With two matchups of top 5 teams, another ranked-vs-ranked matchup, and 3 additional upsets of teams in last week’s top 25 the AGS Poll had another shake-up in week 8. South Dakota State stayed steady at #1 once again and Montana State and Furman solidified their spots at #2 and #3 with big wins over Sacramento State and Western Carolina, respectively. South Dakota slid up to #4, their highest ranking since 2017, and Delaware got into the top 5 for the first time this season at #5.
Other teams rising up this week included North Dakota State who took advantage of losses in front of them to move up 5 spots into a tie at #12. Chattanooga and Youngstown State each moved up 4 spots to #14 and #19, respectively. Albany rose up 5 spots to #20 after a big win over Rhode Island. Lafayette used an upset of Holy Cross to move into the AGS Top 25 for the first time since 2009 coming in at #21. Northern Iowa jumped also jumped back into the top 25 at #24 after blanking UND. New Hampshire joined them in returning to the top 25 to round it out at #25.
Teams falling this week were led by Western Carolina who dropped 4 spots to #9 after their loss to Furman. North Dakota fell 6 spots to #16 due to their previously mentioned loss to UNI. Holy Cross, Harvard, and William & Mary all fell out of the top 25 after being upset on Saturday.
In terms of conference representation the MVFC led the way placing 7 teams into the top 25. They were followed by Big Sky and CAA who with 4 each, the SOCON with 3, and the UAC with 2 teams in the top 25. 10 conferences were represented in this week’s top 25.
Full results below:
| Rank | Change | Team | Total Points | First Place Votes |
| 1 | – | South Dakota State Jackrabbits | 1223 | 47 |
| 2 | – | Montana State Bobcats | 1177 | 2 |
| 3 | – | Furman Paladins | 1122 | |
| 4 | 2 | South Dakota Coyotes | 1020 | |
| 5 | 2 | Delaware Fightin’ Blue Hens | 961 | |
| 6 | -2 | Sac State Hornets | 907 | |
| 7 | 1 | Idaho Vandals | 906 | |
| 8 | 3 | Montana Grizzlies | 853 | |
| 9 | -4 | Western Carolina Catamounts | 833 | |
| 10 | – | Incarnate Word Cardinals | 810 | |
| 11 | 1 | Tennesee-Martin Skyhawks | 720 | |
| 12T | 5 | North Dakota State Bison | 587 | |
| 12T | 2 | Southern Illinois Salukis | 587 | |
| 14 | 4 | Chattanooga Mocs | 538 | |
| 15 | – | North Carolina Central Eagles | 535 | |
| 16 | -6 | North Dakota Fighting Hawks | 452 | |
| 17 | 3 | Central Arkansas Bears | 392 | |
| 18 | 3 | Villanova Wildcats | 375 | |
| 19 | 4 | Youngstown State Penguins | 304 | |
| 20 | 5 | Albany Great Danes | 277 | |
| 21 | 8 | Lafayette Leopards | 260 | |
| 22 | – | Florida A&M Panthers | 223 | |
| 23 | 1 | Austin Peay Governors | 214 | |
| 24 | 10 | Northern Iowa Panthers | 171 | |
| 25 | 1 | New Hampshire Wildcats | 125 | |
| ORV: | ||||
| 26 | -13 | Holy Cross Crusaders | 107 | |
| 27 | -11 | Harvard Crimson | 86 | |
| 28 | 2 | Mercer Bears | 48 | |
| 29 | -1 | UC Davis Aggies | 32 | |
| 30 | -11 | William & Mary Tribe | 29 | |
| 31 | 2 | Illinois State Redbirds | 16 | |
| 32 | 2 | Richmond Spiders | 13 | |
| 33 | -1 | Fordham Rams | 8 | |
| 34T | – | Eastern Illinois Panthers | 4 | |
| 34T | NR | Lamar Cardinals | 4 | |
| 36 | NR | Nicholls Colonels | 3 | |
| 37 | NR | Pennsylvania Quakers | 2 | |
| 38 | NR | Elon Phoenix | 1 | |
Most significant win: Lafayette Leopards
Most significant loss: Holy Cross Crusaders
Dropped out of the poll:
Eastern Kentucky Colonels
North Carolina A&T Aggies
Portland State Vikings
Join the discussion here: AGS Poll Results 2023 Wk8 (anygivensaturday.com)
