Spiders Hold Strong at No. 1 (FCS Coaches Poll)

Top 11 Teams Remain Unchanged           

SPARTANBURG, S.C. – The latest Football Championship Subdivision Coaches Poll showed no changes in the top 11 spots as each of those teams picked up victories over the weekend. Richmond continued its stance atop the rankings, receiving all 28 first place votes and 700 points overall.

Kendall Gaskins ran for two scores and caught a touchdown pass from Eric Ward to help lead Richmond (8-0) to a 42-14 victory at Towson. The Tigers led 14-13 at one point, but the Spiders responded with three scores in the next two and a half minutes. Richmond’s 17 consecutive wins is a school record and includes 11 consecutive road wins.

No. 2 Montana was the only top 10 team to face ranked competition Saturday as the Grizzlies hosted then-No. 13 Weber State in a battle of the top two teams in the Big Sky Conference. Chase Reynolds ran for 241 yards and a touchdown as Montana (8-0) defeated the Wildcats 31-10.

No. 3 Southern Illinois traveled to Indiana State and redshirt freshman quarterback Paul McIntosh made his first start for the Salukis replacing the injured Chris Dieker. McIntosh rushed for two touchdowns to lead Southern Illinois (7-1) to a 33-0 win, the Salukis’ seventh-straight victory.

No. 4 Villanova (7-1) was idle and William & Mary rounded out the top five coming off its 39-14 victory at Rhode Island.

Courtland Marriner rushed for three touchdowns for the Tribe, including one for 39 yards. Rhode Island took a 7-0 lead, but William & Mary (7-1) scored 39 unanswered points. The Tribe held the Rams to minus 46 rushing yards on 28 attempts, a new school record.

New to the poll this week are No. 23 Florida A&M (6-2) and No. 24 Lafayette (7-1).

The Rattlers stopped Morgan State on fourth down in overtime to win 31-28. The Leopards were led by quarterback Rob Curley who threw for 333 yards and three touchdowns in the 35-14 win against Bucknell. Lafayette came into the game ranked 14^th in scoring defense and 15^th in rushing defense, holding the Bison to 95 rushing yards.

Dropping out of the poll were Cal Poly, Northern Arizona and Massachusetts. The Mustangs fell at North Dakota, 31-17, while the Lumberjacks lost on the road to Sacramento State, 27-24, and the Minutemen fell 19-9 at Maine.

Liberty (6-2) made the biggest jump this week, moving seven spots to No. 17 after its 55-19 win against Presbyterian. Eastern Illinois (6-2) jumped six spots to No. 13 after defeating Murray State, 16-10. Jacksonville State (5-3), Eastern Washington (6-3) and Colgate (8-1) each moved up five spots after picking up wins.

The Colonial Athletic Association is represented by five teams, including three in the top five and four in the top 10. Four conferences have three ranked teams, including the Big Sky, Missouri Valley, Patriot League and Southland. The Mid-Eastern Athletic, Ohio Valley and Southern Conferences are each represented by two teams. The Big South and Southwest Athletic Conferences each have one ranked 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 9 (November 2, 2009)

      Team (No. 1 Votes)               2009 Record          Points     Previous Ranking
1. Richmond (28)                                 8-0                   700                     1

2. Montana                                          8-0                   667                     2

3. Southern Illinois                               7-1                   646                     3

4. Villanova                                         7-1                   614                     4

5. William & Mary                                7-1                   580                     5

6. Elon                                                7-1                   552                     6

7. New Hampshire                               7-1                   510                     7

8. Appalachian State                            6-2                   508                     8

9. South Dakota State                          7-1                   475                     9          

10. South Carolina State                      7-1                   453                    10

11. McNeese State                              6-2                   419                    11

12. Northern Iowa                                 5-3                   374                    14

13. Eastern Illinois                               7-2                   323                    19

14. Holy Cross                                    7-1                   317                    17

15. Jacksonville State                          5-3                   273                    20

16. Eastern Washington                       6-3                   225                    21

17. Liberty                                           6-2                   201                    24

18. Stephen F. Austin                          6-2                   200                    15

19. Central Arkansas                           5-3                   181                    12

20. Colgate                                         8-1                   161                   T25

21. Weber State                                  5-4                   149                    13

22. Prairie View A&M                           5-1                   116                   T25

23. Florida A&M                                  6-2                    81                    NR

24.  Lafayette                                       7-1                    74                    NR

25. Delaware                                       5-3                    71                     18

Others receiving votes (points in parentheses): Cal Poly (38), Butler (37), Eastern Kentucky (27), Northern Arizona (27), Southeastern Louisiana (16), Texas State (16), Massachusetts (10), Montana State (9), Southern Utah (9), Central Connecticut State (8), Grambling State (8), Harvard (6), Chattanooga (5), James Madison (5), Alabama A&M (4), Drake (3), Pennsylvania (2).

Richmond wins again to stay at No. 1

Philadelphia, PA (Sports Network) - A big second half helped Richmond to a 42-14 victory at Towson on Saturday and that allowed the Spiders to retain their No. 1 spot in The Sports Network FCS Top-25 poll on Monday.

The Spiders improved to 8-0 on the cusp of their Colonial Athletic Association showdown with No. 4 ranked Villanova Saturday at Richmond.

Richmond received 123 of 141 first-place votes, with No. 2 Montana picking up nine, No. 3 Southern Illinois drawing seven and Villanova and No. 7 Appalachian State grabbing one each.

Richmond's lead over Montana for first place was 82 points, 3,481 to 3,299.

With nine of the top-10 teams winning games on Saturday and the other, Villanova being idle, the top-10 remained exactly the same for the first time this season.

