FCS Rankings Week 10: Villanova football stays ranked, despite picking up fourth loss

Despite picking up their fourth loss against a 6-1 Maine team on Saturday, the Villanova Wildcats stayed in the top-25 of both major FCS football polls this week. Maine moved up one spot from number-11 to number-10 with their 37-35 win, while the 'Cats dropped two spots to number-20 in the Sports Network's poll, and five spots from 17 to 22 in the coach's poll.

The voters in both polls were not scared off by the Wildcats' 4th loss. Nova has played a tough schedule so far, but they now can't win more than seven games this season.

Five CAA football programs remain in the Sports Network FCS poll. Towson remains the highest-ranked at number-7, UNH at 16, and Delaware at 21. The coaches poll was about the same, with JMU ranked over Delaware at the bottom of the poll.

SPORTS NETWORK

Team (First-place votes) Record Points Previous Rank

1. North Dakota State Bison (159) 8-0 3,975 1

2. Eastern Illinois Panthers 7-1 3,709 2

3. Eastern Washington Eagles 6-2 3,554 3

4. McNeese State Cowboys 7-1 3,346 4

5. Montana State Bobcats 6-2 3,191 5

6. Coastal Carolina Chanticleers 8-0 3,102 6

7. Towson Tigers 8-1 2,964 8

8. Sam Houston State Bearkats 6-2 2,952 7

9. Fordham Rams 8-0 2,855 8

10. Maine Black Bears 7-1 2,537 11

11. Youngstown State Penguins 7-1 2,234 13

12. Montana Grizzlies 6-2 2,045 10

13. Bethune-Cookman Wildcats 7-1 2,001 14

14. Northern Arizona Lumberjacks 6-2 1,795 16

15. Samford Bulldogs 6-2 1,681 22

16. New Hampshire Wildcats 4-3 1,292 20

17. Wofford Terriers 5-3 1,226 12

18. Central Arkansas Bears 5-3 1,035 23

19. South Dakota State Jackrabbits 5-4 800 25

20. Villanova Wildcats 4-4 710 18

21. Delaware Blue Hens 6-2 701 NR

22. Lehigh Mountain Hawks 6-2 648 16

23. Tennessee State Tigers 7-2 617 21

24. Charleston Southern Buccaneers 8-1 589 NR

25. Southeastern Louisiana Lions 6-2 423 NR

Others receiving votes: Northern Iowa 360, James Madison 325, William & Mary 259, Jacksonville State 177, Chattanooga 175, Southern Illinois 81, Princeton 68, Georgia Southern 57, Harvard 37, Southern Utah 33, South Carolina State 24, Jackson State 18, UT Martin 18, Portland State 17, Illinois State 11, Sacramento State 7, Stony Brook 6, Cal Poly 6, South Dakota 4, Alabama State 4, Alcorn State 4, Eastern Kentucky 2.

COACHES POLL

Team (No. 1 Votes) Record Points Last Week

1. North Dakota State (26) 8-0 650 1

2. Eastern Illinois 7-1 618 2

3. Coastal Carolina 8-0 580 3

4. Eastern Washington 6-2 574 4

5. Montana State 6-2 533 5

6. Towson 8-1 518 6

7. McNeese State 7-1 494 7

8. Fordham 8-0 473 8

9. Sam Houston State 6-2 452 9

10. Youngstown State 7-1 394 12

11. Maine 7-1 371 14

12. Bethune-Cookman 7-1 362 13

13. Montana 6-2 337 10

14. Northern Arizona 6-2 283 19

15. Central Arkansas 5-3 246 20

16. Wofford 5-3 235 11

17. New Hampshire 4-3 188 22

18. Charleston Southern 8-1 175 24

19. Samford 6-2 138 NR

20. South Dakota State 5-4 112 25

21. Lehigh 6-2 110 15

22. Villanova 4-4 105 17

23. James Madison 5-3 99 16

24. Tennessee State 7-2 94 21

25. Southeastern Louisiana 6-2 67 NR

Dropped from rankings:

No. 18 Northern Iowa, No. 23 Harvard

Others receiving votes: Northern Iowa 61, Chattanooga 35, Princeton 33,Jacksonville State 32, William and Mary 31, Delaware 17, Harvard 9, Alcorn State 5, Southern Utah 4, Southern Illinois 1