Stats Perform FCS Top 25 Poll (Week 6)

Each week, throughout the college football season, alumni, fans, media and the teams themselves look to the Stats Perform FCS Top 25 Poll to see who is rising and moving within the national rankings.

Villanova has been navigating the largest conference in FCS history from the front and with a steady pace.

Add in a come-from-behind component regularly and the Wildcats may climb even higher than their No. 5 ranking in the Stats Perform FCS Top 25 Poll on Monday.

Villanova (5-1) has been ranked fifth or sixth in the national media poll since the preseason. Coach Mark Ferrante’s squad had lost nine straight games when it trailed at halftime, but on Saturday at Stony Brook, it reversed a 24-14 deficit with 28 unanswered points in the second half for a 42-24 win. It lifted them to 2-0 in CAA Football to maintain a first-place tie with Delaware, Rhode Island and Richmond in the 16-team standings.

The ’Cats, who earned a share of last year’s CAA title and two of the last three, have been as steady as the teams above them – No. 1 South Dakota State (4-1), No. 2 North Dakota State (5-1), No. 3 Montana State (6-0) and No. 4 South Dakota (4-1). The only losses among the top six teams – UC Davis (5-1) is No. 6 – are to FBS opponents.

A national media panel selects the Stats Perform FCS Top 25 Poll. 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.

(For more on the college football weekend, here is our FCS Week 6 Review)

Stats Perform FCS Top 25 Poll

1. South Dakota State (4-1, 1–0 MVFC), 1,376 points (36 of 56 first-place votes)

Previous Ranking: 1; Week 6: 41-3 win at Northern Iowa; Week 7: Youngstown State

2. North Dakota State (5-1, 2-0 MVFC), 1,346 (14)

Previous Ranking: 2; Week 6: 41-17 win over then-No. 7 North Dakota; Week 7: at Southern Illinois

3. Montana State (6-0, 2-0 Big Sky), 1,309 (6)

Previous Ranking: 3; Week 6: 55-17 win over Northern Colorado; Week 7: No. 7 Idaho

4. South Dakota (4-1, 2-0 MVFC), 1,220

Previous Ranking: 4; Week 6: 59-0 win at Murray State; Week 7: Northern Iowa

5. Villanova (5-1, 2-0 CAA), 1,145

Previous Ranking: 6; Week 6: 42-24 win at Stony Brook; Week 7: No game

6. UC Davis (5-1, 2-0 Big Sky), 1,084

Previous Ranking: 9; Week 6: 27-26 win at Portland State; Week 7: Cal Poly

7. Idaho (4-2, 1-1 Big Sky), 1,062

Previous Ranking: 10; Week 6: 23-17 win over then-No. 25 Northern Arizona; Week 7: at No. 3 Montana State

8. Mercer (5-0, 3-0 SoCon), 939

Previous Ranking: 11; Week 6: No game; Week 7: Princeton

9. North Dakota (4-2, 1-1 MVFC), 869

Previous Ranking: 7; Week 6: 41-17 loss at then-No. 2 North Dakota State; Week 7: No game

10. Abilene Christian (4-2, 3-0 UAC), 854 

Previous Ranking: 16; Week 6: 41-25 win over then-No. 5 Central Arkansas; Week 7: at North Alabama

11. Southeast Missouri (5-1, 2-0 Big South-OVC), 840

Previous Ranking: 13; Week 6: 38-27 win at Eastern Illinois; Week 7: Tennessee Tech

12. Central Arkansas (4-2, 1-1 UAC), 795

Previous Ranking: 5; Week 6: 41-34 loss at then-No. 16 Abilene Christian; Week 7: West Georgia

13. Tarleton State (5-1, 2-0 UAC), 717

Previous Ranking: 14; Week 6: 38-37 OT win at Southern Utah; Week 7: Utah Tech

14. Montana (4-2, 1-1 Big Sky), 683

Previous Ranking: 8; Week 6: 55-48 OT loss to Weber State; Week 7: No. 24 Northern Arizona

15. UIW (3-2, 0-0 Southland), 662

Previous Ranking: 15; Week 6: 56-28 win over Prairie View A&M; Week 7: Nicholls

16. Illinois State (4-2, 1-1 MVFC), 532

Previous Ranking: 18; Week 6: 45-10 win at then-No. 19 Southern Illinois; Week 7: Missouri State

