Big Sky Conference

Bison run in STATS FCS Top 25 100 in a row

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(STATS) – It can be easy to take North Dakota State’s excellence for granted, but the consistency is something most teams don’t match.

The Bison play well no matter the opponent, most recently posting a 24-12 win over another Top 10 team, Western Illinois.

On Monday, the nation’s No. 2-ranked team made its 100th straight appearance in the STATS FCS Top 25 – the active high in the national media poll. The Bison trailed only top-ranked James Madison, the defending FCS champion, which also improved to 7-0 this past Saturday.

North Dakota State has appeared in every Top 25 poll since Nov. 1, 2010 – the season before they began their run of five straight FCS championship seasons. The Bison’s next win will be their 100th of the decade.

NDSU offense communicating at line of scrimmage in 2015 at Montana

Saturday’s victory was the perfect example of North Dakota State’s excellence. Western Illinois entered the game with only one loss and ranked fourth in the FCS in scoring, yet the Bison kept them without an offensive touchdown and took sole possession of first place in the extremely competitive Missouri Valley Football Conference.

Then, as usual, they were willing to turn their focus to their next game against rival Northern Iowa.

“It’s a tough league and there are no easy games,” coach Chris Klieman said. “We just go on to the next, and we’re going to beat each other up. There’s no question about that.”

James Madison raised the longest active winning streak in Division I to 19 games with a 46-14 rout of William & Mary in CAA Football. The Dukes collected 157 of the 166 first-place votes and 4,141 points in the Top 25. North Dakota State had the other nine No. 1 votes.

Jacksonville State (6-1) also held steady at No. 3 after it beat Eastern Illinois 30-14 for its record 28th straight Ohio Valley Conference victory.

But then there was great change in the Top 25 because six of last week’s 11 highest-ranked teams lost on Saturday. Southland Conference teams Central Arkansas (6-1) and Sam Houston State (6-1) moved up to Nos. 4 and 5, respectively, followed in the Top 10 by South Dakota (6-1), North Carolina A&T (8-0), Wofford (6-1), Samford (5-2) and Elon (5-2).

South Dakota State’s No. 11 ranking marked its 72nd straight appearance in the Top 25 – second to North Dakota State. After the Jackrabbits (5-2), it was Western Illinois (5-2), Villanova (4-3), Eastern Washington (5-3), Grambling State (6-1), Illinois State (5-2), New Hampshire (5-2), Western Carolina (6-2), Richmond (4-3) and McNeese (6-1).

Montana head coach Bob Stitt/ by Brooks Nuanez

EWU fell from No. 8 to No. 14 after losing 46-28 to Southern Utah, yet remains the Big Sky Conference’s highest ranked team. The Eagles enter their bye week with a 5-3 overall record that includes four of Montana had a bye, yet dropped from No. 21 to No. 24 this week. The Griz play at Weber State (5-2) on Saturday. The Wildcats won 17-3 at Cal Poly yet fell out of the Top 25. Weber is 27th in this week’s poll.

Southern Utah moved into the Top 25 at No. 25. The Thunderbirds have now defeated three Top 25 teams — Northern Iowa, Weber State, Eastern Washington – this season. Northern Arizona, the Big Sky’s only unbeaten team in conference play after a 45-31 win over UC Davis, is at No. 26 this week.

Rounding out the Top 25 were Youngstown State (3-4), Stony Brook (5-2), Delaware (5-2), Montana (5-2) and Southern Utah (5-2). Delaware and Southern Utah joined the rankings for the first time this season, with Weber State, which won its game Saturday, and North Carolina Central, which lost, falling out of the rankings.

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.

The Top 25 is released every Monday afternoon during the regular season, except for Sunday morning, Nov. 19, prior to the selection of the 24-team FCS playoff field. A final Top 25 will follow the FCS championship game, which will be held Jan. 6 in Frisco, Texas.

STATS FCS Top 25

Rankings as of Oct. 23, 2017

Rank School Votes Prev
1 James Madison (7-0) 4141 (157) 1
2 North Dakota State (7-0) 3993 (9) 2
3 Jacksonville State (6-1) 3802 3
4 Central Arkansas (6-1) 3641 6
5 Sam Houston State (6-1) 3455 7
6 South Dakota (6-1) 2861 4
7 North Carolina A&T (8-0) 2688 12
8 Wofford (6-1) 2636 5
9 Samford (5-2) 2599 16
10 Elon (6-1) 2555 14
11 South Dakota State (5-2) 2536 13
12 Western Illinois (5-2) 2207 10
13 Villanova (4-3) 1856 15
14 Eastern Washington (5-3) 1806 8
15 Grambling State (6-1) 1418 17
16 Illinois State (5-2) 1312 24
17 New Hampshire (5-2) 1311 18
18 Western Carolina (6-2) 1243 19
19 Richmond (4-3) 1089 11
20 McNeese (6-1) 1055 20
21 Youngstown State (3-4) 953 9
22 Stony Brook (5-2) 671 22
23 Delaware (5-2) 668 NR
24 Montana (5-2) 634 21
25 Southern Utah (5-2) 624 NR

Others: Northern Arizona (532) , Weber State (501) , UNI (423) , Nicholls (162) , Kennesaw State (123) , Columbia (115) , Monmouth (88) , Albany (39) , Citadel (33) , Furman (33) , Southern Illinois (30) , Duquesne (22) , North Carolina Central (20) , Charleston Southern (17) , Austin Peay (12) , Southeastern Louisiana (11) , Dartmouth (10) , Hampton (9) , Princeton (8) , Eastern Illinois (5) , Yale (2) , Montana State (1)

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