PHILADELPHIA, Pa. (Sports Network)--Northern Iowa tightened its hold on the top spot in the Sports Network FCS Top-25 poll when the new results were announced on Nov. 5.

The Panthers (9-0) received 61 of the 112 first-place votes cast, up two votes from the previous week. UNI clinched the automatic bid to the playoffs by winning a share of the Gateway Conference title last Saturday with its 38-17 victory over Missouri State.

Northern Iowa increased its lead over second-place North Dakota State from 102 points to 147 points (2,687 to 2,540).

North Dakota State (9-0) received 42 first-place votes, up from the 37 it earned the week before. The Bison defeated Illinois State 54-28. NDSU is scheduled to play at No. 24 Cal Poly at 6:05 p.m. (Central) Saturday, Nov. 10, in San Luis Obispo.

Montana (9-0) advanced one position to third in the poll after clinching a share of the Big Sky Conference crown and the auto bid with a 34-31 win over Portland State. The Grizzlies again received seven first-place votes.

McNeese State (9-0) drew two first-place ballots again and moved from fifth to fourth. The Cowboys throttled Stephen F. Austin 49-20 to earn the auto bid in the Southland Conference and closed the gap with Montana from 28 points to seven points (2,462 to 2,455).

On a Saturday filled with upsets, nine teams in the Top-25 suffered losses.

Massachusetts (7-2) had one of the largest falls, going from third to eighth with a 12-6 overtime defeat to unranked Rhode Island.

New Hampshire (6-3) dropped completely out of the top 10, slipping from eighth to 14th with its 31-13 loss to unranked Northeastern.

Both games were played in heavy winds and rain.

Southern Illinois (8-1) and Delaware (8-1) improved by one position with tough wins.

Southern Illinois made a fourth-quarter comeback to beat Western Illinois 10-9 and was rewarded with the No. 6 ranking, while Delaware held off James Madison 37-34 and moved up to No. 7 in games that featured ranked opponents.

Western Illinois (6-4) fell from 19th to 23rd and James Madison (6-3) dropped from 12th to 16th with the losses.

Two-time defending national champion Appalachian State jetted up two spots to No. 7 with a 45-24 victory over The Citadel that helped create a four-way logjam at the top of the Southern Conference standings.

The Mountaineers (7-2) share the SoCon lead with Georgia Southern, Wofford and Elon.

Georgia Southern (7-2) skyrocketed six places in the poll from 17th to 11th by beating Wofford 38-25. Wofford (7-3) fell from 10th to 15th with the loss.

Elon (6-3) tumbled five places from 14 to 19 with its 52-49 loss to unranked Furman.

Richmond (7-2) moved into the top 10 at No. 9 by coming from behind to beat Villanova 35-27. Villanova fell out of the Top-25 after being ranked 23rd last week.

With all of the upsets, Delaware State used another close win (23-20 over Winston-Salem State) to jump into the No. 10 spot. The Hornets (8-1) were ranked 13th last week and can clinch the auto bid in the MEAC on Saturday by beating Norfolk State.

Yale also benefited from the upsets. The Bulldogs (8-0) survived the bad weather to come back for a 17-7 win over Brown and were rewarded by moving from 15th to 12th in the poll.

Eastern Kentucky, which needs one win for the Ohio Valley Conference auto bid, had a week off. But the Colonels (7-2) moved up from No. 16 to No. 13.

Grambling clinched the West Division title and a spot in the SWAC championship game on Saturday with a 21-7 decision against Alabama State. The Tigers (8-1) crawled up one place to No. 17.

Hofstra used its 38-14 victory over William & Mary to climb from 20th to 18th and Eastern Washington took advantage of a 17-7 win against Northern Colorado to roll from 24th to 20th. Youngstown State (6-4) moved up one slot to 21st by waxing winless Indiana State 40-7.

Fordham moved into the poll for the first time since 2003 at No. 22 following a 24-21 victory over Holy Cross. The Rams (8-2) clinched the Patriot League title and an automatic playoff berth with that win.

Cal Poly and Eastern Illinois both returned back into the Top-25. Cal Poly (6-3) is 24th after edging Southern Utah 28-21 and Eastern Illinois (6-3), which came up 16 points short of the Top-25 last week, moved into the No. 25 position in an off week.

Alabama A&M (7-2) dropped from 21st out of the poll with a 43-40 overtime loss to Jackson State and Nicholls State (5-4) fell from 25th out with its 16-13 loss to Sam Houston State.

As of November 5, 2007, at 02:16 PM ET