North Dakota State Returns to Top Spot in Coaches Poll

North Dakota State regained the No. 1 ranking in this week's FCS Coaches Poll after a 21-17 victory over Missouri State on Saturday afternoon. The Bison received 21 first-places votes and 641 total points.

NDSU spent six weeks in the top spot from Sept. 3 through Oct. 8 this season. The Bison were ranked No. 4, No. 3, and No. 2 over the last three weeks, respectively, in the coaches poll.

Montana State received one first-place vote (614 points) and rose one spot to No. 2, while Sam Houston State received three first-place votes (593) and climbed to No. 3. Old Dominion (No. 4) and the only undefeated team in the top 25, Lehigh (No. 5) each also moved up one spot after wins last weekend.

Eastern Washington jumped two spots to No. 6 after a 34-17 win over then-No. 16 Cal Poly. Last week's No. 1, Georgia Southern, fell to No. 7 after a 31-28 loss against then-No. 14 Appalachian State. Stony Brook received the final first-place vote and rose one spot to No. 8, while James Madison (No. 9) and New Hampshire (No. 10) each climbed one spot to round out the top 10.

Previously unranked Richmond (No. 23) and UT Martin (No. 24) each entered this week's poll after picking up wins over the weekend, while previously unranked Villanova (No. 25) entered this week's poll after being idle Saturday.

Ten conferences are represented in the poll. The Colonial Athletic Association has the most teams in the top 25 with six. The Big Sky and Missouri Valley are represented by four teams each, while the Southern Conference has three teams in this week's poll. The Ohio Valley and Southland conferences are represented by two teams, and the Big South, Ivy League, Mid-Eastern Athletic, and Patriot League have one team in the top 25.

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.

 FCS Coaches Poll - Week 10 - November 5, 2012

Others Receiving Votes: Tennessee State (46), Samford (35), Albany (34), Eastern Illinois (21), McNeese State (17), Youngstown State (17), Delaware (17), Sacramento State (16), Alabama A&M (7), Northern Iowa (6), The Citadel (5), Arkansas Pine-Bluff (5), Colgate (5), Wagner (3), Southern Illinois (3).