New Hampshire Football Report
Home / College / South Dakota State remains No. 1

South Dakota State remains No. 1

Given its recent offenses, UIW is rarely considered a team that goes slowly, but surely, but the Cardinals are doing just that while rising in the Stats Perform FCS Top 25 Poll.

The Cardinals climbed two more spots to a season-high No. 5 in the national media poll on Monday. It comes after a 28-11 win over Texas A&M-Commerce, the defending Southland Conference co-champion’s fifth in a row since a season-opening FBS loss at UTEP.

It’s been a different kind of season for the Cardinals (5-1, 2-0) under first-year coach Clint Killough. Last year’s FCS semifinalist squad averaged 51.5 points per game, which was second-highest in an FCS season. While the scoring is down to 34.5 points per game, their Steven Parker-led defense is surrendering just 24.7 points on average, by-far the lowest in the program’s Division I history (since 2013).

The top half of the rankings will swirl around UIW and other teams this week. On Saturday, three games will involve teams in the top 12: No. 1 South Dakota State at No. 12 Southern Illinois in the MVFC; No. 2 Montana State at No. 3 Sacramento State in the Big Sky; and No. 4 Furman at No. 8 Western Carolina in the Southern Conference.

While North Dakota State extended its streak of Top 25 appearances to 181, its run inside the Top 10 ended at 173. The Bison dropped from No. 6 to No. 14 following a 49-24 loss at rival North Dakota.

A national media panel selects the Stats Perform FCS Top 25 Poll. 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.

Stats Perform FCS Top 25 Poll (Oct. 16)

  1. South Dakota State (6-0, 3-0 MVFC), 1,400 points (56 of 56 first-place votes)

Previous Ranking: 1; Week 7: 41-6 win over Northern Iowa; Week 8: at Southern Illinois

  1. Montana State (5-1, 3-0 Big Sky), 1,342

Previous Ranking: 2; Week 7: 59-19 win over Cal Poly; Week 8: at Sacramento State

  1. Sacramento State (5-1, 2-1 Big Sky), 1,203

Previous Ranking: 4; Week 7: 21-13 win at Northern Colorado; Week 8: Montana State

  1. Furman (5-1, 3-0 SoCon), 1,195

Previous Ranking: 5; Week 7: 27-21 win at Samford; Week 8: at Western Carolina 

  1. UIW (5-1, 2-0 Southland), 1,023

Previous Ranking: 7; Week 7: 28-11 win over Texas A&M-Commerce; Week 8: at McNeese

  1. South Dakota (5-1, 3-0 MVFC), 1,002

Previous Ranking: 10; Week 7: 34-31 win over then-No. 23 Youngstown State; Week 8: at Indiana State

  1. Delaware (5-1, 3-0 CAA), 985

Previous Ranking: 8; Week 7: 21-6 win over North Carolina A&T; Week 8: at Hampton

  1. Western Carolina (5-1, 3-0 SoCon), 981

Previous Ranking: 9; Week 7: No game; Week 8: Furman

  1. Montana (6-1, 3-1 Big Sky), 978

Previous Ranking: 16; Week 7: 23-21 win at then-No. 3 Idaho; Week 8: No game

  1. Idaho (5-2, 3-1 Big Sky), 946

Previous Ranking: 3; Week 7: 23-21 loss to then-No. 16 Montana; Week 8: No game

  1. North Dakota (4-2, 2-1 MVFC), 930

Previous Ranking: 15; Week 7: 49-24 win over then-No. 6 North Dakota State; Week 8: at Northern Iowa

  1. Southern Illinois (5-1, 2-1 MVFC), 725

Previous Ranking: 13; Week 7: 27-6 win at Murray State; Week 8: South Dakota State

  1. William & Mary (4-2, 2-1 CAA), 687 

Previous Ranking: 11; Week 7: No game; Week 8: Towson

  1. North Dakota State (4-2, 1-2 MVFC), 673 

Previous Ranking: 6; Week 7: 49-24 loss at then-No. 15 North Dakota; Week 8: Western Illinois

  1. Holy Cross (4-2, 2-0 Patriot), 653

Previous Ranking: 12; Week 7: No game; Week 8: Lafayette

  1. North Carolina Central (5-1, 0-0 MEAC), 607

Previous Ranking: 14; Week 7: No game; Week 8: at Morgan State

  1. UT Martin (5-1, 2-0 Big South-OVC), 504 

Previous Ranking: 17; Week 7: No game; Week 8: Charleston Southern

  1. Harvard (5-0, 2-0 Ivy), 446

Previous Ranking: 19; Week 7: 48-7 win over Howard; Week 8: at Princeton

  1. Florida A&M (5-1, 4-0 SWAC), 403 

Previous Ranking: 18; Week 7: No game; Week 8: at Texas Southern

  1. Central Arkansas (5-2, 3-0 UAC),  373

Previous Ranking: 20; Week 7: 24-21 win over Stephen F. Austin; Week 8: No game

  1. Chattanooga (5-2, 4-1 Southern), 268

Previous Ranking: 25; Week 7: 22-10 win at Mercer; Week 8: ETSU

  1. Villanova (5-2, 3-1 CAA), 229

Previous Ranking: NR; Week 7: 21-0 win over Elon; Week 8: No game

  1. UC Davis (4-3, 2-2 Big Sky), 136

Previous Ranking: NR; Week 7: 17-16 win at then-No. 22 Weber State; Week 8: No game

  1. Austin Peay (4-2, 1-0 UAC), 125

Previous Ranking: NR; Week 7: 41-14 win over Gardner-Webb; Week 8: at Southern Utah

  1. Youngstown State (3-3, 1-2 MVFC), 108

Previous Ranking: 23; Week 7: 34-31 loss at then-No. 10 South Dakota; Week 8: Illinois State

Dropped Out: Eastern Washington (21), Weber State (22), UAlbany (24)

Others Receiving Votes (schools listed on two or more ballots): New Hampshire (3-3, 1-2 CAA) 68; Fordham (5-2, 1-1 Patriot) 44; UAlbany (4-3, 2-1 CAA) 39; Lafayette (5-1, 1-0 Patriot) 32; Northern Iowa (3-3, 2-1 MVFC) 23; Weber State (3-4, 1-3 Big Sky) 23; Eastern Kentucky (3-3, 2-0 UAC) 13; Eastern Washington (2-4, 1-2 Big Sky) 13; Illinois State (4-2, 2-1 MVFC) 11; Tennessee State (4-2, 1-1 Big South-OVC) 6; Lamar (4-3, 3-0 Southland) 2

You must be logged in to post a comment Login