Jacksonville State Takes Over FCS Top Spot In AGS Weekly Poll
Special to College Sports Journal
MISSOULA, MT. — Jacksonville State survived for a 23-20 victory over Chattanooga in its opening game of the 2015 season and was rewarded by vaulting to first place in the Any Given Saturday Football Championship Subdivision Top-25 poll.
Traditionally the most accurate poll in FCS since it was started over a decade ago, the AGS poll (www.anygivensaturday.com) is the only major poll in the subdivision that is voted on by fans of the sport.
It is also the only truly moderated poll that ranks FCS teams, with College Sports Journal executive editor David Coulson and CSJ publisher Chuck Burton among its voters since the beginning of the poll
Jacksonville State received 14 first-place votes after a tumultuous first two weekends of play and 1844 points to narrowly beat Coastal Carolina — a 38-35 winner against Furman — by five points. A total of 84 votes were cast this week.
No. 2 Coastal Carolina had 17 first-place votes, while No. 3 Sam Houston State — a 59-45 loser at FBS Texas Tech — had the most first-place votes with 20. Preseason No. 1 and four-time defending NCAA champion North Dakota State slipped to fourth in the poll after losing at Montana 38-25 in its opener the previous weekend.
Other teams receiving first-place votes included No. 5 Illinois State (a 31-14 loser to FBS Iowa) with six, No. 6 Villanova (a 20-15 loser to FBS Connecticut) with three, No. 8 South Dakota State (a 41-38 winner over FBS Kansas) with two, No. 9 Eastern Washington (a 61-42 loser at AP No. 7-ranked Oregon) with seven and No. 10 Cal Poly (a 20-19 winner at No. 7 Montana) with three.
Look for the AGS FCS Top-25 poll every week at College Sports Journal.
The complete poll is below:
| Team: | Total Points | First Place Votes | |
| 1 | Jacksonville State Gamecocks | 1844 | 14 |
| 2 | Coastal Carolina Chanticleers | 1839 | 17 |
| 3 | Sam Houston State Bearkats | 1792 | 20 |
| 4 | North Dakota State Bison | 1780 | 12 |
| 5 | Illinois State Redbirds | 1649 | 6 |
| 6 | Villanova Wildcats | 1575 | 3 |
| 7 | Montana Grizzlies | 1529 | |
| 8 | South Dakota State Jackrabbits | 1494 | 2 |
| 9 | Eastern Washington Eagles | 1462 | 7 |
| 10 | Cal Poly Mustangs | 1136 | 3 |
| 11 | Montana State Bobcats | 1114 | |
| 12 | James Madison Dukes | 1033 | |
| 13 | Liberty Flames | 1025 | |
| 14 | Chattanooga Mocs | 1017 | |
| 15 | New Hampshire Wildcats | 865 | |
| 16 | Youngstown State Penguins | 751 | |
| 17 | Fordham Rams | 741 | |
| 18 | Southeastern Louisiana Lions | 739 | |
| 19 | Northern Iowa Panthers | 727 | |
| 20 | Eastern Kentucky Colonels | 521 | |
| 21 | Indiana State Sycamores | 418 | |
| 22 | Idaho State Bengals | 335 | |
| 23 | Portland State Vikings | 332 | 1 |
| 24 | William & Mary Tribe | 270 | |
| 25 | Samford Bulldogs | 265 | |
| Most Significant Win: | |||
| Cal Poly Mustangs (T) | Montana Grizzlies (T) | Portland State Vikings (T) | |
| Most Significant Loss: | |||
| North Dakota State Bison | |||
| Other Teams Receiving Votes: | |||
| 26 | Western Illinois Leathernecks | 241 | |
| 27 | North Dakota | 208 | |
| 28 | Harvard Crimson | 155 | |
| 29 | Richmond Spiders | 154 | |
| 30 | Northern Arizona Lumberjacks | 149 | |
| 31 | Southern Illinois Salukis | 131 | |
| 32 | McNeese State Cowboys | 77 | |
| 33 | Western Carolina Catamounts | 47 | |
| 34 | Furman Paladins | 43 | |
| 35 | Towson Tigers | 21 | |
| 36 | Jacksonville Dolphins | 20 | |
| 37 | Wofford Terriers | 13 | |
| 38 | Holy Cross Crusaders | 12 | |
| 39 | Tennessee State Tigers | 11 | |
| 40 | Bryant Bulldogs | 10 | |
For comparison, the preseason FCS Top-25 poll from AGS was as follows:
| 1 | North Dakota State Bison | 2134 | (77) |
| 2 | Illinois State Redbirds | 1999 | (6) |
| 3 | Sam Houston State Bearkats | 1863 | |
| 4 | Villanova Wildcats | 1795 | (2) |
| 5 | Coastal Carolina Chanticleers | 1772 | |
| 6 | Chattanooga Mocs | 1625 | |
| 7 | New Hampshire Wildcats | 1577 | |
| 8 | Eastern Washington Eagles | 1455 | (1) |
| 9 | Jacksonville State Gamecocks | 1436 | |
| 10 | Northern Iowa Panthers | 1306 | |
| 11 | Montana State Bobcats | 1157 | |
| 12 | Montana Grizzlies | 1041 | |
| 13 | Liberty Flames | 975 | |
| 14 | James Madison Dukes | 951 | |
| 15 | Youngstown State Penguins | 854 | |
| 16 | South Dakota State Jackrabbits | 805 | |
| 17 | Southeastern Louisiana Lions | 536 | |
| 18 | Eastern Kentucky Colonels | 497 | |
| 19 | Indiana State Sycamores | 442 | |
| 20 | Idaho State Bengals | 421 | |
| 21 | Richmond Spiders | 415 | |
| 22 | Harvard Crimson | 362 | |
| 23 | Fordham Rams | 356 | |
| 24 | Eastern Illinois Panthers | 267 | |
| 25 | Cal Poly Mustangs | 232 | |
| Other Teams Receiving Votes: | |||
| 26 | Stephen F. Austin Lumberjacks | 224 | |
| 27 | McNeese State Cowboys | 216 | |
| 28 | William & Mary Tribe | 210 | |
| 29 | Samford Bulldogs | 155 | |
| 30 | Western Carolina Catamounts | 153 | |
| 31 | Central Arkansas Bears | 92 | |
| 32 | Maine Black Bears | 75 | |
| 33 | Southern Illinois Salukis | 69 | |
| 34 | Northern Arizona Lumberjacks | 59 | |
| 35 | Western Illinois Leathernecks | 52 | |
| 36 | Sacred Heart Pioneers | 49 | |
| 37 | Bethune-Cookman Wildcats | 39 | |
| 38 | Wofford Terriers | 35 | |
| 39 | Jackson State Tigers | 33 | |
| 40 | Dartmouth Big Green | 30 |
