Ten teams that 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. 10 Sam Houston State, 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 suffering losses and 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.
Southern Illinois, Southern Utah and Chattanooga all fell out of the rankings following losses.
During the regular season the Top 25 will be released every Monday afternoon, except for the final weekend of games, when it will be released Sunday morning, Nov. 20, due to its use as an official tool by the NCAA Division I Football Committee in selecting the 20-team playoff field later that day.
| Team (First-place votes) | Record | Points | Previous Rank |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. Georgia Southern Eagles (132) | 5-0 | 4,090 | 1 |
| 2. Northern Iowa Panthers (24) | 4-1 | 3,957 | 2 |
| 3. Montana State Bobcats (2) | 5-1 | 3,679 | 3 |
| 4. North Dakota State Bison (6) | 5-0 | 3,661 | 4 |
| 5. Wofford Terriers (2) | 4-1 | 3,502 | 5 |
| 6. New Hampshire Wildcats | 4-1 | 3,331 | 6 |
| 7. Appalachian State Mountaineers | 3-2 | 2,954 | 8 |
| 8. Lehigh Mountain Hawks | 5-1 | 2,728 | 10 |
| 9. Delaware Blue Hens | 4-2 | 2,633 | 13 |
| 10. Sam Houston State Bearkats | 5-0 | 2,628 | 11 |
| 11. Jacksonville State Gamecocks | 4-1 | 2,393 | 12 |
| 12. Maine Black Bears | 4-1 | 2,214 | 19 |
| 13. James Madison Dukes | 4-2 | 2,203 | 7 |
| 14. Montana Grizzlies | 4-2 | 1,978 | 16 |
| 15. South Dakota Coyotes | 4-2 | 1,666 | 18 |
| 16. William & Mary Tribe | 3-3 | 1,361 | 9 |
| 17. Towson Tigers | 4-1 | 1,353 | 25 |
| 18. Old Dominion Monarchs | 5-1 | 1,316 | 21 |
| 19. Tennessee Tech Golden Eagles | 4-1 | 898 | 23 |
| 20. Richmond Spiders | 3-3 | 757 | 14 |
| 21. Indiana State Sycamores | 4-2 | 726 | 17 |
| 22. McNeese State Cowboys | 3-2 | 702 | 15 |
| 23. North Dakota Fighting Sioux | 4-2 | 460 | NR |
| 24. Alabama State Hornets | 5-1 | 445 | NR |
| 25. Jackson State Tigers | 5-1 | 306 | NR |
| Others receiving votes: Norfolk State 290, Southern Illinois 243, Chattanooga 211, Coastal Carolina 182, Massachusetts 160, Southern Utah 132, Sacramento State 128, Texas State 121, San Diego 65, Portland State 62, Liberty 61, Samford 44, Elon 44, Harvard 34, Central Arkansas 33, Yale 32, South Carolina State 31, Hampton 19, Furman 19, South Dakota State 17, Eastern Washington 13, Weber State 12, UT Martin 11, Cal Poly 8, Stony Brook 8, Albany 8, Western Illinois 6, Brown 5, Drake 3, Penn 3, Eastern Kentucky 1, North Carolina A&T 1, UC Davis 1, Jacksonville 1. |
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