Final Sports Network FCS Poll: Unbeaten Sam Houston State is No. 1 for first time

The Sports Network/Fathead.com FCS Top-25 College Football Poll

Team (First-place votes)	Record	Points	Previous Rank
1. Sam Houston State Bearkats (125)	11-0	3,473	2
2. Northern Iowa Panthers (2)	9-2	3,155	4
3. Georgia Southern Eagles (6)	9-2	3,110	3
4. North Dakota State Bison (3)	10-1	3,061	5
5. Montana Grizzlies	9-2	2,916	7
6. Lehigh Mountain Hawks (4)	10-1	2,842	6
7. Montana State Bobcats	9-2	2,631	1
8. Towson Tigers	9-2	2,518	8
9. Appalachian State Mountaineers	8-3	2,416	9
10. Old Dominion Monarchs	9-2	2,246	10
11. New Hampshire Wildcats	8-3	2,129	12
12. Wofford Terriers	8-3	1,902	13
13. Maine Black Bears	8-3	1,634	11
14. Delaware Blue Hens	7-4	1,485	15
15. Central Arkansas Bears	8-3	1,454	17
16. Harvard Crimson	9-1	1,273	18
17. James Madison Dukes	7-4	1,116	19
18. Illinois State Redbirds	7-4	1,101	14
19. Norfolk State Spartans	9-2	958	20
20. Jackson State Tigers	9-2	778	21
21. Tennessee Tech Golden Eagles	7-3	772	23
22. Stony Brook Seawolves	8-3	481	NR
23. North Dakota Fighting Sioux	8-3	463	NR
24. Liberty Flames	7-4	351	16
25. Jacksonville State Gamecocks	7-4	218	NR

Others receiving votes: Furman 197, San Diego 124, Eastern Kentucky 106, Bethune-Cookman 96, Alabama State 72, Drake 57, Albany 55, Duquesne 52, South Dakota 52, Portland State 28, William & Mary 25, Cal Poly 20, Georgetown 20, Indiana State 19, Southern Utah 19, Murray State 18, Eastern Washington 16, Chattanooga 14, South Carolina State 11, Brown 5, Alabama A&M 4, Grambling State 3, Stephen F. Austin 3, Youngstown State 1.

 

Philadelphia, PA (Sports Network) - Unbeaten Sam Houston State hopes to follow a similar path of last year's FCS national champion, Eastern Washington.

Sam Houston State heads into the playoffs with its first-ever No. 1 ranking in The Sports Network/Fathead.com FCS Top 25. The Southland Conference champion improved to 11-0 on Saturday, then collected 125 of the 140 first-place votes and 3,473 points from the poll's national panel of sports information and media relations directors, broadcasters, writers and other dignitaries on Sunday.
A year ago, Eastern Washington claimed its first No. 1 ranking at the end of the regular season, then went on to capture its first FCS national title in the 20-team playoffs.
"I think we deserve it," Sam Houston State head coach Willie Fritz said about the No. 1 ranking. "We won our conference very convincingly."
Sam Houston State moved up from No. 2 after then-No. 1 Montana State fell on Saturday. The Bearkats also were rewarded with the top seed and a first-round bye in the playoffs.
Sam Houston State completed its regular season with a 36-14 triumph over Texas State as redshirt sophomore running back Tim Flanders rushed for 132 yards and two touchdowns, giving him a Southland Conference-record 22 TDs this season.
The Bearkats also are the FCS' only unbeaten team. They rank first in the nation in scoring defense (12.6 ppg) and second in scoring offense (39.5 ppg).
Northern Iowa (9-2), the Missouri Valley Football Conference co-champion, moved up to two spots to No. 2 after its 23-20 overtime win at Illinois State. The Panthers received two first-place votes and 3,155 points.
Southern Conference champion Georgia Southern (9-2) remained No. 3 in the FCS despite losing to the No. 3 team in the Bowl Subdivision, the University of Alabama, 45-21. The Eagles received six first-place votes.
Three voters gave first-place votes to No. 4 North Dakota State (10-1), which shared the Missouri Valley title with Northern Iowa and won the head-to-head meeting last month. That victory gave the Bison the conference's automatic bid to the FCS playoffs, where they received the second seed.
Montana (9-2), up two spots to No. 5, also shared a conference title, in the Big Sky with Montana State. But Saturday's 36-10 rout of Montana State earned the Grizzlies the automatic bid in that conference.
Patriot League champion Lehigh (10-1), whose only loss was in overtime to New Hampshire back in the second week of the season, received four first-place votes to remain at No. 6. The Mountain Hawks beat rival Lafayette, 37-13, on Saturday.
Rounding out the Top 10 were No. 7 Montana State (9-2); No. 8 Towson (9-2), the CAA Football champion; No. 9 Appalachian State (8-3); and No. 10 Old Dominion (9-2).
New Hampshire (8-3), one of six CAA teams in the rankings, moved up to No. 11. The Wildcats were followed by No. 12 Wofford (8-3); No. 13 Maine (8-3); No. 14 Delaware (7-4); No. 15 Central Arkansas (8-3); No. 16 Harvard (9-1), the Ivy League champion; No. 17 James Madison (7-4); No. 18 Illinois State (7-4); No. 19 Norfolk State (9-2), which won the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference title; and No. 20 Jackson State (9-2).
Tennessee Tech (7-3), which captured the Ohio Valley Conference's automatic bid, checked in at No. 21, followed by No. 22 Stony Brook (8-3), the Big South Conference champion which had never appeared in the rankings previously; No. 23 North Dakota (8-3), which shared the final Great West Football Conference title; No. 24 Liberty (7-4); and No. 25 Jacksonville State (7-4).
After losing games on Saturday, South Dakota, Furman and Portland State fell out of the Top 25.
The Sports Network and Fathead.com will release a final Top 25 following the FCS championship game, which will be held Jan. 7 at Pizza Hut Park in Frisco, Texas.