Villanova Survives Top Five Test
Richmond Maintains No. 1 Ranking
SPARTANBURG, S.C. ? Richmond (4-0) held on to the No. 1 spot this week after being idle on Saturday, receiving 27 first-place votes and 699 points overall.
Two other undefeated Colonial Athletic Association teams engaged in a top 5 battle. Villanova quarterback Chris Whitney threw a 55-yard touchdown pass to Brandyn Harvey 19 seconds into the Wildcats’ game against then-No. 5 William & Mary to make the score 7-0. The Wildcats never trailed in their 28-17 victory, despite being outgained by the Tribe, 472-283. William & Mary had two turnovers and only scored one touchdown in five trips to the red zone. Matt Szczur rushed for two touchdowns in the Wildcats’ victory.
Villanova (5-0) received one first-place vote and 664 points overall to solidify its stance at No. 2, while William & Mary (4-1) dropped to No. 8.
Montana (4-0) was also idle Saturday and maintained its grip on No. 3.
Northern Iowa (4-1) scored touchdowns on each of its first six possessions in the first half en route to a 62-7 win against Indiana State to remain at No. 4. Schuylar Oordt caught two 30-yard touchdown passes. Derrick Law ran for 78 yards and two scores in the first half, while Matt Strathman ran for 133 yards and a touchdown in the second half.
Rounding out the top 5 was New Hampshire (4-0), which defeated Towson 57-7. New Hampshire quarterback Kevin Decker made his first career start, throwing for two touchdowns and rushing for one. The Wildcats forced eight Towson turnovers. Sean Jellison returned a kickoff 81 yards for a score, and Ryan McGuinness scored on a 96-yard interception return.
Southern Illinois (3-1) moved up two spots to No. 6 after its 30-10 victory at Western Illinois. The Salukis are followed by McNeese State (3-1) at No. 7 and William & Mary (4-1) at No. 8. Central Arkansas (3-1) cracked the top 10 and moved up three spots to No. 9 after its 45-10 win vs. Missouri S&T. Appalachian State (2-2) comes in at No. 10 after its overtime win at The Citadel.
James Madison (2-2) fell out of the top 10 after losing at Hofstra, 24-17. The Dukes were held to 56 passing yards. Hofstra’s Dave Wilson caught two touchdown passes, including one for 34 yards.
New to the poll this week is Colgate (5-0). The Raiders are coming off a 45-23 victory against Cornell.
Dropping out of the poll was Texas State (2-2), which lost on the road at Southern Utah, 38-16.
The Colonial Athletic Association maintains six ranked teams, with three in the top five and four in the top 10. The Big Sky Conference is represented by four ranked teams. The Missouri Valley and Ohio Valley Conferences each have three ranked teams, while the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference, Patriot League, Southern Conference and Southland Conference each have two. The Great West Conference is represented by one team.
The FCS Coaches Poll website can be viewed here and is updated each week after the release of the poll.
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.
2009 FCS Coaches Poll ? Week 5 (October 5, 2009)
Team (No. 1 Votes) 2009 Record Points Previous Ranking
1. Richmond (27) 4-0 699 1
2. Villanova (1) 5-0 664 2
3. Montana 4-0 633 3
4. Northern Iowa 4-1 630 4
5. New Hampshire 4-0 582 7
6. Southern Illinois 3-1 556 8
7. McNeese State 3-1 514 9
8. William & Mary 4-1 474 5
9. Central Arkansas 3-1 438 12
10. Appalachian State 2-2 436 10
11. Elon 4-1 427 13
12. James Madison 2-2 370 6
13. Massachusetts 3-1 329 16
14. Cal Poly 2-2 296 17
15. Eastern Washington 4-1 291 18
16. South Carolina State 3-1 256 14
17. Eastern Kentucky 3-1 217 21
18. Jacksonville State 3-2 204 20
19. South Dakota State 3-1 187 15
20. Holy Cross 4-0 173 22
21. Weber State 2-3 166 11
22. Florida A&M 4-0 156 23
23. Montana State 3-1 130 25
24. Colgate 5-0 92 NR
25. Eastern Illinois 4-1 42 24
Others receiving votes (points in parentheses): Stephen F. Austin (35), Texas State (22), Prairie View A&M (20), Northern Arizona (15), Alabama A&M (13), Gardner-Webb (9), Chattanooga (7), Liberty (6), Butler (5), Hofstra (2), Southern Utah (2), Missouri State (1), Morgan State (1).
Richmond holds off VU in poll
Philadelphia (Sports Network) - Villanova gained ground in The Sports Network FCS Top-25 poll on Monday, but Richmond held on to the No. 1 spot for the fifth straight week.
Richmond (4-0) received 106 of 139 first-place votes in a bye week, with Villanova (5-0) jumping from 13 first-place votes to 26 after a resounding 28-17 win at home against then No. 5-ranked William & Mary on Saturday afternoon.
William & Mary (4-1) fell to eighth in the new poll after the loss to the WIldcats in the Colonial Athletic Association game.
The Spiders held a 143-point lead over Villanova last week, but that edge was trimmed to 82 in this week's poll, 3,394 to 3,312.
No. 3 Northern Iowa (4-1) picked up five first-place votes, with No. 4 Montana (4-0) and No. 5 New Hampshire (4-0) receiving one each.
