Upstart trio join Top 25

Philadelphia, PA (SportsNetwork.com) -  It's why they play the games. With Youngstown State, Samford and Jacksonville State moving into The Sports Network FCS Top 25 on Monday, the rankings included six teams that were unranked to begin the season. The half dozen teams were No. 9 McNeese State (5-1), No. 10 Fordham (6-0), No. 14 Maine (5-1), No. 18 Youngstown State (5-1), No. 23 Samford (4-2) and No. 24 Jacksonville State (5-1). Each fell in line behind top-ranked North Dakota State, which gained all 157 first-place votes this week. Maine entered the Top 25 a week ago and was the biggest mover this week, jumping nine spots from No. 23 after posting a 62-28 rout of Delaware, which entered the game one spot behind the Black Bears in the rankings. Quarterback Marcus Wasilewski threw for three touchdowns, and running backs Nigel Jones and John Ebeling had two each on the ground as the Black Bears posted their biggest point total since 2006. Four of the other five teams also beat ranked opponents this past Saturday: McNeese State routed Central Arkansas, 59-28; Fordham topped Lehigh, 52-34; Samford beat Georgia Southern, 44-34; and Jacksonville State won at UT Martin, 41-27. Youngstown State defeated Indiana State, 35-24. North Dakota State (5-0), the two-time defending FCS champion, won the game of the weekend by rallying past No. 4 Northern Iowa, 24-23, in the Missouri Valley Football Conference. Coach Craig Bohl's Bison have a 33-2 record since the start of the 2011 season. The Bison collected 3,925 points in the poll to separate themselves from Sam Houston State and Towson, who barely separated from each other. Sam Houston State (4-1), idle this past weekend, remained No. 2 in the poll with 3,665 points, just eight more than Towson (6-0), which beat New Hampshire. Northern Iowa (4-1) remained No. 4 despite the loss to North Dakota State, just ahead of No. 5 Eastern Illinois (4-1), which was idle over the weekend. Those two were followed by No. 6 Eastern Washington (3-2), No. 7 Montana State (4-2), No. 8 Coastal Carolina (5-0), No. 9 McNeese State and No. 10 Fordham. Next up was Montana (4-1) at No. 11 followed by No. 12 Wofford (3-2); No. 13 South Dakota State (3-3), which is on a three-game losing streak; No. 14 Maine; No. 15 Villanova (3-2); No. 16 Bethune-Cookman (4-1); No. 17 Lehigh (4-1); No. 18 Youngstown State; No. 19 Northern Arizona (3-2); and No. 20 Central Arkansas (2-3). Rounding out the Top 25 were No. 21 James Madison (4-2), which re-entered the rankings after a one-week absence; No. 22 Georgia Southern (3-2); No. 23 Samford; No. 24 Jacksonville State; and No. 25 New Hampshire (1-3), which despite falling to Towson still kept alive its nation-leading streak of appearances in the rankings at 132 consecutive weeks. Cal Poly, UT Martin, Delaware and Gardner-Webb all fell from the Top 25 after losses this past Saturday. 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)	5-0	3925	1
2.	Sam Houston State Bearkats	4-1	3665	2
3.	Towson Tigers	6-0	3657	3
4.	Northern Iowa Panthers	4-1	3283	4
5.	Eastern Illinois Panthers	4-1	3272	5
6.	Eastern Washington Eagles	3-2	3124	6
7.	Montana State Bobcats	4-2	2902	8
8.	Coastal Carolina Chanticleers	5-0	2653	9
9.	McNeese State Cowboys	5-1	2475	11
10.	Fordham Rams	6-0	2451	12
11.	Montana Grizzlies	4-1	2433	10
12.	Wofford Terriers	3-2	1738	17
13.	South Dakota State Jackrabbits	3-3	1660	7
14.	Maine Black Bears	5-1	1533	23
15.	Villanova Wildcats	3-2	1490	20
16.	Bethune-Cookman Wildcats	4-1	1391	21
17.	Lehigh Mountain Hawks	4-1	1255	13
18.	Youngstown State Penguins	5-1	1178	NR
19.	Northern Arizona Lumberjacks	3-2	1111	15
20.	Central Arkansas Bears	2-3	870	14
21.	James Madison Dukes	4-2	646	NR
22.	Georgia Southern Eagles	3-2	636	16
23.	Samford Bulldogs	4-2	592	NR
24.	Jacksonville State Gamecocks	5-1	508	NR
25.	New Hampshire Wildcats	1-3	424	19
Others receiving votes: Tennessee State 372, Cal Poly 234, Charleston Southern 223, Delaware 220, Yale 201, Gardner-Webb 157, UT Martin 101, South Carolina State 90, William & Mary 88, Harvard 87, Southern Illinois 78, Richmond 66, Southeastern Louisiana 64, Southern Utah 48, Murray State 31, Chattanooga 30, North Dakota 20, Illinois State 14, North Carolina A&T 10, Jackson State 7, Stony Brook 5, Western Illinois 4, Portland State 1, Alcorn State 1, Eastern Kentucky 1. ...