Bearkats receiving votes in Sports Network Poll
8/19/2008 1:00:00 AM | Football
HUNTSVILLE ? The Sam Houston State Bearkats are just on the outside of the first Football Championship Subdivision poll released by The Sports Network on Tuesday afternoon.
The Bearkats received 166 points putting them sixth on the list of other teams receiving votes. The Bearkats finished the 2007 season strong winning the last five games of the year and finished as runner up in the Southland Conference for the second consecutive season. They finished the year with a 7-4 record. The Kats were tabbed second in the league this year by the SLC coaches in the preseason poll.
The Southland Conference placed two teams in the preseason top 25. McNeese State, which has won the last two Southland Conference titles, has been ranked 10th, and Central Arkansas was ranked 22nd. The Cowboys, which finished 11th in the final 2007 poll, received 1,647 points to round out the top 10. Central Arkansas, which finished 6-5, was not ranked in the final 2007 poll.
McNeese State, which captured its 12th SLC regular-season title by posting a 7-0 league record in 2007, posted an undefeated regular-season at 11-0 and hosted Eastern Washington in a FCS first-round playoff game. The SLC title was the fifth title in seven years for the Cowboys, which finished 11-1.
Southland Conference sports information picked Central Arkansas second in the SLC preseason poll behind McNeese State, while the coaches tabbed the Bears fourth. Sam Houston State (166), Northwestern State (30) and Nicholls State (9) received votes in the poll but were not ranked in the top 25.
For the second year in a row, Appalachian State was a near unanimous pick as the No. 1 selection in The Sports Network FCS preseason top-25 poll.
The Mountaineers, the three-time defending national champs, received 97 of 101 first-place votes and 2,546 points. It is the third consecutive year that ASU has opened the season ranked No. 1 by The Sports Network.
North Dakota State, the No. 2 team in the poll with 2,275 points, received one first-place vote and No. 6 James Madison was selected first by three voters.
The poll was dominated by three major leagues -- the Colonial Athletic Association, the Missouri Valley Football Conference and the Southern Conference.
The CAA landed four teams in the top 10 (Richmond at No. 4, Massachusetts at No. 5 and Delaware at No. 9 to join James Madison) and six teams in the top 25. New Hampshire placed 16th and Villanova finished at 21.
The MVC also had six teams ranked, with Northern Iowa at No. 3, Southern Illinois 11th, Youngstown State 12th, South Dakota State 19th and Western Illinois 25th to join North Dakota State.
The SoCon placed five teams in the poll, with Appalachian State being followed by Wofford at No. 13, Elon at 15th, Georgia Southern at 17th and The Citadel ranked 23rd.
Other teams in the top 10 include two Big Sky schools at seven and eighth, Eastern Washington and Montana, and McNeese State at No. 10.
The regular season top-25 poll will be released every Monday afternoon during the football year, except the final weekend when it will be released Sunday morning to allow it to be used officially by the NCAA Division I Football Committee when it selects the 16-team playoff field. The Sports Network will release a final top-25 poll following the national championship game, which will be held Dec. 19 in Chattanooga, Tenn.
Sports Network's FCS College Football Poll
| Team (First-place votes) | Record | Points | Previous Rank |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. Appalachian State Mountaineers (97) | 13-2 | 2,546 | 1 |
| 2. North Dakota State Bison (1) | 10-1 | 2,275 | 9 |
| 3. Northern Iowa Panthers | 12-1 | 2,204 | 4 |
| 4. Richmond Spiders | 11-3 | 2,162 | 5 |
| 5. Massachusetts Minutemen | 10-3 | 2,148 | 7 |
| 6. James Madison Dukes (3) | 8-4 | 2,078 | 12 |
| 7. Eastern Washington Eagles | 9-4 | 1,951 | 8 |
| 8. Montana Grizzlies | 11-1 | 1,848 | 10 |
| 9. Delaware Blue Hens | 11-4 | 1,747 | 2 |
| 10. McNeese State Cowboys | 11-1 | 1,687 | 11 |
| 11. Southern Illinois Salukis | 12-2 | 1,286 | 3 |
| 12. Youngstown State Penguins | 7-4 | 1,228 | 16 |
| 13. Wofford Terriers | 9-4 | 1,158 | 6 |
| 14. Cal Poly Mustangs | 7-4 | 1,081 | 24 |
| 15. Elon Phoenix | 7-4 | 1,028 | 23 |
| 16. New Hampshire Wildcats | 7-5 | 760 | 14 |
| 17. Georgia Southern Eagles | 7-4 | 656 | 17 |
| 18. Eastern Illinois Panthers | 8-4 | 622 | 18 |
| 19. South Dakota State Jackrabbits | 7-4 | 547 | 19 |
| 20. Eastern Kentucky Colonels | 9-3 | 487 | 13 |
| 21. Villanova Wildcats | 7-4 | 396 | NR |
| 22. Central Arkansas Bears | 6-5 | 374 | NR |
| 23. The Citadel Bulldogs | 7-4 | 317 | NR |
| 24. Harvard Crimson | 8-2 | 316 | 21 |
| 25. Western Illinois Leathernecks | 6-5 | 299 | NR |
| Others receiving votes: Northern Arizona 249, Fordham 212, Delaware State 198, Jacksonville State 195, Yale 170, Sam Houston State 166, Montana State 146, Furman 120, Liberty 115, Jackson State 79, South Carolina State 76, Holy Cross 74, Hofstra 61, Colgate 56, Grambling 55, Norfolk State 48, Coastal Carolina 44, Hampton 41, Southern 32, Northwestern State 30, Tennessee-Martin 30, UC Davis 22, Weber State 17, Lafayette 16, Alabama A&M 10, Texas Southern 9, Brown 9, Nicholls State 9, Dayton 6, Tennessee State 5, San Diego 4, Albany 4, Maine 1, Prairie View 1. |
