2008 FCS Coaches Poll

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

October 6, 2008

SPARTANBURG, S.C. – After beating Hofstra, 56-0, at home on Saturday, James Madison has been selected the unanimous No. 1 selection in the latest FCS Coaches Poll.

The Dukes, who received all 28 first-place votes and 700 total points, secured their No. 1 ranking after previous No. 2 Montana lost at Weber State, 45-28. The Grizzlies fell to No. 10.

New No. 2 Appalachian State moved up a spot following its 47-21 homecoming victory over previous No. 20 The Citadel.

No. 3 McNeese State also moved up a spot following its triple-overtime victory over then-No. 18 South Dakota State, 46-44.

Rounding out the top five are two Colonial Athletic Association members, New Hampshire and Richmond.

Headlining the next five is No. 6 North Dakota State, which stayed put at No. 6 after beating then-No. 11 Southern Illinois, 35-27.

The rest of the top ten includes Cal Poly, Northern Iowa, Wofford and Montana.

No. 16 Liberty remains one of two undefeated teams (New Hampshire had the week off) in the poll this week after it defeated Coastal Carolina, 43-38.

Entering the polls again after dropping out last week was Tennessee State, which beat UT Martin in overtime, 30-27. Dropping out was Eastern Illinois, which had a bye week.

The CAA continues to lead the way with six teams ranked in the top 25, including three in the top 10. The Missouri Valley Football Conference and the Southern Conference each have five teams 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.

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 Previous Ranking

1. James Madison (28) 5-1 700 1

2. Appalachian State 3-2 659 3

3. McNeese State 3-1 630 4

4. New Hampshire 4-0 585 5

5. Richmond 4-2 549 7

6. North Dakota State 3-2 540 6

7. Cal Poly 3-1 526 8

8. Northern Iowa 3-2 484 10

9. Wofford 3-1 473 9

10. Montana 4-1 463 2

11. Massachusetts 3-2 425 12

12. Elon 5-1 391 15

13. Villanova 4-1 366 16

14. Central Arkansas 4-1 296 19

15. Southern Illinois 2-2 265 11

16. Liberty 5-0 259 21

17. Northern Arizona 4-1 204 24

18. Jacksonville State 4-1 193 23

19. Western Illinois 3-2 182 22

20. Delaware 2-3 151 14

21. Furman 4-2 118 17

22. Eastern Washington 2-3 107 13

23. South Dakota State 3-3 81 18

24. Tennessee State 5-1 73 NR

25. The Citadel 3-2 64 20

Other receiving votes (pts. in parentheses): Montana State (55), Eastern Illinois (49), Weber State (45), Hampton (44), Georgia Southern (35), Sam Houston State (19), South Carolina State (17), San Diego (14), Maine (11), Harvard (6), Florida A&M (3), Cornell (2), Youngstown State (2), William & Mary (2), Prairie View A&M (1), Southern (1).