The FCS Wedge

As we continue into the 2024 season and the FBS vs FCS matchups start to become less common we’re seeing more and more movement within the AGS Top 25 as 7 teams in last week’s top 25 took losses to FCS foes in week 3. The #1 spot was unchanged once again as South Dakota State maintained their stranglehold on it picking up 37 of 47 first place votes. Montana State and Idaho each slid up a spot to #2 and #3, respectively, as North Dakota State dipped 2 spots down to #4. South Dakota made it a three MVFC teams in the top 5 as they slid up a spot to #5.

As for other teams climbing this week Mercer moved up 4 spots to #12 after a big win over SOCON rival Chattanooga. Lafayette and Southeast Missouri State took advantage of some turmoil in front of them each rising 4 spots to #15 and #17, respectively. Everyone from spots #21-#25 was new to the top 25 this week. Abilene Christian made their first appearance ever in the AGS Top 25 coming in at #21. Wofford made their first appearance in the top 25 since the spring 2021 season coming in at #23. Richmond, Western Carolina, and Furman each reappeared in the top 25 after brief absences coming in at #22, #24, and #25, respectively.

Teams falling this week were headlined by Chattanooga who fell 6 spots into a tie at #18 due to their aforementioned loss to Mercer and an 0-3 start. Albany, Nicholls, Elon, Weber State, and Youngstown State all fell out of the top 25 after taking week 3 losses.

In terms of conference representation the MVFC led the way once again placing 6 teams into the top 25. They were followed by the Big Sky and SOCON with 5 each and the CAA and UAC with 3 teams each in the top 25. Once again 8 conferences were represented in this week’s top 25.

Full results below:

Most significant win: Mercer Bears
Most significant loss: Youngstown State Penguins

Dropped out of the poll:
Charleston Southern Buccaneers
St. Francis Red Flash

Join the discussion here: https://www.anygivensaturday.com/showthread.php?364150-AGS-Poll-Results-2024-Week-3

Week 2 in the AGS Top 25 got a bit of a shake up with 6 teams in last week’s top 25 dropping games to FCS foes. The top stayed the same though as South Dakota State took the #1 spot once again receiving 44 of the 50 first place votes. They were again followed by North Dakota State at #2 and Montana State slid up 1 spot to #3. Idaho moved into the top 5 rising 2 spots to #4 and Villanova maintained their position at #5.

Other teams on the rise this week were led by North Dakota, who moved up 11 spots to #9 after a big home win over previously #3 ranked Montana. Mercer and Youngstown State took advantage of some shuffling in front of them moving up 7 spots each to #16 and #17, respectively. Southeast Missouri State used a double OT victory over OVC rival UT-Martin to shoot up 15 spots and into the top 25 at #21. Weber State also made their first appearance in the top 25 this season rising 5 spots to #22. Elon was another team cracking the top 25 for the first time this season rising up 7 spots to #23 and Tarleton slid back into the top 25 after a one-week absence rounding it out at #25.

Teams going in the opposite direction were led by Montana who fell 4 spots to #7 after their previously mentioned loss to UND. There were a quartet of teams falling out of the top 25 this week after taking some surprising week 2 losses; those teams were Furman, Richmond, Western Carolina, and Tennessee-Martin.

In terms of conference representation the MVFC led the way once again placing 7 teams into the top 25. The were followed by the Big Sky with 6, the CAA with 4, and the SOCON, Southland, and UAC with 2 teams each in the top 25. Once again 8 conferences were represented in this week’s top 25.

Full results below:

Most significant win: North Dakota Fighting Hawks
Most significant loss: Montana Grizzlies

Dropped out of the poll:
Austin Peay Governors
Eastern Illinois Panthers
Eastern Washington Eagles
Holy Cross Crusaders
Missouri State Bears
North Carolina Central Eagles
Rhode Island Rams

Join the discussion here: AGS Poll Results 2024 Week 2 (anygivensaturday.com)

The 2024 season is underway and with it comes the first release of the AGS Poll this season with some actual games to put behind the results. The poll stayed pretty clam compared to how volatile early season polls typically are with only one FBS win amongst the entire subdivision (Montana State over New Mexico in week 0). South Dakota State maintained their hold on the #1 spot but behind them North Dakota State switched spots with Montana as those two came in at #2 and #3, respectively. Montana State and Villanova maintained their positions at #4 and #5, respectively.

