Bison Drop to No. 5 in FCS Coaches Top 25 Poll

SPARTANBURG, S.C.--For the fourth time this season, there is a new No.1 in the 2011 FCS Coaches Poll. Montana State (9-1) earned 18 first-place votes this week to claim the top spot.  The Bobcats were idle this past week and will host No. 7 Montana this weekend in the final regular season game.

North Dakota State, which sat at No. 1 for the last two weeks, dropped to No. 5 this week after losing to Youngstown State Saturday. It was the Bison’s first loss this season. Sam Houston State remains the only team in the FCS poll that is undefeated.

Georgia Southern, which remained at the top of the poll for seven consecutive weeks, jumped into the No. 2 spot following the Eagles’ victory at Wofford Saturday afternoon. With the win, the Eagles claimed the Southern Conference Championship.

Central Arkansas jumped six spots this week after narrowly defeating Texas State, 23-22 Saturday. Following Wofford’s loss to Georgia Southern, the Terries fell three spots to No. 12.

New to the poll this week is Norfolk State which had a huge win over Morgan State, 47-14. The Spartans claimed the MEAC title with the win.

Eleven conferences are represented in the poll. The Colonial Athletic Association continues to lead the way with five teams, followed by the Missouri Valley with four ranked teams. The Southern Conference is represented with three teams. The Big Sky and Great West each have two teams in this week’s poll. The Big South, Ivy League, Mid-Eastern Atlantic Conference, Ohio Valley, Patriot League and Southwestern Athletic Conference are all represented with one team.

The FCS Coaches Poll is based exclusively on a voting panel of head coaches in the FCS under the cooperation of the Collegiate Commissioners Association (CCA) and the American Football Coaches Association (AFCA) and is administered by the Southern Conference.