SPARTANBURG, S.C. – Four Southern Conference football squads finished nationally ranked in a pair of final FCS polls announced Monday.

SoCon champion Samford was a consensus No. 7 and Furman a consensus No. 10 in the AFCA FCS Coaches’ Top 25 and Stats Perform FCS Top 25. Mercer finished No. 21 in the AFCA poll and No. 24 in the Stats Perform poll, while Chattanooga was tied for No. 24 in the AFC poll and No. 23 in the Stats Perform poll.

The Bulldogs finished the season 11-2 overall and went 8-0 in league play for their first outright SoCon title. Samford was the No. 6 national seed in the NCAA Division I Football Championship, topping Southeastern Louisiana 48-42 in overtime in the second round of the playoffs before falling 27-9 to eventual FCS finalist North Dakota State in the quarterfinals.

Furman finished the season 10-3 overall and 7-1 in SoCon play. The Paladins earned an at-large selection to the FCS playoffs, downing 15th-ranked Elon 31-6 in the first round before falling to No. 7 national seed UIW in the second round, 41-38.

Mercer and Chattanooga both went 7-4 overall and 5-3 in league play.

South Dakota State, which won its first national championship Sunday with its 45-21 win over North Dakota State, was a unanimous No. 1 in both polls.
 
AFCA FCS Coaches’ Top 25
Rank. Team (1st-place votes)
1. South Dakota State (26)
2. North Dakota State
3. UIW
4. Sacramento State
5. Montana State
6. Holy Cross
7. Samford
8. William & Mary
9. Weber State
10. Furman
11. Jackson State
12. Richmond
13. Southeast Missouri
14. Montana
15. New Hampshire
16. Fordham
17. North Carolina Central
18. Elon
19. Southeastern Louisiana
20. St. Thomas (Minn.)
21. Mercer
22. Idaho
23. Florida A&M
t24. Delaware
t24. Chattanooga
 
Stats Perform FCS Top 25
Rank. Team (1st-place votes)
1. South Dakota State (54)
2. North Dakota State
3. UIW
4. Montana State
5. Sacramento State
6. Holy Cross
7. Samford
8. William & Mary
9. Weber State
10. Furman
11. Richmond
12. Southeastern Louisiana
13. New Hampshire
14. Montana
15. Southeast Missouri
16. Jackson State
17. Elon
18. Idaho
19. Delaware
20. North Dakota
21. North Carolina Central
22. Fordham
23. Chattanooga
24. Mercer
25. UC Davis