There wasn’t much for teams on the rise this week as the only two teams in the previous top 25 to move more than 2 spots up were Sacramento State, who moved up 3 spots to #8, and Western Carolina, who moved up 4 spots to #16. Mercer cracked the top 25 for the first time this season moving up 4 spots to #23.

Likewise, there wasn’t much movement downward as a trio of teams dropped 3 spots after underwhelming performances in their week 1 FBS matchup; Chattanooga dropped to #12, Lafayette dropped to #21, and Illinois State dropped to #25. The only team to fall further than that was Albany who ceded 4 spots to come in at #16. Tarleton and Weber State both fell out of the top 25 after appearing there in the preseason.

In terms of conference representation the MVFC led the way again placing 7 teams into the top 25. They were followed by the Big Sky with 5, the CAA and SOCON with 4 each, and the Southland with 2 teams in the top 25. There were 8 conferences represented in this week’s top 25.

Full results below:

Rank	Change	Team	Total Points	First Place Votes
1	–	South Dakota State Jackrabbits	1140	37
2	1	North Dakota State Bison	1061	3
3	-1	Montana Grizzlies	1037	2
4	–	Montana State Bobcats	1035	4
5	–	Villanova Wildcats	950
6	1	Idaho Vandals	902
7	-1	South Dakota Coyotes	901
8	3	Sac State Hornets	640
9	1	Southern Illinois Salukis	635
10	-2	Furman Paladins	624
11	2	Central Arkansas Bears	621
12	-3	Chattanooga Mocs	590
13	-1	Richmond Spiders	537
14	2	William & Mary Tribe	469
15	–	Incarnate Word Cardinals	444
16	4	Western Carolina Catamounts	396
17	–	UC Davis Aggies	395
18	-4	Albany Great Danes	366
19	–	Nicholls Colonels	286
20	2	North Dakota Fighting Hawks	282
21	-3	Lafayette Leopards	234
22	-1	Tennesee-Martin Skyhawks	188
23	4	Mercer Bears	169
24	1	Youngstown State Penguins	165
25	-3	Illinois State Redbirds	129
ORV:
26	-2	Tarleton Texans	119
27	-2	Weber State Wildcats	107
28	NR	Abilene Christian Wildcats	93
29	1	Northern Iowa Panthers	57
30	-1	Elon Phoenix	56
31	1	North Carolina Central Eagles	42
32	NR	Missouri State Bears	39
32T	NR	Rhode Island Rams	39
34	1	Florida A&M Panthers	37
35	NR	Eastern Washington Eagles	34
36	NR	Southeast Missouri State Redhawks	32
37	6	Austin Peay Governors	31
38	-7	Eastern Illinois Panthers	17
39	-3	Harvard Crimson	10
40	-6	Holy Cross Crusaders	9

Most significant win: Montana State Bobcats
Most significant loss: Furman Paladins

Dropped out of the poll:
Alabama State Hornets
Alcorn State Braves
Duquesne Dukes
New Hampshire Wildcats
Yale Bulldogs

Join the discussion here: https://www.anygivensaturday.com/showthread.php?362950-AGS-Poll-Results-2024-Week-1

Less than a week until Selection Sunday as the penultimate regular season release of the AGS Poll saw some good movement as 5 of last week’s top 15 took losses. South Dakota State was once again the unanimous #1 team and followed again by Furman at #2. Montana and Montana State each moved up a spot to #3 and #4, respectively, ahead of their Brawl of the Wild showdown this week. South Dakota also moved up a spot to round out the top 5.

Teams moving up this week were headlined by Austin Peay who moved up 6 spots to #13 after their 8th consecutive victory. Tennessee-Martin and Mercer both moved up 5 spots to #15 and #16, respectively, after picking up impressive wins this past Saturday. Lafayette climbed back into the top 25 to come in at #25 after a big win over Patriot League rival Fordham.

As for teams dropping this week Southern Illinois fell 7 spots to #18 after their 2nd straight loss. North Carolina plummeted 9 spots into a tie at #19 after being stunned by Howard. Northern Iowa fell 6 spots to #21 after a surprising loss at Missouri State and Youngstown State dropped 5 spots to #22 after betting blanked at home by top ranked SDSU. Elon fell out of the top 25 after taking a loss to Richmond.

