Football No. 2 in Sports Network FCS Poll
9/30/2013 2:13:00 PM | Football
After a 49-34 victory over No. 2 ranked Eastern Washington Saturday, Sam Houston State has taken over the No. 2 spot in the Sports Network FCS Top 25.
Sam Houston completed the non-conference portion of its 2013 schedule with the big win over the Eagles to stand 4-1 for the season. The only loss on the record was to FCS top 10 powerhouse Texas A&M. The Kats were only nine points down to the Aggies in the third quarter of that matchup.
North Dakota State, Sam Houston's foe in the past two FCS national championship games, remains No. 1 in both the Sports Network and NCAA FCS Coaches Top 25.
The FCS coaches rated North Dakota State No. 1, Towson No. 2 and Sam Houston No. 3.
The Bison maintained their status atop the polls by handing a 20-0 loss to No. 6 South Dakota State.
Towson (5-0) remained unbeaten after staging a second-half rally to beat Stony Brook, 35-21.
Northern Iowa (4-0) won the weekend's other matchup within the Top 10, routing then-No. 9 McNeese State, 43-6, and moved up one spot to No. 4.
The Bearkats have been ranked among the FCS top 25 for 29 consecutive weeks. The team debuted in the national poll on Sept. 9, 2011. After an 11-0 regular season in 2011, Sam Houston rose to No. 1 before entering the playoffs. The Kats have finished No. 2 in each of the past two final rankings.
Sam Houston has rated among the FCS top 10 for 25 consecutive polls.
| Sports Network | W-L | Pts | NCAA Coaches Poll | W-L | Pts | |||
| 1 | North Dakota St. | 4-0 | 3949 | 1 | North Dakota St. | 4-0 | 650 | |
| 2 | SAM HOUSTON | 4-1 | 3683 | 2 | Towson | 5-0 | 623 | |
| 3 | Towson | 5-0 | 3645 | 3 | SAM HOUSTON | 4-1 | 599 | |
| 4 | Northern Iowa | 4-0 | 3492 | 4 | Northern Iowa | 4-0 | 567 | |
| 5 | Eastern Illinois | 4-1 | 3156 | 5 | Eastern Illinois | 4-1 | 485 | |
| 6 | Eastern Washington | 2-2 | 3050 | 6 | Coastal Carolina | 5-0 | 477 | |
| 7 | South Dakota St. | 3-2 | 2581 | 7 | Montana State | 3-2 | 465 | |
| 8 | Montana State | 3-2 | 2561 | 8 | Eastern Washington | 2-2 | 450 | |
| 9 | Coastal Carolina | 5-0 | 2478 | 9 | South Dakota St. | 3-2 | 432 | |
| 10 | Montana | 3-1 | 1964 | 10 | Lehigh | 4-0 | 345 | |
| 11 | McNEESE ST. | 4-1 | 1836 | 11 | CENTRAL ARKANSAS | 2-2 | 336 | |
| 12 | Fordham | 5-0 | 1832 | 12 | Montana | 3-1 | 330 | |
| 13 | Lehigh | 4-0 | 1764 | 13 | Fordham | 5-0 | 328 | |
| 14 | CENTRAL ARKANSAS | 2-2 | 1763 | 14 | McNEESE ST. | 4-1 | 320 | |
| 15 | Northern Arizona | 3-1 | 1711 | 15 | Wofford | 2-2 | 298 | |
| 16 | Georgia Southern* | 3-1 | 1635 | 16 | Bethune-Cookman | 3-1 | 256 | |
| 17 | Wofford | 2-2 | 1203 | 17 | Northern Arizona | 3-1 | 242 | |
| 18 | Cal Poly | 2-2 | 1195 | 18 | New Hampshire | 1-2 | 222 | |
| 19 | New Hampshire | 1-2 | 1162 | 19 | Cal Poly | 2-2 | 198 | |
| 20 | Villanova | 2-2 | 1002 | 20 | Villanova | 2-2 | 168 | |
| 21 | Bethune-Cookman | 3-1 | 947 | 21 | James Madison | 3-1 | 122 | |
| 22 | Tenn-Martin | 3-1 | 724 | 22 | Youngstown St. | 4-1 | 117 | |
| 23 | Maine | 4-1 | 702 | 23 | Maine | 4-1 | 103 | |
| 24 | Delaware | 4-1 | 671 | 24 | Garder-Webb | 4-1 | 49 | |
| 25 | Garder-Webb | 4-1 | 570 | 25 | Delaware | 3-1 | 47 | |
