Tuesday, September 4, 2012

Weekly FCS football poll

SPARTANBURG, S.C. – After being voted the preseason favorite, North Dakota State maintained its No. 1 ranking in the Football Championship Subdivision Coaches Poll. The Bison, who won the 2011 National Championship game, received 23 out of 26 first-place votes.

North Dakota State opened the 2012 season at home, where they shut out Robert Morris 52-0. The NDSU defense held Robert Morris to 88 yards of total offense, the lowest total since 2001 when the Bison allowed 80 (-9 rushing, 89 passing) against Angel o State.

Sam Houston State maintained its No. 2 spot, although they do not play their first contest of the 2012 season until Saturday, September 8. The Bearkats tallied 611 points and two first-place votes.

Georgia Southern remained at No. 3 after sophomore quarterback Ezayi Youyoute rushed for a career-high 164 yards and three touchdowns in his first career start, and sophomore running back Dominique Swope ran for 104 yards with three scores to lead the third-ranked Eagles to a 58-0 football victory over Jacksonville Saturday.  Montana State also maintained its No. 4 ranking, after defeating Chadron State 33-6.

Old Dominion, which defeated Duquesne 57-23, moved up one spot to No. 5, while James Madison jumped two spots to No. 6 after their 55-7 victory on Saturday.

Northern Iowa stayed at No. 7, Appalachian State fell to No. 8, and Montana climbed to No. 9.

The biggest jump in the rankings was made by Youngstown State. The Penguins began the season at No. 18, but jumped eight spots to No. 10 after a dominating performance against Pittsburgh (31-17). Andre Stubbs ran for 71 yards and a score, and also added 61 yards receiving and another touchdown as the Penguins beat a Football Bowl Subdivision team for the first time in 12 years. It was the team's first win over Bowl Championship Series opponent in history.

New to the poll this week is McNeese State (t-No.21). The Cowboys defeated FBS-opponent Middle Tennessee State on the road Thursday night, 27-21. McNeese fell behind early 6-0 but rolled off 24 unanswered points in large part to a running game that racked up 298 yards on the ground.

Nine conferences are represented in the poll. The Colonial Athletic Association leads the way with six teams, followed by the Southland and Missouri Valley with four ranked teams. The Southern Conference and Big Sky have three teams in the Top 25. The Patriot League, Ivy League, Mid-Eastern Athletic, and Ohio Valley are all represented with one team in this week’s 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.


2012 FCS Coaches Week 1 Poll (September 3, 2012)
Team (No. 1 Votes)                Record                             Points           Last Week
1. North Dakota State (23)          1-0                                  645                  1
2. Sam Houston State (2)           0-0                                  611                    2
3. Georgia Southern                   1-0                                  597                    3
4. Montana State                        1-0                                  518                   4
5. Old Dominion                         1-0                                  498                   6
6. James Madison                      1-0                                  469                    8
7. Northern Iowa                         0-1                                  466                  7
8. Appalachian State                  0-1                                  434                    5
9. Montana                                1-0                                  428                   10
10. Youngstown State                1-0                                  407                   18
11. Eastern Washington              1-0                                  348                   15
12. New Hampshire                    1-0                                  346                  12
13. Wofford                               1-0                                  336                   13
14. Lehigh                                  1-0                                  328                   11
15. Delaware                              1-0                                300                     14
16. Towson                                0-1                                  290                     9
17. Stony Brook                         1-0                                  241                   17
18. Maine                                   0-0                                   212                 16
19. Illinois State                         1-0                                  157                     20
20. Central Arkansas                  0-1                                  109                    19
T-21. Stephen F. Austin              1-0                                   102                  24
T-21. McNeese State (1)             1-0                                  102                   NR
23. Harvard                                0-0                                   89                      22
24. Norfolk State                        1-0                                  82                       23
25. Eastern Kentucky                 0-1                                   58                       21

Others Receiving Votes: Indiana State (57); Liberty (39); South Carolina State (34); Jacksonville State (32); UT Martin (25); Bethune-Cookman (17); Tennessee Tech (16); William & Mary (14); North Dakota (11); Albany (7); Cal Poly (7); Portland State (7); Alabama A&M (6); Cornell (2); Jackson State (2); Samford (2); Pennsylvania (1); Tennessee State (1).

(Via NDSU Sports information)

No comments:

Post a Comment