Top Four Teams Stay The Same in CSJ Top-25 Poll
College Sports Journal Release
PHILADELPHIA, PA. — North Dakota State remained the unanimous No. 1 team for the fourth straight week in the fifth week of the College Sports Journal's Football Championship Subdivision Top-25 poll, coming off a 33-21 victory at Northern Iowa in a key Missouri Valley Conference game.
The top four teams in the poll remained the same this with Youngstown State, Montana State and James Madison following behind NDSU.
The Citadel was one of six top-25 teams that lost and that 28-10 upset by Tennessee-Chattanooga caused the Bulldogs to fall 10 spots in the poll from No. 5 to No. 15. Wofford moved up one position to take The Citadel's former slot.
Delaware plummeted eight positions after a 34-14 loss to New Hampshire, falling from 13th to 21st. New Hampshire improved from No. 24 to No. 20.
Towson stayed at No. 10 after an impressive 38-22 loss to LSU.
Central Arkansas, coming off a 24-20 win over then-No. 2-ranked Sam Houston State, dropped from 16th to 22nd after falling at Stephen F. Austin 42-37.
Cal Poly had the biggest rise, going from 19th to 13th after a 35-17 victory at North Dakota.
Losses by Montana and Northern Iowa caused those two traditional powers to fall from the poll. Montana, which has lost three of its past four games, fell from No. 22 after a late 32-26 loss at Eastern Washington.
Eastern Washington rose one spot from No. 7 to No. 6 after scoring twice in the final 2:19 of the game to pull off the comeback.
Northern Iowa, which has played one of the toughest schedules in the country has dropped four games in five starts, losing to Wisconsin, Iowa, Youngstown State and North Dakota State, after being ranked in the top 10 for most of the season.
Four teams broke into the poll this week, with South Dakota State jumping in at No. 23 after a 17-7 win over Missouri State, while Harvard, Tennessee State and Villanova tied for the 25th spot.
Harvard is 3-0 after a 52-3 thrashing of Holy Cross, while Tennessee State moved to 5-0 after stopping Arkansas-Pine Bluff 40-13. Villanova won its fourth straight contest since an opening-game loss to BCS Temple by beating Maine 35-14 on the road.
Position Team Record Previous Rank Result
1: North Dakota State Bison 4-0 1 W at Northern Iowa 33-21
2: Youngstown State Penguins 4-0 2 Did Not Play
3: Montana State Bobcats 5-0 3 W at Southern Utah 24-17
4: James Madison Dukes 3-1 4 Did Not Play
5: Wofford Terriers 4-0 6 W at Elon 49-24
6: Eastern Washington Eagles 3-1 7 W vs Montana 32-26
7: Georgia Southern Eagles 3-1 8 W vs Samford 35-16
8: Old Dominion Monarchs 5-0 9 W at Richmond 45-37
9: Illinois State Redbirds 4-0 11 W 34-31 at South Dakota
10: Towson Tigers 2-2 10 L at LSU 38-22
11: Stony Brook Seawolves 4-1 12 W at Army 23-3
12: Appalachian State Mountaineers 3-2 15 W vs Coastal Carolina 55-14
13: Cal Poly Mustangs 4-0 19 W at North Dakota 35-17
14: Lehigh Mountain Hawks 5-0 14 W vs Fordham 34-31
15: The Citadel Bulldogs 3-2 5 L at Tennessee-Chattanooga 28-10
16: Sam Houston State Bearkats 2-2 17 W at Texas Southern 50-6
17: Northern Arizona Lumberjacks 4-1 20 W vs Portland State 24-10
18: Eastern Kentucky Colonels 3-1 21 W vs Jacksonville State 51-21
19: Albany Great Danes 4-1 23 W vs Monmouth 55-24
20: New Hampshire Wildcats 3-2 24 W vs Delaware 34-14
21: Delaware Blue Hens 4-1 13 L at New Hampshire 34-14
22: Central Arkansas Bears 3-2 16 L at Stephen F. Austin 42-37
23: South Dakota State Jackrabbits 4-1 NR W vs Missouri State 17-7
24: McNeese State Cowboys 4-1 25 W vs Northwestern State 30-22
25: (Tie) Harvard Crimson 3-0 NR W vs Holy Cross 52-3
25: (Tie) Tennessee State Tigers 5-0 NR W vs Arkansas-Pine Bluff 40-13
25: (Tie) Villanova Wildcats NR W at Maine 35-14
Also Received Votes (In Order Of Points):
Alabama A&M, Montana, Samford, Indiana State, Northern Iowa.
Falling Out Of The Poll
Montana Grizzlies 2-3 (22) Northern Iowa Panthers 1-4 (18).
