There were a lot of drastic changes in the bottom half of the Football Championship Subdivision Top 25 this past weekend, while the top 10 teams stayed relatively the same.
Georgia Southern did not budge from the No. 1 spot this week and moved to 7-0 after pounding Presbyterian 48-14. The Eagles took care of business scoring 31 points in the 2nd quarter and, despite attempting only 10 passes on the day, amassed over 350 yards on the ground to stay undefeated.
Sticking behind Georgia Southern at No. 2 was Northern Iowa. Defense was the name of the game for the Panthers (6-1), as they held Southern Illinois to just over 200 total yards of offense, coming out with a close 17-10 victory.
Remaining undefeated was No. 3 North Dakota State as they crushed rival South Dakota State, 38-14. Also improving to 7-0 with a 38-14 win over McNeese State was Sam Houston State who took one step forward from the seventh spot up to No. 6.
Montana State improved to 7-1 following its 31-21 victory over Northern Colorado. The team remained at No. 4, but looked shaky against a winless opponent.
Coming in at No. 5 was Appalachian State, which moved up one spot from its previous No. 6 ranking last week. The Mountaineers easily defeated Samford, 35-17.
Also jumping up one spot were No. 7 Lehigh and No. 8 Maine. The Mountain Hawks rested on a bye week, while the Black Bears won a comeback thriller over then-No. 18 Richmond. Maine was behind 22-7 with about 13 minutes left in the game when Jerron McMillian recorded a rare return on an extra point kick to the end zone for two points. The Black Bears then got the ball back and ended up scoring two touchdowns for a nail-biting 23-22 win.
James Madison jumped two spots to No. 9 on its bye week, while New Hampshire also improved to No. 10. The Wildcats were able to knock Massachusetts out of the Top 25 with a decisive 27-21 victory.
North Dakota and Norfolk State also followed the Minutemen out of the Top 25 with close losses to Cal Poly and Bethune-Cookman, respectively.
Despite beating Northern Arizona, Montana took a step back to the No. 12 spot. The Grizzlies were able to come back from being down with less than five minutes in the game and record a close 28-24 victory. The comeback came on the shoulders of Montana running back Jordan Canada, who thrashed his way for a 46-yard score, his second touchdown of the game.
William & Mary was unable to improve its standing as it hosted its homecoming weekend, falling to Towson 38-27. The Tigers went up two spots to No. 13 after the victory, while the Tribe fell to No. 18.
Jacksonville State was upset by Kentucky, giving up 38 points while only scoring 14. Like the Tribe, the Gamecocks also dropped four spots in the polls, falling to No.14.
Old Dominion crushed a struggling Villanova team, 37-14, and was able to rise six spots from No. 21 to No. 15. Also taking a nice climb was Jackson State, which rose to No.19, up four spots from No. 23.
Indiana State and Delaware each fell a few spots to No. 20 and 21, respectively. The Sycamores lost a three-point contest to Illinois State which moved the Redbirds into the Top 25 at No. 22. The Blue Hens barely lost to Rhode Island, 38-34. The scoring between Delaware and the Rams went back and forth all day, but URI was able to sustain its momentum through the 4th quarter to seal the victory.
Rounding out the Top 25 were three previously unranked teams. Liberty powered their way through winless Charleston Southern, pushing them to No. 23 at weeks end.
From the Ivy League, Harvard pummeled Princeton, 56-39. Crimson quarterback Collier Winters led the way going 34-of-42 with 403 yards, five touchdowns and one interception. His performance set Harvard comfortably at No. 24.
Finally, jumping on board was Tennessee Tech, who, at 4-2, was on a bye week. The team will have to show that it belongs immediately though, as it travels to Jacksonville State on Saturday.
Taylor Snow can be reached at [email protected], or followed on Twitter @MDC_Snow.