Northern Iowa beat Indiana State 62-7 at home in a Missouri Valley Conference contest, extending the Sycamores' nation-long losing streak to 31 games. Montana was idle in preparation for a home game on Saturday against Cal Poly.
UNH advanced one spot in the new poll following a 57-7 blowout win at Towson.
Southern Illinois (3-1) leaped two slots in the poll to No. 6 with a 30-10 victory over Western Illinois in MVFC play. The Salukis were helped by top-10 losses from William & Mary and James Madison.
Others moving up a spot in the top-10 were McNeese State to No. 7 and Appalachian State to No. 9.
McNeese State (3-1) had an off week, while Appalachian State (2-2) knocked off The Citadel in a Southern Conference road game.
Elon moved back into the top-10 with a wild 19-12 victory at Furman in Southern Conference play. The Phoenix were ranked 12th last week.
With six losses in the Top-25, the rest of the poll showed a big shakeup.
Central Arkansas (3-1) gained two positions to No. 11 by beating Missouri S&T 45-10 and Massachusetts (3-1) soared up three spots to No. 12 in a bye week.
James Madison (2-2) plummeted from seventh to 13th after a 24-17 CAA road loss to Hofstra, while Eastern Washington (4-1) skyrocketed from 17th to 14th by virtue of a 38-3 victory over Idaho State in a Big Sky road game.
Cal Poly (2-2) took advantage of a 21-14 home decision against South Dakota State in a matchup between former Great West Conference rivals to bounce from 19th to 15th. South Dakota State (3-1) fell from 16th to 20th with the loss.
In another battle of ranked teams, Eastern Kentucky held off Eastern Illinois on the road 36-31 in Ohio Valley Conference play. As a result, EKU (3-1) crept up two slots to No. 16, while Eastern Illinois dropped from 23rd to 25th.
South Carolina State (3-1) gave a good account of itself in a 38-14 loss to FBS foe South Carolina, but the Bulldogs still fell from 15th to 17th.
Jacksonville State (3-2) crushed Tennessee-Martin 52-7 at home in an OVC encounter and was rewarded with a move from 20th to 18th in the poll.
Holy Cross dominated Northeastern 42-21 in a game between Patriot League and CAA squads and voters advanced the Crusaders from 21st to 19th.
Finishing out the poll in the 21st through 24th positions were Weber State, Florida A&M, Colgate and Montana State.
Weber State (2-3) had the biggest slide in the poll after a 26-21 loss to Montana State, dropping from 11th to 21st. Montana State (3-1) made its first appearance in the poll this season at No. 24.
Florida A&M (4-0) had a bye week, but jumped from 24th to 22nd with all of the upsets and Colgate gained two positions from 25th to 23rd, swapping places with Eastern Illinois after a 45-23 home victory over previously unbeaten Cornell.
Texas State (2-2) fell out of the poll with a 38-16 road loss to Southern Utah costing the Bobcats its No. 22 ranking.
Sports Network's FCS College Football Poll
Team (First-place votes) Record Points Previous Rank
1. Richmond Spiders (106) 4-0 3,394 1
2. Villanova Wildcats (26) 5-0 3,312 2
3. Northern Iowa Panthers (5) 4-1 3,151 3
4. Montana Grizzlies (1) 4-0 2,965 4
5. New Hampshire Wildcats (1) 4-0 2,857 6
6. Southern Illinois Salukis 3-1 2,651 8
7. McNeese State Cowboys 3-1 2,445 9
8. William & Mary Tribe 4-1 2,384 5
9. Appalachian State Mountaineers 2-2 2,179 10
10. Elon Phoenix 4-1 2,124 12
11. Central Arkansas Bears 3-1 1,997 13
12. Massachusetts Minutemen 3-1 1,789 14
13. James Madison Dukes 2-2 1,650 7
14. Eastern Washington Eagles 4-1 1,374 17
15. Cal Poly Mustangs 2-2 1,338 19
16. Eastern Kentucky Colonels 3-1 1,255 18
17. South Carolina State Bulldogs 3-1 1,240 15
18. Jacksonville State Gamecocks 3-2 1,091 20
19. Holy Cross Crusaders 4-0 939 21
20. South Dakota State Jackrabbits 3-1 932 16
21. Weber State Wildcats 2-3 852 11
22. Florida A&M Rattlers 4-0 677 24
23. Colgate Raiders 5-0 626 25
24. Montana State Bobcats 3-1 354 NR
25. Eastern Illinois Panthers 4-1 284 23
Others receiving votes: Liberty 199, Stephen F. Austin 159, Harvard 111, Prairie View A&M 101, Hofstra 98, Delaware 79, Texas State 79, Northern Arizona 59, Furman 54, Samford 39, Alabama A&M 31, Gardner-Webb 24, Northwestern State 23, Chattanooga 22, Lehigh 22, Monmouth 21, Butler 20, Wofford 17, Lafayette 16, Sam Houston State 16, Albany 14, Georgia Southern 14, Missouri State 14, Grambling 12, Youngstown State 12, Howard 8, Jacksonville 7, Brown 6, Morgan State 6, Illinois State 5, UC Davis 5, Southern Utah 4, Central Connecticut State 3, Delaware State 3, Drake 3, North Carolina A&T 2, Southern 2, Columbia 1, Dayton 1, Tennessee Tech 1, The Citadel 1, North Dakota 1.