SPARTANBURG, S.C. ? In a wild week in the Football Championship Subdivision, three top-10 teams were beaten, with Richmond, New Hampshire and McNeese State all experiencing setbacks. The latest FCS Coaches Poll mirrors those results as only No. 1 James Madison and No. 2 Appalachian State held their respective spots.
The Dukes remained the unanimous No. 1 after a Scotty McGee 69-yard punt return for a touchdown with one second remaining gave JMU a 38-31 victory over Richmond.
New Hampshire got tripped up at home by fellow Colonial Athletic Association member William and Mary, 38-34. McNeese State, likewise, lost at home to fellow Southland Conference member Texas State, 45-42.
Completing the new top 10 this week were No. 3 Cal Poly, followed by Northern Iowa, Montana, Wofford, Massachusetts, Elon, Richmond and Villanova.
Jumping into the poll this week were No. 20 Weber State, No. 24 Hampton and No. 25 Georgia Southern.
The Wildcats, who are now 5-2, defeated Montana State, 35-12, Saturday to earn a spot in the rankings. The Pirates, 4-1, had a bye week last week. The Eagles, 3-3, also were idle.
Moving out of the polls following losses were Delaware, Eastern Washington and The Citadel.
The CAA, Missouri Valley Football Conference and the Southern Conference continue to lead the way with each conference being represented by five schools in the latest poll. The CAA has four teams in the top 10, while the SoCon has three.
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 Previous Ranking
1. James Madison (28) 6-1 700 1
2. Appalachian State 4-2 664 2
3. Cal Poly 3-1 599 7
4. Northern Iowa 4-2 589 8
5. Montana 5-1 548 10
6. Wofford 4-1 526 9
7. Massachusetts 4-2 494 11
8. Elon 6-1 457 12
9. Richmond 4-3 453 5
10. Villanova 4-1 430 13
11. New Hampshire 4-1 420 4
12. McNeese State 3-2 396 3
13. Central Arkansas 5-1 385 14
14. Southern Illinois 3-2 316 15
15. Liberty 6-0 302 16
16. North Dakota State 3-3 287 6
17. Western Illinois 4-2 284 19
18. Northern Arizona 5-1 281 17
19. Furman 5-2 200 21
20. Weber State 5-2 166 NR
21. Tennessee State 5-1 130 24
22. South Dakota State 3-3 87 23
23. Jacksonville State 4-2 69 18
24. Hampton 4-1 58 NR
25. Georgia Southern 3-3 27 NR
Other receiving votes (pts. in parentheses): South Carolina State (26), William and Mary (24), Delaware (23), San Diego (21), Eastern Washington (18), Maine (16), Harvard (16), Texas State (14), The Citadel (13), Sam Houston State (9), Montana State (7), Lafayette (6), Northwestern State (6), Prairie View A&M (6), Grambling State (5), Southern (5), Northeastern (4), Colgate (3), UT Martin (3), UC Davis (3), Dayton (2), Florida A&M (2).