The 2019 FCS season is in the books and for the 2nd straight year North Dakota State went wire-to-wire at the top of the AGS Poll as they were the unanimous #1 selection in the final 2019 poll garnering all 69 first place votes after winning their record 8th FCS national title. They were followed by national number up James Madison at #2, a position they held in every AGS Poll release this year except for the preseason poll (where they were #3). Semifinalists Weber State and Montana State took the #3 and #4 spots, respectively, and Montana rounded out the top 5 at #5.
The teams on the rise since our Selection Sunday poll release were headlined by Illinois State and Austin Peay who used a surprising runs to the quarterfinals to move up 6 spots each to #7 and #8, respectively. Southland rivals Nicholls and Southeastern Louisiana each moved up 8 spots to #11 and #14, respectively, after picking up first round playoff wins. Kennesaw State was the biggest riser shooting up 10 spots to #13 after defeating SOCON champ Wofford and giving Big Sky champ Weber State all they could handle. San Diego became the first Pioneer League team in the AGS Top 25 this year moving up 3 spot to #24. Celebration Bowl champion North Carolina A&T also moved into the top 25 rising 3 spots to #25.
As for teams going in the opposite direction since Selection Sunday Sacramento State dropped 7 spots to #10 after being upset by Austin Peay in their first playoff game. Villanova and Wofford each fell 8 spots to #16 and #18 respectively after taking first round playoff losses. Southeast Missouri State took a 7 spot hit down to #19 after they dropped their playoff opener to Illinois State and Central Connecticut State also dropped 6 spots to #21 after losing their first round playoff game to Albany. Yale and Southern Illinois dropped out of the top 25 (but were the top 2 teams in the ORV).
In terms of conference representation the MVFC and Big Sky led the way placing 4 teams each into the top 25. They were followed by the CAA and Southland who each had 3 and the OVC and SOCON who each had 2 teams in the top 25. A season high 11 conferences (including FCS Independents) were represented in the top 25.
Full results below:
| Rank | Change | Team | Total Points | First Place Votes |
| 1 | – | North Dakota State Bison | 1725 | 69 |
| 2 | – | James Madison Dukes | 1656 | |
| 3 | 1 | Weber State Wildcats | 1571 | |
| 4 | 1 | Montana State Bobcats | 1488 | |
| 5 | 2 | Montana Grizzlies | 1387 | |
| 6 | – | Northern Iowa Panthers | 1360 | |
| 7 | 6 | Illinois State Redbirds | 1337 | |
| 8 | 6 | Austin Peay Governors | 1209 | |
| 9 | – | South Dakota State Jackrabbits | 1089 | |
| 10 | -7 | Sac State Hornets | 1077 | |
| 11 | 8 | Nicholls State Colonels | 902 | |
| 12 | -1 | Central Arkansas Bears | 852 | |
| 13 | 10 | Kennesaw State Owls | 839 | |
| 14 | 8 | Southeastern Louisiana Lions | 747 | |
| 15 | 1 | Monmouth Hawks | 728 | |
| 16 | -8 | Villanova Wildcats | 705 | |
| 17 | 3 | Albany Great Danes | 682 | |
| 18 | -8 | Wofford Terriers | 540 | |
| 19 | -7 | Southeast Missouri State Redhawks | 476 | |
| 20 | -3 | Furman Paladins | 292 | |
| 21 | -6 | Central Connecticut State Blue Devils | 286 | |
| 22 | -4 | North Dakota Fighting Hawks | 276 | |
| 23 | -2 | Dartmouth Big Green | 268 | |
| 24 | 3 | San Diego Torreros | 192 | |
| 25 | 3 | North Carolina A&T Aggies | 183 | |
| ORV: | ||||
| 26 | -1 | Yale Bulldogs | 179 | |
| 27 | -3 | Southern Illinois Salukis | 146 | |
| 28 | -2 | Florida A&M Rattlers | 69 | |
| 29 | 2 | Eastern Washington Eagles | 46 | |
| 30 | – | Towson Tigers | 34 | |
| 31 | NR | Holy Cross Crusaders | 29 | |
| 32 | -3 | South Carolina State Bulldogs | 24 | |
| 33 | – | New Hampshire Wildcats | 11 | |
| 34 | -2 | Tennessee-Martin Skyhawks | 6 | |
| 35 | -1 | Princeton Tigers | 5 | |
| 36 | NR | Alcorn State Braves | 3 | |
| 37T | -1 | Chattanooga Mocs | 2 | |
| 37T | NR | Harvard Crimson | 2 | |
| 37T | NR | UC Davis Aggies | 2 | |
| 40 | -2 | McNeese State Cowboys | 1 | |
Most significant win: North Dakota State Bison
Most significant loss: James Madison Dukes
Dropped out of the poll:
Sam Houston State Bearkats
Southern Jaguars
Join the discussion here: https://www.anygivensaturday.com/showthread.php?244103-AGS-Poll-Results-FINAL-2019-SEASON
