Playoff Spots and Seeds Still Up For Grabs


SPARTANBURG, S.C. – Little changed in the top 15 of the FCS Coaches Poll this week, as the end of the regular season draws near. The top nine teams held serve at their spots from last week, while only two teams in the top 15 lost, No. 14 Elon to No. 2 Appalachian State, 24-16, and No. 19 William and Mary to No. 1 James Madison, 48-24.

The Dukes continue their stranglehold on the No. 1 spot by grabbing all 28 first-place votes. They have now held the spot for nine consecutive weeks, dating back to JMU’s 35-32 victory over then-No. 1 and now No. 2 Appalachian State on September 20. The Mountaineers clinched their fourth-straight Southern Conference title Saturday by defeating the Phoenix.

Rounding out the top 10 are Cal Poly, Northern Iowa, Montana, Richmond, Villanova, Weber State, Southern Illinois and Wofford. The No. 10 Terriers moved into the top 10 following Elon’s loss and a 28-7 win over Samford.

Making a return to the poll this week is No. 21 Jacksonville State, which defeated then No. 18 Tennessee State, 26-21. Dropping out of the poll this week was Massachusetts, which was defeated, 52-21, by No. 11 New Hampshire.

The Colonial Athletic Association continues to lead the poll with six teams ranked, including three in the top 10. The SoCon has four teams ranked.

The FCS Coaches Poll is based exclusively on a voting panel of head coaches in the FCS under the cooperation of the Collegiate Commissioners Association (CCA) and the American Football Coaches Association (AFCA) and is administered by the Southern Conference. Two head coaches from each of the 14 FCS conferences participate in the voting.

The FCS Coaches Poll website can be viewed here and is updated every week after the release of the poll.


Team (1st Votes) Record Points Prev. Ranking
1. James Madison (28) 9-1 700 1
2. Appalachian State 9-2 668 2
3. Cal Poly 8-1 633 3
4. Northern Iowa 9-2 615 4
5. Montana 10-1 589 5
6. Richmond 8-3 559 6
7. Villanova 8-2 520 7
8. Weber State 9-2 505 8
9. Southern Illinois 8-2 472 9
10. Wofford 8-2 433 11
11. New Hampshire 8-2 414 12
12. Central Arkansas 9-2 372 13
13. McNeese State 7-3 338 14
14. Elon 8-3 331 10
15. South Carolina State 9-2 311 17
16. Harvard 8-1 219 19
17. Maine 8-3 210 23
18. UT Martin 8-3 207 21
19. William and Mary 7-3 171 15
20. Liberty 9-2 164 22
21. Jacksonville State 8-3 117 NR
22. Colgate 8-2 115 24
23. Furman 7-4 106 16
24. North Dakota State 6-4 61 25
25. Tennessee State 8-3 56 18


Other receiving votes (pts. in parentheses): Prairie View A&M (49), Grambling State (40), Western Illinois (28), Montana State (19), Eastern Kentucky (18), Holy Cross (18), Massachusetts (12), South Dakota State (8), Florida A&M (8), Bethune-Cookman (7), Texas State (4), Jacksonville (3).