In terms of conference representation the MVFC led the way once again placing 7 teams in the top 25. They were followed by the Big Sky and SOCON with 4 each and the CAA with 3 teams in the top 25. A season high tying 11 conferences were represented in this week’s AGS Top 25.

Full results below:

Rank	Change	Team	Total Points	First Place Votes
1	–	South Dakota State Jackrabbits	1200	48
2	–	Furman Paladins	1126
3	1	Montana Grizzlies	1095
4	1	Montana State Bobcats	1077
5	1	South Dakota Coyotes	1015
6	2	Delaware Fightin’ Blue Hens	843
7	-4	Idaho Vandals	841
8	4	Albany Great Danes	828
9	–	Villanova Wildcats	827
10	-3	Sac State Hornets	786
11	3	North Dakota State Bison	753
12	4	Chattanooga Mocs	559
13	6	Austin Peay Governors	526
14	4	Western Carolina Catamounts	521
15	5	Tennesee-Martin Skyhawks	442
16	5	Mercer Bears	423
17	-4	North Dakota Fighting Hawks	422
18	-7	Southern Illinois Salukis	417
19T	-9	North Carolina Central Eagles	226
19T	4	Florida A&M Panthers	226
21	-6	Northern Iowa Panthers	216
22	-5	Youngstown State Penguins	212
23	-1	Incarnate Word Cardinals	211
24	–	Harvard Crimson	173
25	1	Lafayette Leopards	165
ORV:
26	4	Richmond Spiders	136
27	–	Central Arkansas Bears	133
28	1	Tarleton Texans	55
29	2	Gardner-Webb Runnin’ Bulldogs	42
30	2	Nicholls Colonels	41
31	-3	Holy Cross Crusaders	32
32	1	Eastern Illinois Panthers	16
33	1	William & Mary Tribe	8
34	-9	Elon Phoenix	5

Most significant win: North Dakota State Bison
Most significant loss: North Carolina Central Eagles

Dropped out of the poll:
None

Join the discussion here: AGS Poll Results 2023 Wk11 (anygivensaturday.com)

NOTE: Next week the AGS Poll will be releasing early on Sunday 11/19 ahead of the FCS Playoff Selection Show.

With 6 teams from last week’s top 12 taking losses we saw quite the shake up in the week 10 AGS Top 25. The top stayed the same though with South Dakota State taking all 49 first place votes followed once again by Furman and Idaho at #2 and #3, respectively. Montana cracked the top 5 for the first time this season coming in at #4 after a big win over Sacramento State and Montana State held their position at #5.

Other teams on the rise this week included Villanova who rose up 5 spots to #9 after beating New Hampshire for their 4th straight win. CAA league-mate Albany moved up 6 spots to #12 after taking down William & Mary. Northern Iowa continued their march up the polls moving up 4 spots to #15 following their 3rd straight win. Elon got back into the top 25 after a stunning upset over Delaware to come in at #25.

As for teams going in the opposite direction Delaware dropped 4 spots to #8 after that loss to Elon. Chattanooga also dropped 4 spots to #16 after being edged by 2nd ranked Furman. Incarnate Word plummeted 12 spots after dropping their game with Nicholls and Lafayette fell out of the top 25 after an upset loss to Colgate.

In terms of conference representation the MVFC led the way again placing 7 teams into the top 25. They were followed by the Big Sky, CAA, and SOCON who each had 4 teams in the top 25. 9 conferences were represented in this week’s AGS Top 25.

Full results below:

