2008 FCS Coaches Poll

Photo Courtsey of the Richmond Athletic Media Relations Department

Richmond’s Josh Vaughan (32), William Bischoff (25) and Sherman Logan (8) hoist the Spiders’ first FCS National Championship trophy last Friday night in Chattanooga, Tenn. Richmond defeated Montana 24-7. The Spiders are a unanimous No. 1 to close the season.

The 2008 NCAA Division I Football Championship was held Friday, December 19 in Chattanooga, TN, at Finley Stadium, where the Richmond Spiders defeated the Montana Grizzlies, 24-7. Complete information can be found at the official championship game website.

Contact Information: Russell Dorn * Media Relations Assistant * Southern Conference * 864-591-5100 * E-mail

 

 

Other receiving votes (pts. in parentheses): UT Martin (40), Florida A&M (33), Massachusetts (24), Furman (17), South Dakota State (15), Albany (10), Tennessee State (8), Holy Cross (2), Northwestern State (1).

As of December 22, 2008

SPARTANBURG, S.C. – After winning its first FCS National Championship by defeating Montana, 24-7, Dec. 19 in Chattanooga, Tenn., the Richmond Spiders have been named a unanimous No. 1 in the final FCS Coaches Poll of the season.

The Spiders (13-3) defeated Eastern Kentucky in the first round at home, 38-10, before traveling on the road to knock off three-time defending national champion and No. 2 seed Appalachian State in the quarterfinals, 31-13. In the semifinals, Richmond traveled to Northern Iowa, where a last-second touchdown and extra point gave the Spiders a 21-20 victory over the No. 3 seed. The Spiders completed their run by topping the Grizzlies in the title game. The final ranking of No. 1 is the first time the Spiders have been ranked No. 1 all season in the FCS Coaches Poll.

National runner-up Montana (14-2) finished the season No. 2 after losing to the Spiders. The Grizzlies defeated Texas State at home in the first round, 31-13, before avenging their only regular season loss of the season to Weber State in the quarterfinals, 24-13. In the semifinals Montana traveled to No. 1 seed James Madison and knocked off the Dukes, 35-27.

Semifinalist James Madison finished the season at No. 3, while the fourth semifinalist Northern Iowa finished at No. 4. Following the four semifinalists were playoff participants Appalachian State, Villanova, New Hampshire, Cal Poly, Weber State and Southern Illinois.

Moving into the poll this week was Texas State, which won the Southland Conference regular season title and advanced to the playoffs, where it lost to Montana 31-13 in the first round. Moving out of the poll this week was UT Martin, which lost to Eastern Kentucky, 33-31, to end the regular season.

All 16 playoff participants were ranked in the top 25 this week.

The Colonial Athletic Association had six teams ranked in the final poll, with four being in the top 10. The Southern Conference and the Southland each had three ranked in the top 25.

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.

Spiders Sit Atop the FCS World