17. William & Mary (4-2, 1-1 CAA), 442

Previous Ranking: 12; Week 6: 34-27 loss at Towson; Week 7: No game

18. Sacramento State (2-3, 0-1 Big Sky), 404

Previous Ranking: 17; Week 6: No game; Week 7: Eastern Washington

19. Rhode Island (4-1, 2-0 CAA), 359

Previous Ranking: 20; Week 6: 46-44 two-OT win at Hampton; Week 7: Brown

20. Weber State (3-3, 2-0 Big Sky), 252

Previous Ranking: NR; Week 6: 55-48 OT win at then-No. 8 Montana; Week 7: Northern Colorado

21. Richmond (4-2, 2-0 CAA), 229

Previous Ranking: NR; Week 6: 20-17 win over North Carolina A&T; Week 7: No game

22. Lamar (3-2, 0-0 Southland), 206

Previous Ranking: 24; Week 6: No game; Week 7: Stephen F. Austin

23. Chattanooga (2-3, 1-1 SoCon), 166

Previous Ranking: NR; Week 6: 17-10 win at then-No. 23 ETSU; Week 7: at Furman

24. Northern Arizona (3-3, 1-1 Big Sky), 101

Previous Ranking: 25; Week 6: 23-17 loss at then-No. 4 Idaho; Week 7: at No. 14 Montana

25. North Carolina Central (4-2, 2-0 MEAC), 85

Previous Ranking: NR; Week 6: 45-14 win at Campbell; Week 7: Virginia-Lynchburg

Dropped Out: Southern Illinois (19), New Hampshire (21), McNeese (22), ETSU (23)

Others Receiving Votes (schools listed on two or more ballots): Florida A&M (3-2, 1-0 SWAC), 67; ETSU (3-3, 1-1 SoCon), 58; McNeese (4-3, 1-1 Southland), 49; Southern Illinois (2-4, 0-2 MVFC), 47; Dartmouth (3-0, 1-0 Ivy), 45; Lafayette (3-2, 1-0 Patriot), 37; Stony Brook (4-2, 1-1 CAA), 32; UT Martin (3-3, 1-1 Big South-OVC), 27; Western Carolina (2-3, 1-0 SoCon), 26; Duquesne (3-2, 1-0 NEC), 25; Nicholls (2-3, 0-0 Southland), 21; New Hampshire (3-2, 1-0 CAA), 16; Towson (2-3, 1-1 CAA), 15; Houston Christian (3-3, 1-0 Southland), 12; Butler (5-0, 1-0 Pioneer), 7; Harvard (2-1, 0-1 Ivy), 7; Monmouth (3-3, 1-1 CAA), 6; Tennessee State (4-2, 2-1 Big South-OVC), 6

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Stats Perform FCS Top 25 Voters – Stats Perform: Craig Haley, Gary Reasons. Big Sky Conference: Doug Kelly, Tyson Rodgers, Larry Weir. Big South-OVC Football Association: Mike Bradd, Kyle Schwartz, Mark Simpson. CAA Football: Roger Brown, Matt Harmon, Rob Washburn. Ivy League: JJ Klein, Craig Larson. Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference: Kendrick Lewis, Alysse Scripter. Missouri Valley Football Conference: Dom Izzo, Mike Kern, Randy Reinhardt. Northeast Conference: Sarah Boissonneault, Brian Cleary. Patriot League: Eric Malanoski, Ryan Sakamoto. Pioneer Football League: Cody Bush, Larry Hansgen. Southern Conference: Scott Keeler, Andrew Miller, Ralan Wardlaw. Southland Conference: Matthew Bonnette, James Dixon, James Hill. Southwestern Athletic Conference: Ronnie Johnson, Joshua Padilla. United Athletic Conference: Brian Morgan, Benjamin Ray, Jake Withee. National Representatives: Sean Anderson, Stan Becton, Zack Carlton, Gene Clemons, Riley Corcoran, Joe DeLeone, Steven J. Gaither, Sam Herder, Emory Hunt, Kyle Kensing, Brandon Lawrence, Zach McKinnell, Brian McLaughlin, Jon Passman, Omar Rashon Borja, Ryan Roberts, Kent Schmidt, Phil Sokol, Reggie Thomas, Ralph Ventre, Jamie Williams.

Villanova Wildcats Top Photo Courtesy of Villanova Athletics

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