The FCS Wedge

After a tumultuous past couple weeks things calmed down a lot in the AGS Top 25 in week 9 although two losses in the top 5 from week 8 did shuffle things up a bit. Sam Houston maintained their grip on the #1 spot and they were once again followed by North Dakota State at #2. Montana State slid up to #3, their highest ranking since 2012, and they were followed by James Madison and Eastern Washington rounding out the top 5 in that order.

Other teams on the rise included Northern Iowa who used a big win over MVFC rival Southern Illinois to move up 5 spots to #10. William & Mary rode their upset win over Villanova to their first appearance in AGS Top 25 since early in the 2016 season coming in at #21.

Teams falling this week were headlined by Southern Illinois who dropped 4 spots to #7 after their aforementioned loss to UNI. Villanova fell 7 spots to #11 following their previously noted loss to William & Mary. Harvard fell out of the top 25 after their 2nd straight loss.

In terms of conference representation the Big Sky and MVFC again led the way each putting 6 teams into the top 25. They were followed by the CAA and SOCON with 3 each and the Southland with 2 teams in the top 25. Once again 10 conferences were represented by at least one team in the top 25.

Full results below:

Rank	Change	Team	Total Points	First Place Votes
1	–	Sam Houston Bearkats	1261	37
2	–	North Dakota State Bison	1238	14
3	2	Montana State Bobcats	1128
4	2	James Madison Dukes	1112
5	2	Eastern Washington Eagles	1034
6	1	Southeastern Louisiana Lions	1000
7	-4	Southern Illinois Salukis	899
8	1	UC Davis Aggies	888
9	1	South Dakota State Jackrabbits	828
10	5	Northern Iowa Panthers	757
11	-7	Villanova Wildcats	754
12	–	East Tennessee State Buccaneers	661
13	-2	Montana Grizzlies	631
14	-1	Kennesaw State Owls	578
15	-1	Tennesee-Martin Skyhawks	551
16	–	Sac State Hornets	524
17	–	Missouri State Bears	466
18	–	Princeton Tigers	383
19	1	Virginia Military Institute Keydets	332
20	-1	South Dakota Coyotes	326
21	6	William & Mary Tribe	318
22	-1	Incarnate Word Cardinals	209
23	–	Weber State Wildcats	167
24	-2	Jackson State Tigers	136
25	–	Chattanooga Mocs	129
ORV:
26	–	Eastern Kentucky Colonels	120
27	1	Mercer Bears	69
28	4	Dartmouth Big Green	30
29	1	Monmouth Hawks	15
30	-6	Harvard Crimson	11
31	1	Holy Cross Crusaders	7
32	-1	North Dakota Fighting Hawks	5

Most significant win: William & Mary Tribe
Most significant loss: Villanova Wildcats

Dropped out of the poll:
Columbia Lions
Rhode Island Rams

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Another week and another big shake-up in the AGS top 25 as there were 9 losses amongst last week’s top 25 and 2 losses amongst week’s top 5. Sam Houston stayed steady at #1 picking up 44 of 55 first place votes and North Dakota State followed once again at #2. Southern Illinois moved up a spot to #3 while Villanova and Montana State jumped into the top 5 for the first time this season coming in at #4 and #5, respectively.

As for teams moving up Kennesaw State took advantage of some losses in front of them to move up 4 spots to #13. Northern Iowa and Sacramento State each moved up 6 spots to #15 and #16, respectively. Jackson State made their first appearance in the AGS Top 25 since 2011 and only their second appearance ever coming in at #22. Weber State and Chattanooga both made their way back into the top 25 after falling out earlier this season coming in at #23 and #25, respectively.

Two teams previously ranked in the top 5, Eastern Washington and South Dakota State, headlined teams moving down this week. EWU dropped 4 spots into a tie at #7 following their loss to Weber State and SDSU dropped 5 spots to #10 after being downed by UNI. South Dakota also took took a 8 spot tumble down to #19 after being upset by Illinois State and Incarnate Word dipped 8 spots to #21 following their loss to Southland rival McNeese. Rhode Island, Dartmouth, and Duquesne all dropped out of the top 25 this week.

In terms of conference representation the Big Sky and MVFC led the way each placing 6 teams into the top 25. They were followed by the SOCON with 3 and the CAA, Ivy League, and Southland with 2 teams each in the top 25.  Once again 10 conference were represented by at least one team in this week’s top 25.