Montana (8-0) bombed No. 14 Weber State 31-10 in a Big Sky throw-down at Washington-Grizzly Stadium, causing the Wildcats (5-4) to tumble to 19 in the poll.

Southern Illinois (7-1), which meets No. 9 South Dakota State Saturday for the Missouri Valley Football Conference title, tuned up by blanking Indiana State 33-0 on the road.

William & Mary (7-1) stayed at No. 5 with a 39-14 decision at Rhode Island, while Elon (7-1) used a 34-6 thumping of Wofford to glide along at No. 6.

Appalachian State (6-2) crushed rival Furman 52-27 on the road to stay at No. 7, while New Hampshire (7-1) remained at No. 8 with its 48-21 home win over Northeastern.

South Dakota State (7-1) beat Youngstown State 17-3 in a defensive struggle on the road to hang on to the No. 9 slot and South Carolina State (7-1) held on to the 10th position with a 52-10 thrashing of Delaware State.

There was a huge shakeup in the rest of the poll, with seven ranked teams being defeated on Saturday.

After back-to-back losses, Northern Iowa (5-3) bounced back up one spot to No. 11 during a bye week, edging McNeese State (6-2) by one point. McNeese State beat Nicholls State 38-17.

Holy Cross (7-1) showed a significant increase in support following a 41-27 victory over Fordham in Patriot League play. The Crusaders moved from 17th to 13th in the poll.

Eastern Illinois also received a boost after a 16-10 win over Murray State in a Ohio Valley Conference game, jumping from 20th to 14th in the poll.

Stephen F. Austin (6-2) dropped a 28-7 decision to defending Southland Conference champion Texas State on the road and suffered a drop from 11th to 15th.

Liberty (6-2) skyrocketed from 23rd to 16th by hammering Presbyterian 55-19 at home and Jacksonville State (5-3) rose from 22nd to 17th with a 28-10 win over Austin Peay on the road.

Colgate (8-1) got back on the winning track after its loss the previous week to Holy Cross. The Raiders moved from 24th to 18th by edging Lehigh 27-20 at home.

Completing the top-20 is Central Arkansas (5-3). The Bears dropped their second straight game after cracking the top-10 two weeks ago, losing 25-21 at Southeastern Louisiana.

The rest of the poll is filled by Eastern Washington, Prairie View, Delaware, Florida A&M and Lafayette.

Eastern Washington (6-3) checked back into the poll after a two-week absence with a 47-10 victory over Portland State at Seattle's Qwest Field.

Prairie View (5-1), which broke into the poll for just the second time in history last week, moved up to its highest ranking ever at No. 22 during a bye
week.

Delaware (5-3) slipped from 16th to 23rd when it lost a 20-8 shelling at home against James Madison.

Florida A&M (6-2) leaped back into the poll after a two-week absence at No. 24 with a 31-28 overtime victory at Morgan State in a battle for second place in the MEAC.

Lafayette (7-1) earned its first trip to the poll this season by thumping Bucknell 35-14 at home.

Three teams fell out of the poll, Cal Poly (4-4), Massachusetts (4-4) and Northern Arizona (5-3).

Cal Poly had been ranked No. 18 before losing to North Dakota 31-17 on the road in Great West Conference play, while previously-No. 19-ranked UMass was beaten 19-9 by Maine in another road game.

The road was also unkind to Northern Arizona, which lost 27-24 at Sacramento State and saw its No. 21 ranking disappear.

The Sports Network Top-25 Poll

1. Richmond Spiders (123)  8-0 3,481 1
2. Montana Grizzlies (9)  8-0 3,299 2
3. Southern Illinois Salukis (7)  7-1 3,218 3
4. Villanova Wildcats (1) 7-1 3,039 4
5. William & Mary Tribe  7-1 2,834 5
6. Elon Phoenix  7-1 2,783 6
7. Appalachian State Mountaineers (1) 6-2 2,677 7
8. New Hampshire Wildcats  7-1 2,508 8
9. South Dakota State Jackrabbits  7-1 2,428 9
10. South Carolina State Bulldogs 7-1 2,224 10
11. Northern Iowa Panthers  5-3 1,968 12
12. McNeese State Cowboys  6-2 1,967 13
13. Holy Cross Crusaders  7-1 1,571 17
14. Eastern Illinois Panthers  7-2 1,388 20
15. Stephen F. Austin Lumberjacks  6-2 1,248 11
16. Liberty Flames  6-2 1,117 23
17. Jacksonville State Gamecocks 1,091 5-3 22
18. Colgate Raiders  8-1 975 24
19. Weber State Wildcats  5-4 917 14
20. Central Arkansas Bears  5-3 723 15
21. Eastern Washington Eagles 6-3 634 NR
22. Prairie View Panthers 5-1 612 25
23. Delaware Blue Hens  5-3 506 16
24. Florida A&M Rattlers 6-2 489 NR
25. Lafayette Leopards 7-1 379 NR

Others receiving votes: Cal Poly 219, Northern Arizona 195, Eastern Kentucky 158, Massachusetts 148, Southeastern Louisiana 139, Central Connecticut State 109, Texas State 107, Penn 88, Montana State 84, Harvard 80, Butler 67, Southern Utah 56, James Madison 56, Grambling 37, Tennessee Tech 29, Maine 27, Alabama A&M 19, Jacksonville 19, Chattanooga 18, Gardner-Webb 15, Morgan State 15, Stony Brook 15, Drake 12, Dayton 10, North Dakota 8, Illinois State 7, Old Dominion 5, Hampton 2, Southern 2, Missouri State 1, The Citadel 1, UC Davis 1.