Massive Shakeup In CSJ Top-25 Vaults Eastern Washington To No. 1

 

College Sports Journal

Press Release

 

PHILADELPHIA, PA. — After the craziest weekend of the 2012 Football Championship Subdivision season, Eastern Washington has emerged as the No. 1 team in the College Sports Journal weekly Top-25 poll.

 

Eastern Washington (5-1 overall, 4-0 in league) survived on the road for a 27-24 victory over Montana State in a Big Sky Conference showdown and was rewarded by vaulting from seventh to first in the new poll, narrowly edging out No. 2 James Madison.

 

JMU barely hung on for a win at home against William & Mary, 27-26 in double overtime to remain at No. 2. 

 

 

 

The Dukes (4-1, 2-0) needed a missed 39-yard field goal from Drake Kuhn of William & Mary in the final seconds and an overturned touchdown on a controversial offensive pass interference call in the end zone in overtime to pull its Colonial Athletic Association contest out.

 

EWU and JMU were the only teams to receive first-place votes in the wake of North Dakota State's 17-14 loss at home to Indiana State. 

 

North Dakota State had been the unanimous No. 1 team in the CSJ poll for the previous five weeks and had been on top since the preseason. 

 

The Bison fell to No. 4 after seeing its 10-game winning streak snapped on the strength of two interception returns for touchdowns from Sycamore freshman defensive back John Towalid and a 33-yard Adam Keller field goal.

 

Indiana State returned to the poll at No. 24 after improving to 5-2 and 3-1.

 

Altogether, five of the top eight teams in last week's poll lost on Saturday, causing a massive shakeup in the new rankings.

 

Besides the losses by North Dakota State and last week's No. 4-ranked Montana State Bobcats, No. 3 Wofford dropped a 17-9 Southern Conference decision at No. 5 Georgia Southern, No. 6 Old Dominion was crushed at its own homecoming in CAA play by Villanova, 38-14, and No. 7 Youngstown State blew a 21-7 lead and lost at No. 20 Illinois State 35-28.

 

Wofford dropped to No. 8 and Georgia Southern jumped to No. 3, while Old Dominion plummeted to No. 15 with its first loss of the season.

 

Youngstown State which was No. 2 just two weeks ago, fell to No. 19 with the back-to-back Missouri Valley Football Conference losses to North Dakota State and Illinois State, while Illinois State rose to No. 16 in the new poll.

 

No. 21 McNeese State and No. 24 Samford also suffered losses on Saturday, but both succumbed to high-ranked teams.

 

McNeese State, which fell to a tie for 25th in the new poll, lost 27-26 when Eddie Camara of No. 17 Central Arkansas hit a 47-yard field goal with 23 seconds left for the margin of victory in Southland Conference action. UCA remained 17th in this week's rankings.

 

Samford was also beaten at the wire when Appalachian State scored on a 22-yard TD strike from quarterback Jamal Jackson to freshman receiver Sean Price with 22 seconds remaining for a 28-25 win, capping a seven-play, 80-yard drive in the two-minute drill of this Southern Conference game.

 

The Bulldogs (5-2, 3-2) fell out of the poll.

 

Cal Poly, a 56-28 winner against Northern Colorado continued to skyrocket in the rankings, moving from 13th to fifth after improving to 6-0 overall and 4-0 in Big Sky Conference play.

 

South Dakota State (5-1, 3-0) rose five positions to 14th after a 31-10 decision in MVFC play against Western Illinois.

 

Position                     Team  Record  Previous Rank  Result

1: Eastern Washington Eagles (5-1, 4-0) 7 W at Montana State 27-24 

2: James Madison Dukes (5-1, 3-0) 2 W vs William & Mary 27-26 DOT

3: Georgia Southern Eagles (5-1, 4-1) 5 W vs Wofford 17-9    

4: North Dakota State Bison (5-1, 2-1) 1 L vs Indiana State 17-14

5: Cal Poly Mustangs (6-0, 4-0) 13 W vs Northern Colorado 56-28 

6: Stony Brook Seawolves (6-1, 2-0) 9 W at Coastal Carolina 27-21  

7: Montana State Bobcats (6-1, 3-1) 4 L vs Eastern Washington 27-24

8: Wofford Terriers (5-1, 3-1) 3 L at Georgia Southern 17-9         

9: Appalachian State Mountaineers (5-2, 3-1) 10 W at Samford 28-25

10: Sam Houston State Bearkats (4-2, 2-1) 12 W at Nicholls State 41-0

11: Lehigh Mountain Hawks (7-0, 1-0) 11 W at Georgetown 17-14 

12: Northern Arizona Lumberjacks (5-1, 3-0) 15 W at North Dakota 45-38

13: Towson Tigers (3-3, 2-1) 14 W vs Maine 24-19

14: South Dakota State Jackrabbits (5-1, 3-0) 19 W vs Western Illinois 31-10                  

15: Old Dominion Monarchs (5-1, 2-1) 6 L vs Villanova 38-14                             

16: Illinois State Redbirds (5-1, 3-1) 20 W vs Youngstown State 35-28                        

17: Central Arkansas Bears (5-2, 3-1) 17 W at McNeese State 27-26

18: New Hampshire Wildcats (5-2, 3-1) 16 W vs Richmond 44-40                         

19: Youngstown State Penguins (4-2, 1-2) 8 L at Illinois State 35-28                     

20: Albany Great Danes (6-1, 4-0) 19 W vs St. Francis 36-13

21: Tennessee State Tigers (7-0, 4-0) 22 W at Southeast Missouri State 40-28               

22: Harvard Crimson (5-0, 3-0) 23 W vs Bucknell 35-7            

23: Villanova Wildcats (5-2, 3-1) NR W at Old Dominion 38-14

24: Indiana State (5-2, 3-1) NR W at North Dakota State 17-14

25: (tie) McNeese State Cowboys (4-2, 1-2) 21 L vs Central Arkansas 27-26

25: (tie) Eastern Kentucky (5-2, 3-1) 25 W vs Austin Peay 45-14

 

 

Also Received Votes (In Order Of Points):

The Citadel, Tennessee-Martin, Delaware, Bethune-Cookman, Samford, Sacramento State, Southern Illinois.

 

Falling Out Of The Poll

Samford Bulldogs (5-2, 3-2) 24.