Bison 9th in Final Sports Network/Fathead.com FCS Top 25

PHILADELPHIA, Pa.--So many players hold up an index finger after  an  important victory. With  Eastern Washington, that had validity this past Friday night after its win in the NCAA Division I Football Championship.

The  Sports Network/Fathead.com FCS Top 25 confirmed on Monday what just about everyone else saw with their own eyes -- that the Eagles are the No. 1 team in the nation after defeating  Delaware, 20-19, in a stirring  finish to the championship game at Pizza Hut Park.

Eastern  Washington  was one first-place vote  shy of being a unanimous No. 1, earning 121 of the 122 top votes and 3,049 points.

North Dakota State (9-5) finished 9th in the final Sports Network/Fathead.com Top 25. The Bison jumped 16 places from the regular season poll after advancing to the NCAA Division I FCS quarterfinals before bowing out 38-31 in overtime to eventual national champion Eastern Washington in Cheney. NDSU defeated Robert Morris and Montana State in the first two rounds.

The Sports Network/Fathead.com FCS Top 25 Voters - The Sports Network: Aaron Corrill, Andrew Gaddess, Craig Haley, Phil Sokol, Kevin Spiegel; Big Sky: Brian Berger, Brad Bugger, Roy Burton, Dave Cook, Mick Holien, Jon Kasper, Heather Kennedy, Bill Lamberty, Brad Larsen, Jeff Lasky, Scott Marsh, Fritz Neighbor, Steve Schaack, Steve Shaff, Mitch Strohman; Big South: John Avery, Blake Freeland, Adam Gutes, Brent Hager, Matt Hogue, Chris Lang, Marc Rabb, Mark Simpson, Todd Wetmore; CAA Football: Mike Barber, Pete Clawson, Mike DeGeorge, Glenn Frazer, Dean Kenefick, Allen Lessels, Andrew Mahoney, John Martin, Scott Meyer, Mike Murphy, Dan O'Connell, Keith Pompey, Scott Selheimer, Kevin Tresolini, Matt Vautour, Melinda Waldrop; Great West: Amil Anderson, Eric Burdick, Jacque Cottrell, Neil Gardner, Ed Grom, Jeremy Hoeck, Doug Kelly, Mike Robles, Randy Scovil; Independent Schools: Ted Alexander, Chris Hooks, Opio Mashariki, Rich Radford, Kimberly Zivkovich; Ivy League: Rick Bender, Ed Benkin, Eric Dolan, Michael Gold, Chris Humm, Craig Larson, Craig Sachson, Kurt Svoboda, Bruce Wood; MEAC: Chris Carlson, Thomas Grant, Bill Hamilton, Leonard Hayes IV, Ed Hill Jr., Ronnie Johnson, Dennis Jones, Matt Michalec, Eric Moore, Patricia Porter, Dan Ryan, Maurice Williams, Brent Woronoff; Missouri Valley Football Conference: John Bohnenkamp, Jason Clay, Todd Hefferman, Jason Hove, Ace Hunt, Mike Kern, Rick Kindhart, Kara Moran, Patrick Osterman, Trevor Parks, Randy Reinhardt, Jeff Schwartz, Lyndal Scranton, Terry Vandrovec, Mike Williams, Brock Wissmiller; Northeast Conference: Brian DePasquale, Jim Duzyk, Andrew Santillo, Chris Shovlin, Jason Sullivan, Ralph Ventre, Greg Viscomi; Ohio Valley Conference: Neal Bradley, John Brush, Michael Clark, Wallace Dooley, Barry Gresham, Jeff Honza, James Horne, Brad Kirtley, Joe Lofaro, Rich Moser, Brian Nielsen, Mike Parris, Kyle Schwartz, Greg Seitz; Patriot League: Charles Bare, Bill Bowman, Joe DiBari, Matt Dougherty, Keith Groller, Jeremiah Hergott, Steve Lomangino, Eric Malanowski, Matt Markus, Ryan Sakamoto; Pioneer Football League: Cody Bush, Jack Cronin, Drew Dickerson, Jeff Elliott, Mike Ferraro, Marc Gignac, Ted Gosen, Joel Lamp, Barry Milligan, Chuck Mraz, Joe Prisco, Ryan Wronkowicz; Southern Conference: Jay Blackman, Tommy Bowman, Rose Carter, Mike Flynn, Don Heath, David Jackson, Joey Mullins, Noelle Orr-Blaney, Chris Rash, Hunter Reid, Mandrallius "Many" Robinson, Adam Smith, Brent Williamson, Jason Yaman; Southland: Louis Bonnette, James Dixon, Kevin Gore, Alex Hickey, Doug Ireland, Todd Lamb, Tyler Mayforth, Rick Poulter, Brent St. Germain, Matt Sullivan; Southwestern Athletic Conference: Rodney Bush, Tom Galbraith, Ley Jean, Leonard Moon, Roderick Mosley, Wesley Peterson, Brandon Willis; Other Representatives: Brian Brennan, Josh Buchanan, LeCounte Conaway.