Full results below:

Rank	Change	Team	Total Points	First Place Votes
1	–	Sam Houston Bearkats	1362	44
2	–	North Dakota State Bison	1328	11
3	1	Southern Illinois Salukis	1250
4	2	Villanova Wildcats	1195
5	2	Montana State Bobcats	1118
6	2	James Madison Dukes	1097
7T	-4	Eastern Washington Eagles	1025
7T	1	Southeastern Louisiana Lions	1025
9	2	UC Davis Aggies	886
10	-5	South Dakota State Jackrabbits	844
11	1	Montana Grizzlies	754
12	3	East Tennessee State Buccaneers	708
13	4	Kennesaw State Owls	623
14	2	Tennesee-Martin Skyhawks	601
15	6	Northern Iowa Panthers	577
16	6	Sac State Hornets	521
17	-3	Missouri State Bears	488
18	–	Princeton Tigers	444
19	-9	South Dakota Coyotes	412
20	-1	Virginia Military Institute Keydets	382
21	-8	Incarnate Word Cardinals	253
22	4	Jackson State Tigers	190
23	5	Weber State Wildcats	160
24	-1	Harvard Crimson	144
25	4	Chattanooga Mocs	127
ORV:
26	1	Eastern Kentucky Colonels	108
27	9	William & Mary Tribe	72
28	4	Mercer Bears	65
29	-9	Rhode Island Rams	48
30	3	Monmouth Hawks	16
31	-1	North Dakota Fighting Hawks	15
32T	-8	Dartmouth Big Green	9
32T	NR	Holy Cross Crusaders	9
34	NR	Columbia Lions	8

Most significant win: Weber State Wildcats
Most significant loss: Eastern Washington Eagles

Dropped out of the poll:
Central Arkansas Bears
Delaware Fightin’ Blue Hens
Duquesne Dukes
Furman Paladins
Northern Arizona Lumberjacks

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It was another topsy-turvy week in the AGS Top 25 with 9 losses amongst teams in last week’s top 25. Despite that things stayed calm at the top as the top 5 remained unchanged. Sam Houston stayed at #1, North Dakota State edged out Eastern Washington for the #2 spot, and Southern Illinois and South Dakota State rounded out the top 5 in that order.

Teams rising in this week’s poll were led by South Dakota who moved up 5 spots to #10 following their big road win at UNI. Fellow MVFC-mate Missouri State took advantage of some losses in front of them to also move up 5 spots to #14. There was a bevy of teams entering the top 25 this week as VMI re-entered the top 25 coming in at #19. Each of the #22 through #25 teams made their first appearance in the top 25 this season with Sac State, Harvard, Dartmouth, and Duquesne taking those spots in that order.

The teams falling were headlined by Montana who dropped 6 spots to #12 after being upset at home by Sac State. East Tennessee State also took a 5 spot tumble down to #15 after being downed by Chattanooga. Rhode Island and Northern Iowa each fell 8 spots to #19 and #20 following their own losses. Weber State, North Dakota, Delaware, Mercer, and Central Arkansas all fell out of the top 25 this week. For Weber State they snapped a streak of 62 consecutive polls in the top 25 which began in late 2016.

In terms of conference representation the MVFC led the way again putting 6 teams into the top 25. They were followed by the Big Sky with 5, the CAA and Ivy League with 3 each, and the SOCON and Southland with 2 teams each in the top 25. Once again 10 teams were represented by at least 1 team in the top 25.

Full results below:

Rank	Change	Team	Total Points	First Place Votes
1	–	Sam Houston Bearkats	1326	40
2	–	North Dakota State Bison	1271	4
3	–	Eastern Washington Eagles	1270	10
4	–	Southern Illinois Salukis	1191
5	–	South Dakota State Jackrabbits	1126
6	1	Villanova Wildcats	1052
7	1	Montana State Bobcats	1019
8	1	James Madison Dukes	994
9	2	Southeastern Louisiana Lions	913
10	5	South Dakota Coyotes	775
11	2	UC Davis Aggies	769
12	-6	Montana Grizzlies	675
13	3	Incarnate Word Cardinals	660
14	5	Missouri State Bears	590
15	-5	East Tennessee State Buccaneers	569
16	4	Tennesee-Martin Skyhawks	489
17	4	Kennesaw State Owls	471
18	4	Princeton Tigers	329
19	8	Virginia Military Institute Keydets	310
20	-8	Rhode Island Rams	308
21	-8	Northern Iowa Panthers	258
22	NR	Sac State Hornets	229
23	3	Harvard Crimson	220
24	5	Dartmouth Big Green	214
25	3	Duquesne Dukes	90
ORV:
26	7	Jackson State Tigers	83
27	12	Eastern Kentucky Colonels	78
28	-10	Weber State Wildcats	57
29	NR	Chattanooga Mocs	51
30	-7	North Dakota Fighting Hawks	37
31	-14	Delaware Fightin’ Blue Hens	31
32	-7	Mercer Bears	20
33T	3	Northern Arizona Lumberjacks	18
33T	4	Monmouth Hawks	18
35	NR	Furman Paladins	15
36	-6	William & Mary Tribe	6
37	-13	Central Arkansas Bears	5

Most significant win: Sac State Hornets
Most significant loss: Montana Grizzlies

Dropped out of the poll:
Jacksonville State Gamecocks
New Hampshire Wildcats
Nicholls Colonels
North Carolina A&T Aggies
Southeast Missouri State Redhawks
Stephen F Austin Lumberjacks

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