News/Commentary

FCS Coaches' Poll - Jackrabbits Lead Same Top 3 as Hornets Rise To 4th

September 18, 2023 by CollegeFootballPoll.com Staff

South Dakota State received all 26 first-place votes from a panel of FCS coaches in the weekly poll and the top 3 teams remained unchanged with North Dakota State taking 2nd and Montana State in 3rd.

The poll is conducted by the American Football Coaches Association (AFCA).

Sacramento State leapfrogged William & Mary and Holy Cross to take 4th, knocking the Tribe and Crusaders down one spot to 5th and 6th, respectively.

Over the weekend, Sacramento State pulled off the 30-23 upset at FBS member Stanford and former Hornets' head coach Troy Taylor. The outcome was predicted by the Congrove Computer Rankings Week 4 Picks, Odds and Scores at CollegeFootballPoll.com which had Sacramento State projected to win by 6.6.31 against a 6.5-point opposite spread for the Cardinal.

Top-ranked South Dakota State blasted Drake by a 70-7 count at Target Field in Minneapolis, home of the Minnesota Twins with 18,174 in attendance.

No. 2 North Dakota State was a 49-31 winner over  Central Arkansas, while 3rd-ranked Montana State romped to a 57-20 win over visiting Stetson.

The only Top 25 matchup this past weekend saw then-No. 18 Southern Illinois edge then-No. 15 SE Missouri State 26-25. That result sent the Salukis up 5 spots to 13th and dropped the Redhawks 20th.

Meanwhile, Idaho, which was one of three FCS schools to defeat an FBS program two weeks ago, almost did it again. The Vandals jumped out to a 17-0 lead at Cal, only to falter in the second half and lose 31-17. Idaho stays at No. 10, despite the loss.

SE Louisiana and and Illinois State dropped out of the poll, making way for Youngstown State and Harvard to enter. The Lions lost a 40-29 encounter at Eastern Washington, while the Redbirds were topped 14-13 at Eastern Illinois. The Penguins were 48-28 home winners over Robert Morris, and the Crimson opened their 2023 campaign with a 45-13 rout of St. Thomas (MN) in Cambridge.

This coming weekend will see 20 of the Top 25 teams in action, while South Dakota State gets a bye week along with North Dakota State, Southern Illinois, No. 14 North Dakota, and No. 24 Youngstown State.

There are-four  top 25 matchups this week:
 (3) Montana State at  (8) Weber State
(4) Sacramento State at (19) Idaho
(21) Mercer at (7) Furman)
(16) Delaware at (12) New Hampshire

(ALSO SEE: FCS Picks and scores, FCS Odds)

Rank School (1st votes) Rec. Pts. Prev. Week 3 Next Game
1 South Dakota St. (26) 3-0 650 1 D. Drake, 70-7 9/30 (14) North Dakota
2 North Dakota St. 3-0 624 2 D. Central Arkansas, 49-31 9/30 South Dakota
3 Montana St. 2-1 580 3 D. Stetson, 57-20 9/23 at (8) Weber St.
4 Sacramento St. 3-0 556 6 D. Stanford, 30-23 9/23 at (10) Idaho
5 William & Mary 3-0 549 4 D. Charleston Southern, 15-7 9/23 Maine
6 Holy Cross 2-1 531 5 D. Yale, 49-24 9/23 Colgate
7 Furman 2-1 449 8 D. Kennesaw St., 31-28 9/23 (21) Mercer
8 Weber St. 2-1 435 7 L. Utah, 31-7 9/23 (3) Montana St.
9 UIW 2-1 421 9 D. Abilene Christian, 27-20 9/23 North American
10 Idaho 2-1 375 10 L. California, 31-17 9/23 (4) Sacramento St.
11 Montana 3-0 353 11t D. Ferris St., 17-10 9/23 at Northern Arizona
12 New Hampshire 2-1 349 11t D. Dartmouth, 24-7 9/23 (16) Delaware
13 Southern Illinois 3-0 331 18 D. (15) SE Missouri St., 26-25 9/30 Missouri St.
14 North Dakota 2-1 296 13 L. Boise State, 42-18 9/30 (1) South Dakota St.
15 UC Davis 2-1 275 16 D. Southern Utah, 23-21 9/23 Eastern Washington
16 Delaware 2-1 222 19 D. St. Francis, PA, 42-14 9/23 (12) New Hampshire
17 Samford 1-2 212 14 L. Auburn, 45-13 9/23 Chattanooga
18 Rhode Island 2-1 211 20 D. Maine, 34-17 9/23 at Villanova
19 NC Central 2-1 159 17 L. UCLA, 59-7 9/23 Mississippi Valley St.
20 SE Missouri St. 1-2 153 15 L. (18) So. Illinois, 26-25 9/23 at Eastern Kentucky
21 Mercer 2-1 150 21 Idle 9/23 at (7) Furman
22 Fordham 2-1 133 22t Idle 9/23 Stonehill
23 Florida A&M 2-1 121 24 D. West Florida, 31-10 9/23 Alabama St.
24 Youngstown St. 2-1 98 NR D. Robert Morris, 48-28 9/30 at Northern Iowa
25 Harvard 1-0 42 NR D. St. Thomas, MN, 45-13 9/22 Brown

Dropped Out: Southeastern Louisiana (22t), Illinois St. (25)

Others Receiving Votes: Northern Iowa, 30; Western Carolina, 26; Princeton, 20; Eastern Washington, 19; Chattanooga, 13; Central Arkansas, 10; Illinois St., 9; Austin Peay, 8; Jackson St., 7; Stephen F. Austin, 7; Yale, 7; Eastern Kentucky, 5; Hampton, 5; Richmond, 4; Villanova, 4; Southeastern Louisiana, 1.