Villanova Claims First Title, No. 1 Ranking

Wildcats Top Montana 23-21 in Championship Game

 

SPARTANBURG, S.C. ? After winning its first Football Championship Subdivision title Friday night with a 23-21 win over Montana, the Villanova Wildcats were selected as the unanimous No. 1 in the final FCS Coaches Poll.  The Wildcats received all 28 first-place votes and 700 points overall.

 

It marked the first time in the three year history of the poll that Villanova earned the No. 1 ranking.  The Wildcats spent 13 weeks in the top five this season, dropping to No. 6 only once. Villanova downed Holy Cross, New Hampshire and William & Mary to reach the finale in Chattanooga, Tenn.

 

Matt Szczur, who was named the championship game’s most outstanding player, rushed for a career-high 159 yards, two touchdowns and also racked up 68 receiving yards for Villanova (14-1). Quarterback Chris Whitney threw for 142 yards, ran for another 102 and added a score.

 

National runner-up Montana (14-1) fell to No. 2 after spending the past three weeks at No. 1. The Grizzlies, which received the Big Sky Conference’s automatic bid, made their record-setting 17^th-straight playoff appearance. Montana defeated South Dakota State, Stephen F. Austin and Appalachian State en route to its second consecutive trip to the championship game.

 

Semifinalists Appalachian State (11-3), the preseason No. 1, and William & Mary (11-3) finished the season tied at No. 3. The Mountaineers fell at Montana 24-17, while the Tribe lost 14-13 at Villanova.

 

Rounding out the top five was Richmond (11-2), which fell in the quarterfinals to Appalachian State by a score of 35-31.

 

Playoff participants completed the top 10 with Southern Illinois (11-2) at No. 6, followed by New Hampshire (10-3) at No. 7, South Carolina State (10-2) at No. 8, Stephen F. Austin (10-3) at No. 9 and Elon (9-3) at No. 10.

 

The six remaining playoff teams finished no lower than No. 19.

 

Dropping out of the poll was Montana State (7-4), which finished the season with a 33-19 loss to Montana.

 

The Colonial Athletic Association led the way with four ranked teams, which all placed in the top seven. The Big Sky, Missouri Valley and Southland Conferences, along with the Patriot League each had three ranked teams. The Mid-Eastern Athletic, Ohio Valley and Southern Conferences were each represented by two teams, while the Big South Conference, Ivy League and Southwest Athletic Conference each had one.

 

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 ? Final (December 21, 2009)

 

Team (No. 1 Votes)                     2009 Record          Points     Previous Ranking
1. Villanova (28)                                  14-1                  700                     3

2. Montana                                         14-1                  672                     1

T3. Appalachian State                         11-3                  629                     5

T3. William & Mary                             11-3                  629                     6

5. Richmond                                       11-2                  579                     4

6. Southern Illinois                              11-2                  541                     2

7. New Hampshire                               10-3                  515                    10

8. South Carolina State                       10-2                  477                     7

9. Stephen F. Austin                           10-3                  450                    12

10. Elon                                              9-3                   439                     9          

11. South Dakota State                        8-4                   413                    11

12. McNeese State                              9-3                   375                     8

13. Eastern Washington                       8-4                   345                    14

14. Holy Cross                                    9-3                   317                    19

15. Eastern Illinois                               8-4                   272                    17

16. Jacksonville State                          8-3                   258                    13

17. Weber State                                  7-5                   252                    18

18. Northern Iowa                                 7-4                   246                    15

19. Prairie View A&M                           9-1                   223                    16

20. Colgate                                         9-2                   165                    20

21. Liberty                                           8-3                   155                    22

22. Florida A&M                                  8-3                   127                    21

23. Pennsylvania                                 8-2                    97                     23

24. Texas State                                   7-4                    59                    T25

25. Lafayette                                       8-3                    56                     24

 

Others receiving votes (points in parentheses): Montana State (38), Delaware (18), James Madison (14), Butler (6), Harvard (6), Grambling State (5), Northern Arizona (5), Alabama A&M (4), Illinois State (4), Central Connecticut State (2), Dayton (2), Tennessee Tech (2), Central Arkansas (1), Massachusetts (1), UC Davis (1).  

 

 

 

Sports Network Announces Final FCS poll

 

Philadelphia,  PA (Sports  Network) - Three days after winning its first NCAA Division I football championship, Villanova was crowned the No. 1 team in The Sports Network's Football Championship Subdivision final poll.

 

Coming off Friday's 23-21 victory over Montana in the national championship contest in Chattanooga, TN., the Wildcats received all 101 first-place votes to finish with 2,525 points.

 

Villanova (14-1) was the No. 2 ranked team in the final regular season poll.

 

Montana (14-1), which saw its dreams of a perfect season ruined by Villanova, moved up one place to No. 2 in the final poll.

 

Appalachian State (11-3), which lost 24-17 to Montana in the semifinals, jumped from fifth to third.

 

William & Mary (11-3), a 14-13 loser to Villanova in the semifinals, saw a similar jump, moving from sixth to fourth.

 

Richmond (11-2), the 2008 national champion, slipped from fourth to fifth with its 35-31 loss to Appalachian State in the quarterfinals.

 

Southern Illinois (11-2), the No. 1 team in the regular season, fell to No. 6 in the final poll after losing 24-3 to William & Mary in the quarterfinals.

 

New Hampshire (10-3) hopped up three positions to No. 7 following a win over McNeese State and a loss to Villanova in the postseason.

 

South Carolina State (10-2) fell one slot to No. 8 with its 20-13 loss to Appalachian State in the first round of the playoffs.

 

Elon (9-3) remained at No. 9 with its narrow 16-13 defeat to Richmond in the first round.

 

Stephen F. Austin (10-3) completed the top-10 after a win over Eastern Washington and a loss to Montana.

 

Coming in at No. 11 was South Dakota State (8-4), followed by McNeese State (9-3), Eastern Washington (8-4), Holy Cross (9-3), Prairie View (9-1), Jacksonville State (8-3), Weber State (7-5), Northern Iowa (7-4), Eastern Illinois (8-4) and Penn (8-2).

 

Final 2009 Sports Network's FCS College Football Poll