2008 FCS Coaches Poll

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

November 10, 2008

Top 10 Remains Virtually Unchanged

SPARTANBURG, S.C. – The latest FCS Coaches Poll shows little change to the top 10 as only New Hampshire lost Saturday to slip out of the top 10. The Wildcats dropped a close contest to No. 7 Villanova, 24-13, to fall to No. 12.

James Madison remains No. 1 after a bye week, garnering 27 out of a possible 28 first-place votes. Taking the other first-place vote is Northern Iowa, which defeated Missouri State, 42-0.

Rounding out the top 10 after the Dukes are Appalachian State, Cal Poly, Northern Iowa, Montana, Richmond, Villanova, Weber State, Southern Illinois and Elon. The No. 10 Phoenix return to the top 10 for the first time since week eight, after defeating Western Carolina, 33-14.

Entering the poll for the first time this season are Maine and Colgate. The No. 23 Black Bears are 7-3 after beating Massachusetts, 21-20. The No. 20 Minutemen fell seven spots. The No. 24 Raiders are 8-2 thus far this season after topping Lehigh, 34-33.

Falling out of the poll after losses last week are Western Illinois and Northern Arizona. The Leathernecks lost to No. 9 Southern Illinois, 24-14. The Lumberjacks dropped their third-straight game by losing to Montana State, 25-23.

The Colonial Athletic Association continues to lead the way with seven teams ranked in the top 25, with three being in the top 10. The Southern Conference has four teams in the top 16.

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.

The FCS Coaches Poll website can be viewed here and is updated every week after the release of the poll.

Team (1^st Votes) Record Points Prev. Ranking

1. James Madison (27) 8-1 698 1

2. Appalachian State 8-2 669 2

3. Cal Poly 7-1 629 3

4. Northern Iowa (1) 8-2 617 4

5. Montana 9-1 588 5

6. Richmond 7-3 560 6

7. Villanova 7-2 519 8

8. Weber State 9-2 485 10

9. Southern Illinois 7-2 482 9

10. Elon 8-2 442 11

11. Wofford 7-2 400 12

12. New Hampshire 7-2 375 7

13. Central Arkansas 8-2 364 14

14. McNeese State 6-3 311 15

15. William and Mary 7-2 289 16

16. Furman 7-3 283 17

17. South Carolina State 8-2 241 18

18. Tennessee State 8-2 164 22

19. Harvard 7-1 148 21

20. Massachusetts 6-4 146 13

21. UT Martin 7-3 132 20

22. Liberty 8-2 92 25

23. Maine 7-3 80 NR

24. Colgate 8-2 76 NR

25. North Dakota State 5-4 73 23

Other receiving votes (pts. in parentheses): Jacksonville State (58), Western Illinois (55), Grambling State (33), Prairie View A&M (28), South Dakota State (18), Lafayette (11), Holy Cross (9), Dayton (9), Bethune-Cookman (5), Florida A&M (4), Montana State (3), Eastern Kentucky (2), Albany (1), Jacksonville (1).