Kats Claim No. 1 Ranking In Stats FCS Poll
10/17/2016 1:22:00 PM | Football
HUNTSVILLE, Texas – The Sam Houston State Bearkats are the new No. 1 team in the country in the STATS FCS Top 25 poll released Monday afternoon.
Sam Houston entered Saturday's game against Abilene Christian ranked No. 2 behind North Dakota State, but the Bison fell 19-17 at home to South Dakota State on Saturday in Fargo to open the door for the Kats to claim the poll's top spot. The Kats took care of business on their end with a 48-21 win over ACU.
"The kids have played very well and it is a great honor," Keeler said. "But I think this team is mature enough to understand that No. 1 in October isn't the final destination. It's just part of the journey and the bullseye on our back just got a little bit bigger."
It is the second consecutive season the Kats have found themselves at the top of the STATS FCS poll at some point in the season, most recently attaining the No. 1 spot on Sept 7 of last year. The Bearkats own a 4-1 all-time record when playing as the No. 1 team in the country.
Sam Houston garnered 113 of 165 first-place votes to take the poll's top spot, while Jacksonville State and Eastern Washington moved up a spot apiece to No. 2 and No. 3, respectively. North Dakota State fell to No. 4 while The Citadel – the nation's other unbeaten team in the FCS along with the Kats – moved up to No. 5 after a win over Chattanooga.
Jacksonville State (5-1) beat Austin Peay 34-14 this past weekend to remain in first place in the Ohio Valley Conference. They gained 19 first-place votes in the poll while Eastern Washington (5-1) had a bye. The Big Sky Conference power, whose lone loss is to North Dakota State in overtime, gained 17 first-place votes.
North Dakota State (5-1), despite its loss to rival South Dakota State gained 11 first-place votes.
The other five first-place votes went to The Citadel (6-0), which beat Chattanooga 22-14 to take over first place in the Southern Conference. The No. 5 ranking is the Bulldogs' highest since the 1992 season-ending poll.
Richmond (6-1) claimed the No. 6 spot after a shutout of Villanova and South Dakota State (4-2) rose four spots to No. 7 after its big win over North Dakota State. James Madison (6-1), Charleston Southern (3-2) and Montana (5-1) completed the Top 10.
Chattanooga (6-1) dropped six spots to No. 11 and was followed by Western Illinois (5-1), Youngstown State (5-1), North Carolina A&T (5-1), Eastern Illinois (5-2), Villanova (5-2), Cal Poly (4-2) and Coastal Carolina in a tie for 17th place, North Dakota (5-2) and Central Arkansas (5-1).
Rounding out the Top 25 were Samford (5-1) at No. 21, Grambling State (4-1), Albany (4-2), Stony Brook (4-2) and Tennessee State (5-1). Stony Brook returned to the rankings after appearing earlier this season and Tennessee State returned for the first time since Oct. 6, 2014.
Harvard and Northern Iowa dropped from the Top 25 following losses.
The Bearkats will take the field as the top team in the FCS on Saturday when they travel to Nicholls for a meeting with the Colonels. Gametime from Guidry Stadium in Thibodaux, La., is set for 2:30 p.m. with the game to be aired on the American Sports Network.
