Football up to #10 in rankings
10/10/2011 7:29:00 PM | Football
The No. 10 ranking is the highest for the Bearkats since the final rankings of the 2004 season when Sam Houston reached the NCAA Division I playoff semifinals.
Sam Houston's 5-0 record also includes victories over Western Illinois (an NCAA Division I playoff participant in 2010), Central Arkansas (ranked No. 18 nationally at the time of the victory), New Mexico (an FBS opponent from the Mountain West Conference) and UTSA (an NCAA FCS independent).
The Bearkats jumped back into the national rankings after the win over Central Arkansas Sept. 17 at No. 20 after a three-year absence from the polls. Sam Houston stood No. 16 last week before the win over UTSA and No. 11 last week.
Sam Houston is one of 10 teams weren't ranked in the preseason were part the Top 25 on Monday. Nothing changed at the top, however, as Georgia Southern was ranked No. 1 and Northern Iowa No. 2 for the fifth straight week.
New to the poll composed of a national panel of sports information and media relations directors, broadcasters, writers and other dignitaries were No. 23 North Dakota, which made its first-ever appearance in the rankings, No. 24 Alabama State and No. 25 Jackson State.
The season of change also has included No. 12 Maine, No. 15 South Dakota, No. 17 Towson, No. 18 Old Dominion, No. 19 Tennessee Tech and No. 21 Indiana State entering the poll in recent weeks.
The last two FCS national champions, preseason No. 1 Eastern Washington (2010) and Villanova (2009), were among the poll casualties during the first half of the season.
Six weeks of action remain before the NCAA will announce its 20-team playoff field on Nov. 20.
Georgia Southern (5-0) remained an overwhelming No. 1 despite only edging Chattanooga, 28-27, in the Southern Conference action on Saturday. The Eagles collected 132 of the 166 first-place votes and 4,090 points overall.
No. 2 Northern Iowa (4-1) tightened the distance behind Georgia Southern, gaining 24 first-place votes and 3,957 points. The defending Missouri Valley Football Conference champion Panthers posted a 23-9 win over Indiana State on Saturday.
The teams ranked third to sixth also did not change after each posted a victory. They were No. 3 Montana State (5-1), No. 4 North Dakota State (5-0), No. 5 Wofford (4-1) and No. 6 New Hampshire (4-1).
Appalachian State (3-2) was idle this past weekend, but moved up one spot to No. 7, followed by No. 8 Lehigh (5-1), No. 9 Delaware (4-2) and No. 10 Sam Houston State (5-0).
Jacksonville State (4-1) also rested in a bye, then moved up one spot to No. 11. Then it was No. 12 Maine (4-1), No. 13 James Madison (4-2), No. 14 Montana (4-2), No. 15 South Dakota (4-2), No. 16 William & Mary (3-3), No. 17 Towson (4-1), No. 18 Old Dominion (5-1), No. 19 Tennessee Tech (4-1) and No. 20 Richmond (3-3), which fell six spots after losing to Towson.
Also falling in the poll were No. 21 Indiana State (4-2) by four spots and No. 22 McNeese State (3-2) by seven spots.
Among the newcomers, No. 23 North Dakota (4-2) entered the poll for the first time since moving from Division II to the FCS in 2008. No. 24 Alabama State (5-1) had last appeared in the poll on Oct. 24, 2005, while fellow Southwestern Athletic Conference member and No. 25 Jackson State (5-1) had not appeared since Sept. 4, 2000.
Next for the Bearkats is the 2011 homecoming game at Elliott T. Bower Stadium Saturday at 2 p.m. versus the Nicholls Colonels.
Tickets are available online at www.gobearkats.com/tickets or at the Sam Houston State ticket office at Bowers Stadium (telephone 936 294-1729).
SPORTS NETWORK FCS POLL
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10/10/11 |
|
|
1 |
Georgia Southern (132) |
|
2 |
Northern Iowa (24) |
|
3 |
Montana State (2) |
|
4 |
North Dakota State (6) |
|
5 |
Wofford (2) |
|
6 |
New Hampshire |
|
7 |
Appalachian State |
|
8 |
Lehigh |
|
9 |
Delaware |
|
10 |
Sam Houston State |
|
11 |
Jacksonville State |
|
12 |
Maine |
|
13 |
James Madison |
|
14 |
Montana |
|
15 |
South Dakota |
|
16 |
William & Mary |
|
17 |
Towson |
|
18 |
Old Dominion |
|
19 |
Tennessee Tech |
|
20 |
Richmond |
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21 |
Indiana State |
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22 |
McNeese State |
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23 |
North Dakota |
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24 |
Alabama State |
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25 |
Jackson State |
