorite Eastern Washington. The trio has a combined two losses to FCS competition, and one was Weber State beating Eastern Washington. EWU’s only other loss came at FBS No. 14 Washington State (59-24) while Weber’s two losses came at FBS No. 23 Utah (41-10). and at Northern Arizona, 28-24. Davis’ lone loss is a 30-10 loss at No. 9 Stanford.

Weber State picked up its second straight win with a 34-24 victory over Montana State. The Wildcats lead the league in scoring defense, holding their opponents to an average of 22.0 points per game. Weber State leads the FCS in defensive takeaways 22.

UC Davis, the only undefeated team left in Big Sky play, rank fourth in the FCS in passing offense at 332.3 yards per game.

CAA Football is the only other conference to place three teams in the top 10, and it also has the high of six overall teams in the national media rankings. But everybody is looking up to reigning national champion North Dakota State, which collected all 163 first-place votes. The Bison beat then-No. 8 Illinois State 28-14 in the Missouri Valley Football Conference this past Saturday.

Following a loss by South Dakota State, Kennesaw State (6-1) moved up one spot to No. 2. The Big South power is in just its fourth season as a program.

A national panel of sports information and media relations directors, broadcasters, writers and other dignitaries select the STATS FCS Top 25. 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 FCS Top 25 (Oct. 22)

  1. North Dakota State(7-0), 4,075 points (163 first-place votes)

Previous Ranking: 1; Last Week’s Result: 28-14 win over Illinois State

 

  1. Kennesaw State(6-1), 3,865

Previous Ranking: 3; Last Week’s Result: Bye

 

  1. James Madison(5-2), 3,728

Previous Ranking: 4; Last Week’s Result: Bye

 

  1. Weber State(5-2), 3,447

Previous Ranking: 7; Last Week’s Result: 34-24 win over Montana State 

 

  1. Eastern Washington(5-2), 3,133

Previous Ranking: 9; Last Week’s Result: Bye

 

  1. UC Davis(6-1), 3,051

Previous Ranking: 10; Last Week’s Result: 52-10 win over Cal Poly

 

  1. South Dakota State(4-2), 2,948

Previous Ranking: 2; Last Week’s Result: 24-9 loss to Northern Iowa

 

  1. Elon(5-2), 2,760

Previous Ranking: 11; Last Week’s Result: 38-28 win over Richmond

 

  1. Wofford(5-2), 2,614

Previous Ranking: 12; Last Week’s Result: 30-17 win over ETSU

 

  1. Towson(6-1), 2,559

Previous Ranking: 13; Last Week’s Result: 56-28 win over Albany

 

  1. Illinois State(5-2), 2,428

Previous Ranking: 8; Last Week’s Result: 28-14 loss to North Dakota State

 

  1. Jacksonville State(5-2), 2,182

Previous Ranking: 5; Last Week’s Result: 37-14 loss to Southeast Missouri

 

  1. Central Arkansas(5-2), 1,869

Previous Ranking: 15; Last Week’s Result: 38-17 win over Northwestern State

 

  1. McNeese(5-2), 1,854

Previous Ranking: 6; Last Week’s Result: 45-17 loss to UIW

 

  1. Stony Brook(6-2), 1,845

Previous Ranking: 18; Last Week’s Result: 52-14 win over Rhode Island

 

  1. Colgate(6-0), 1,753

Previous Ranking: 17; Last Week’s Result: Bye

 

  1. Northern Iowa4-3), 1,465

Previous Ranking: 25; Last Week’s Result: 24-9 win over South Dakota State

 

  1. North Carolina A&T(6-2), 1,338

Previous Ranking: 19; Last Week’s Result: 35-10 win over Bethune-Cookman

 

  1. Princeton(6-0), 933

Previous Ranking: 23; Last Week’s Result: 29-21 win over Harvard

 

  1. Nicholls(4-3), 900

Previous Ranking: 20; Last Week’s Result: Bye

 

  1. Delaware(5-2), 859

Previous Ranking: 24; Last Week’s Result: 38-14 win over New Hampshire

 

  1. North Dakota(5-2), 667

Previous Ranking: NR; Last Week’s Result: 41-15 win over Sacramento State

 

  1. Sam Houston State(4-3), 584

Previous Ranking: 14; Last Week’s Result: 41-23 loss to Lamar

 

  1. Maine(4-3), 489

Previous Ranking: 16; Last Week’s Result: 27-20 loss to William & Mary

 

  1. ETSU(6-2), 415

Previous Ranking: 21; Last Week’s Result: 30-17 loss to Wofford

Dropped Out: Rhode Island

Others Receiving Votes: Dartmouth 394, Southeast Missouri 195, Chattanooga 132, Florida A&M 125, Rhode Island 111, Idaho State 91, UIW 70, Murray State 28, Montana State 21, Montana 12, Missouri State 11, Monmouth 9, San Diego 6, Western Illinois 4, Mercer 2, Samford 2, Alcorn State 1

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