Familiar ring: NDSU is No. 1, Sam Houston State No. 2

Philadelphia, PA (Sports Network) - It's all so familiar. The Sports Network FCS Top 25 returned on Monday to the way it finished in each of the past two seasons - with North Dakota State at No. 1 and Sam Houston State at No. 2. They played each other in the 2011 and 2012 FCS national championship games, with North Dakota State winning both times. Here the two dance partners are in the same order again, with North Dakota State remaining atop the poll as it has been since the preseason and Sam Houston State moving up two spots to No. 2. It was a result of the two teams winning the most anticipated games of this past weekend's schedule. North Dakota State handled then-No. 6 South Dakota State, 20-0, and Sam Houston State raced past then-No. 2 Eastern Washington, 49-34. The top-ranked Bison (4-0) received all but one of the 158 first-place votes and 3,949 points. The Bearkats (4-1), whose only loss is to Johnny Manziel and Texas A&M, gained the other first-place vote and had 3,673 points, jumping over No. 3 Towson to gain the second spot. 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 Panthers will play in Saturday's biggest matchup by visiting North Dakota State for a Missouri Valley Football Conference matchup. Eastern Illinois (4-1) was next in the rankings at No. 5, followed by No. 6 Eastern Washington (2-2), No. 7 South Dakota State (3-2), No. 8 Montana State (3-2), No. 9 Coastal Carolina (5-0) and No. 10 Montana (3-1). The next 10 were No. 11 McNeese State (4-1); No. 12 Fordham (5-0); No. 13 Lehigh (4-0); No. 14 Central Arkansas (2-2); No. 15 Northern Arizona (3-1), which moved up nine spots after posting a win over Montana; No. 16 Georgia Southern (3-1); No. 17 Wofford (2-2); No. 18 Cal Poly (2-2); No. 19 New Hampshire (1-2); and No. 20 Villanova (2-2). Rounding out the Top 25 were No. 21 Bethune-Cookman (3-1), No. 22 UT Martin (3-1), No. 23 Maine (4-1), No. 24 Delaware (4-1); and No. 25 Gardner-Webb (4-1). Maine and Delaware had the formula for joining the Top 25 for the first time this season. They knocked teams out of the rankings, with Maine beating Richmond, 28-21, and Delaware topping James Madison, 29-22, in a pair of CAA Football matchups. The CAA and Big Sky Conference had the most teams in the Top 25 with five each. Nine FCS conferences were represented in the rankings. A panel of sports information and media relations directors, broadcasters, writers and other dignitaries selects the national poll. In the Top 25 voting, a first-place vote is worth 25 points, a second-place vote 24 points, all the way down to one point for a 25th-place vote. During the regular season, the Top 25 will be released every Monday afternoon, except for the final weekend, when it will be released Sunday morning, Nov. 24, prior to the selection of the FCS playoff field. The final Top 25 will be released on the Monday after the FCS championship game Jan. 4 in Frisco, Texas.

Team (First-place votes)		2013 Record	Points	Previous Rank
1.	North Dakota State Bison (157)	4-0	3949	1
2.	Sam Houston State Bearkats (1)	4-1	3673	4
3.	Towson Tigers	5-0	3645	3
4.	Northern Iowa Panthers	4-0	3492	5
5.	Eastern Illinois Panthers	4-1	3156	8
6.	Eastern Washington Eagles	2-2	3050	2
7.	South Dakota State Jackrabbits	3-2	2581	6
8.	Montana State Bobcats	3-2	2561	11
9.	Coastal Carolina Chanticleers	5-0	2478	12
10.	Montana Grizzlies	3-1	1964	7
11.	McNeese State Cowboys	4-1	1836	9
12.	Fordham Rams	5-0	1832	16
13.	Lehigh Mountain Hawks	4-0	1764	21
14.	Central Arkansas Bears	2-2	1763	13
15.	Northern Arizona Lumberjacks	3-1	1711	24
16.	Georgia Southern Eagles	3-1	1635	15
17.	Wofford Terriers	2-2	1203	17
18.	Cal Poly Mustangs	2-2	1195	18
19.	New Hampshire Wildcats	1-2	1162	10
20.	Villanova Wildcats	2-2	1002	19
21.	Bethune-Cookman Wildcats	3-1	947	20
22.	Tennessee-Martin Skyhawks	3-1	724	23
23.	Maine Black Bears	4-1	702	NR
24.	Delaware Blue Hens	4-1	671	NR
25.	Gardner-Webb Runnin' Bulldogs	4-1	570	25
Others receiving votes: Youngstown State 555, James Madison 544, William & Mary 235, Southern Utah 180, North Carolina A&T 126, Richmond 83, Tennessee State 59, Samford 46, Illinois State 45, Charleston Southern 41, Southeastern Louisiana 33, Harvard 31, Jacksonville State 27, Chattanooga 27, Stony Brook 17, Western Illinois 9, South Carolina State 7, Murray State 6, Portland State 6, Liberty 4, Sacred Heart 3. ...