The North Dakota State football team maintained its No. 1 ranking in this week's FCS Coaches Poll after a 20-17 victory over then-No. 20 South Dakota State on Saturday. The Bison received 24 of a possible 26 first-place votes and 646 total points.

This marks the eighth week this season in which NDSU has been voted the top team in the land in the FCS Coaches Poll.

The top four spots remained the same in this week's poll as No. 2 Montana State (619 points), No. 3 Sam Houston State (597 points), and No. 4 Old Dominion (578 points) each were victorious over the weekend. Sam Houston State received the final two first-place votes.

Eastern Washington (537 points) and Georgia Southern (521 points) each rose one spot to fifth and sixth place, respectively. New Hampshire jumped three spots to No. 7, while Appalachian State jumped four spots to No. 8 and Wofford surged five spots to No. 9, the biggest jump of any team this week. Central Arkansas (No. 10) moved up three spots to round out the top 10.

Previously-unranked Eastern Illinois entered this week's poll at No. 25 after a 39-20 victory over Southeast Missouri State on 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 11 - November 12, 2012

Team (No.  1 Votes)           Record                            Points                    Last Week

1. North Dakota State (24)      9-1                                 646                               1

2. Montana State                     9-1                                 619                               2

3. Sam Houston State (2)        8-2                                 597                               3

4. Old Dominion                     9-1                                 578                               4

5. Eastern Washington            8-2                                 537                               6

6. Georgia Southern                8-2                                 521                               7

7. New Hampshire                   8-2                                 466                              10

8. Appalachian State               8-3                                 443                              12

9. Wofford                              8-2                                 408                              14

10. Central Arkansas               8-2                                 397                              13

11. Illinois State                      8-2                                 343                              15

12. Lehigh                               9-1                                 327                               5

13. Stony Brook                      9-2                                 300                               8

14. James Madison                  7-3                                 293                               9

15. Northern Arizona              8-2                                 279                              11

16. Towson                              6-4                                 257                              17

17. Eastern Kentucky              8-3                                 246                              18

18. Cal Poly                             8-2                                 240                              19

19. Indiana State                     7-3                                 176                              21

20. Richmond                          7-3                                 152                              23

21. Villanova                           7-3                                 128                              25

22. Bethune-Cookman            8-2                                 117                              22

23. South Dakota State           7-3                                  98                               20

24. Harvard                             7-2                                  65                               16

25. Eastern Illinois                   7-3                                  39                              NR

Others Receiving Votes: Tennessee State (35), Samford (33), Colgate (33), Albany (18), Sacramento State (8), UT Martin (8), The Citadel (7), Wagner (6), Arkansas Pine Bluff (5), Southern Illinois (4), Jackson State (2), Pennsylvania (2), Southeastern Louisiana (1), Youngstown State (1).