Despite status as two of the hottest teams in the country, Portland State and Southern Utah continue to fight for respect.
The Vikings endured a 14-hour bus ride to San Luis Obispo, California and emerged with a 38-35 win over Cal Poly to move to 6-1. The PSU resume includes wins over two FBS teams (Washington State, North Texas) and Idaho State and Montana State squads ranked in the top 25 at the time of the wins.
Southern Utah is on a five-game winning streak after an 0-2 start that included losses to FBS Utah State (12-9) and a 55-10 loss to a then-No. 8 South Dakota State team fresh off win over FBS Kansas. Since then, SUU’s defense has caught fire, piling up an FCS-high 13 interceptions and allowing just 19 points during the winning streak, including just 12 points in Big Sky Conference play. A Big Sky team is yet to score a touchdown on SUU this season.
Yet with the release of the polls, both teams still appear to be underrated. The Vikings moved up two spots to No. 12 in the STATS FCS Top 25 and one spot to No. 12 in the FCS Coaches’ poll. Despite a dominant 34-9 win over UC Davis that included seven sacks and 12 tackles for loss, SUU is still not ranked in the STATS poll. The Thunderbirds are No. 24 in the FCS Coaches’ Poll this week.
PSU and SUU are two of four ranked Big Sky teams this week. After yet another late rally, Eastern Washington moved to 4-0 in league play after a 43-41 win over Northern Colorado sealed by a game-winning field goal as time expired. The Eagles moved up from No. 7 to No. 5 in both polls.
Montana earned its most decisive victory of the Bob Stitt era as third-string quarterback Makena Simis threw for six touchdowns in UM’s 42-16 win over North Dakota. The Griz moved up from No. 19 to No. 17 in the STATS poll and from No. 18 to No. 17 in the FCS Coaches’ poll.
Montana State moved to 4-3 with an easy win in the only non-conference game of the week for a Big Sky team. MSU scored its first five possessions and piled up nine touchdowns overall in a 63-7 win over FCS independent East Tennessee State, a school that revived football this season after cutting the program in 2003. Montana State moved up from No. 21 to No. 19 in the STATS poll and from No. 19 to No. 18 in the FCS Coaches’ poll.
Coastal Carolina (7-0) remains No. 1 in the FCS Coaches’ poll while Jacksonville State (6-1) remains No. 1 in the STATS poll. Each is the second-ranked team in the other poll. Illinois State (6-1) is the consensus No. 3 while Chattanooga (6-1) is No. 4 in each poll.
*Schools in BOLD indicate Big Sky Conference teams
FCS STATS Media Poll
| RANK | SCHOOL | RECORD | POINTS | PREVIOUS |
| 1 | Jacksonville State | 6-1 | 3923 (107) | 1 |
| 2 | Coastal Carolina | 7-0 | 3783 (33) | 2 |
| 3 | Illinois State | 6-1 | 3754 (20) | 3 |
| 4 | Chattanooga | 6-1 | 3323 | 5 |
| 5 | Eastern Washington | 5-2 | 3095 | 7 |
| 6 | Richmond | 6-1 | 3029 | 11 |
| 7 | North Dakota State | 5-2 | 3012 | 8 |
| 8 | Sam Houston State | 5-2 | 2745 | 9 |
| 9 | James Madison | 7-1 | 2677 | 4 |
| 10 | McNeese State | 7-0 | 2477 | 12 |
| 11 | Fordham | 7-1 | 2462 | 10 |
| 12 | Portland State | 6-1 | 2170 | 14 |
| 13 | Eastern Kentucky | 5-2 | 2082 | 13 |
| 14 | South Dakota State | 5-2 | 2076 | 6 |
| 15 | Harvard | 6-0 | 1727 | 15 |
| 16 | William & Mary | 5-2 | 1566 | 17 |
| 17 | Montana | 4-3 | 1281 | 19 |
| 18 | UNI | 3-4 | 1044 | 22 |
| 19 | Montana State | 4-3 | 1010 | 21 |
| 20 | North Carolina A&T | 6-1 | 786 | 24 |
| 21 | Indiana State | 4-3 | 695 | 18 |
| 22 | Dartmouth | 6-0 | 575 | 25 |
| 23 | Western Illinois | 4-3 | 566 | 20 |
| 24 | Charleston Southern | 6-1 | 517 | NR |
| 25 | Youngstown State | 3-4 | 426 | 16 |
Others: Southern Utah (354) , Grambling State (147) , South Dakota (117) , Southeastern Louisiana (92) , Bethune-Cookman (65) , Alcorn State (63) , UT Martin (61) , Citadel (60) , Eastern Illinois (33) , Villanova (32) , Southern Illinois (26) , New Hampshire (26) , Western Carolina (19) , Liberty (18) , Towson (15) , Central Arkansas (14) , Dayton (12) , Cal Poly (10) , North Dakota (9) , Northern Arizona (6) , Prairie View A&M (5) , Southern University (4) , Jacksonville (4) , Furman (2) , Kennesaw State (2) , Penn (1) , South Carolina State (1) , Bryant (1)
FCS Coaches Poll
| RANK | SCHOOL | RECORD | POINTS | PREVIOUS |
| 1 | Coastal Carolina (15) | 7-0 | 632 | 1 |
| 2 | Jacksonville State (8) | 6-1 | 629 | 2 |
| 3 | Illinois State (3) | 6-1 | 605 | 4 |
| 4 | Chattanooga | 6-1 | 559 | 5 |
| 5 | Eastern Washington | 4-2 | 513 | 7 |
| 6 | North Dakota State | 5-2 | 498 | 8 |
| 7 | McNeese State | 7-0 | 491 | 9 |
| 8 | Richmond | 6-1 | 453 | 12 |
| 9 | James Madison | 7-1 | 417 | 3 |
| 10 | Sam Houston State | 5-2 | 416 | 10 |
| 11 | Fordham | 7-1 | 385 | 11 |
| 12 | Portland State | 6-1 | 370 | 13 |
| 13 | South Dakota State | 5-2 | 342 | 6 |
| 14 | Eastern Kentucky | 5-2 | 328 | 14 |
| 15 | William & Mary | 5-2 | 277 | 16 |
| 16 | Harvard | 6-0 | 259 | 15 |
| 17 | Montana | 4-3 | 216 | 18 |
| 18 | Montana State | 4-3 | 208 | 19 |
| 19 | Charleston Southern | 6-1 | 172 | 20 |
| 20 | North Carolina A&T | 6-1 | 142 | 24 |
| 21 | Northern Iowa | 3-4 | 112 | 25 |
| 22 | Dartmouth | 6-0 | 57 | NR |
| 23 | Indiana State | 4-3 | 55 | 21 |
| 24 (t) | Southern Utah | 5-2 | 51 | NR |
| 24 (t) | Youngstown State | 3-4 | 51 | 17 |
Dropped from rankings: Western Illinois, Villanova
Others receiving votes: The Citadel 50, Western Illinois 46, Grambling State 29, Southeastern Louisiana 18, Bethune-Cookman 14, Towson 11, Villanova 9, South Dakota 8, Eastern Illinois 7, Liberty 7, New Hampshire 4, Delaware 3, Alcorn State 3, Central Arkansas 2, UT Martin 1
