Rankings: James Madison Stays at No. 1 While Monmouth Rises To 2nd

April 17, 2021 by Staff

Jame Madison finished the season undefeated at 5-0 with a 23-6 win at home over Richmond and remains No. 1 in the Congrove Computer Rankings at CollegeFootballPoll.com. However, and strangely enough, the CAA automatic bid was handed to Delaware after a vote by the conference's athletic directors. Delaware also finished 5-0 with a 27-20 win at Villanova, but JMU's power rating is more than 24 points higher than Delaware and strength of schedule rankings say the Dukes played the No. 23 schedule and the Blue Hens faced the No. 36 slate. The James Madison and Delaware AD's were not permitted to participate in that vote.

Both of those games were de facto division championship games.

Big South champ Monmouth (4-0) rose to second on the heels of a 27-17 loss at home by North Dakota State (6-2) to South Dakota State (5-1) as the Jackrabbits gained the AQ bid for the MVFC. The Bison slipped to 3rd.

Montana (2-0) stayed at No. 4 with a 48-7 blowout at home over Portland State (0-1). Neither the Griz nor the Vikings are eligible for selection. Portland state entered the game ranked 6th and finished the game ranked 85th.

Idle Weber State (5-0) stays at No. 5. The Wildcats were idle this week after clinching the Big Sky title a week ago.

Sam Houston State (6-0) inched upward from 7th to 6th after a 42-14 destruction of Incarnate Word. The Bearkats also entered the week having already clinched their conference title in the Southland.

South Dakota State (5-1), Delaware (5-0) and Kennesaw State (4-1) all moved one spot to 7th, 8th and 9th.

Holy Cross grabbed the No. 10 spot, rising two notches with a 33-10 Patriot League championship game victory over Bucknell.

SEE: Complete Rankings

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