Rank	Change	Team	Total Points	First Place Votes
1	–	South Dakota State Jackrabbits	1225	49
2	–	Furman Paladins	1117
3	–	Idaho Vandals	1111
4	2	Montana Grizzlies	1090
5	–	Montana State Bobcats	1059
6	2	South Dakota Coyotes	976
7	–	Sac State Hornets	744
8	-4	Delaware Fightin’ Blue Hens	728
9	5	Villanova Wildcats	716
10	3	North Carolina Central Eagles	677
11	-2	Southern Illinois Salukis	663
12	6	Albany Great Danes	631
13	2	North Dakota Fighting Hawks	559
14	-3	North Dakota State Bison	550
15	4	Northern Iowa Panthers	544
16	-4	Chattanooga Mocs	536
17	–	Youngstown State Penguins	532
18	-3	Western Carolina Catamounts	447
19	3	Austin Peay Governors	359
20	1	Tennesee-Martin Skyhawks	299
21	2	Mercer Bears	297
22	-12	Incarnate Word Cardinals	275
23	1	Florida A&M Panthers	217
24	1	Harvard Crimson	128
25	8	Elon Phoenix	98
ORV:
26	-6	Lafayette Leopards	90
27	–	Central Arkansas Bears	55
28	-2	Holy Cross Crusaders	52
29	1	Tarleton Texans	43
30	-2	Richmond Spiders	40
31	1	Gardner-Webb Runnin’ Bulldogs	27
32	NR	Nicholls Colonels	23
33	-3	Eastern Illinois Panthers	10
34	-5	William & Mary Tribe	5

Most significant win: Montana Grizzlies
Most significant loss: Incarnate Word Cardinals

Dropped out of the poll:
Eastern Kentucky Colonels
Southeast Missouri State Redhawks
Tennessee State Tigers

Join the discussion here: AGS Poll Results 2023 Wk10 (anygivensaturday.com)

There weren’t many losses amongst last week’s AGS Top 25 but the few that did happed shook things up a bit as we head into the last quarter of the regular season. As they have all year South Dakota State stayed at #1 garnering all 49 first place votes. Behind them Furman moved up to #2, their highest ranking in the AGS Poll since 2005, and Idaho climbed back into the top 5 coming at #3 after a big win over previously 2nd ranked Montana St. Delaware moved up to #4 and Montana State dropped to #5 after their previously mentioned loss to Idaho.

Other teams on the rise included Southern Illinois who moved up 3 spots to #9 after demolishing WIU. Villanova who moved up 4 spots to #14 after their 3rd straight convincing win. Northern Iowa climbed up 5 spots to #19 after edging MVFC foe Illinois State on the road. Mercer got back into the top 25 coming in at #23 after upsetting Western Carolina and Harvard also crept back into the top 25 to round it out at #25.

Teams falling this week were headlined by South Dakota who fell 4 spots to #8 after taking a convincing home loss to in-state rival SDSU. Western Carolina tumbled 6 spots into a tie at #15 due to their aforementioned loss to Mercer. Tennessee-Martin plummeted 10 spots down to #21 after being stunned by unranked Gardner-Webb. Central Arkansas and New Hampshire each fell out of the top 25 after taking losses on Saturday.

In terms of conference representation the MVFC led the way once again placing 7 teams into the top 25. They were followed by Big Sky and SOCON with 4 each and the CAA with 3 teams in the top 25. 11 conferences were represented in this week’s AGS Top 25.

Full results below:

Rank	Change	Team	Total Points	First Place Votes
1	–	South Dakota State Jackrabbits	1225	49
2	1	Furman Paladins	1142
3	4	Idaho Vandals	1085
4	1	Delaware Fightin’ Blue Hens	1055
5	-3	Montana State Bobcats	1013
6	2	Montana Grizzlies	987
7	-1	Sac State Hornets	952
8	-4	South Dakota Coyotes	820
9	3	Southern Illinois Salukis	760
10	–	Incarnate Word Cardinals	754
11	1	North Dakota State Bison	694
12	2	Chattanooga Mocs	585
13	2	North Carolina Central Eagles	581
14	4	Villanova Wildcats	480
15T	1	North Dakota Fighting Hawks	451
15T	-6	Western Carolina Catamounts	451
17	2	Youngstown State Penguins	432
18	2	Albany Great Danes	381
19	5	Northern Iowa Panthers	352
20	1	Lafayette Leopards	345
21	-10	Tennesee-Martin Skyhawks	342
22	1	Austin Peay Governors	304
23	5	Mercer Bears	248
24	-2	Florida A&M Panthers	215
25	2	Harvard Crimson	75
ORV:
26	–	Holy Cross Crusaders	63
27	-10	Central Arkansas Bears	38
28	4	Richmond Spiders	37
29	1	William & Mary Tribe	25
30	NR	Tarleton Texans	11
31	3	Eastern Illinois Panthers	8
32	NR	Gardner-Webb Runnin’ Bulldogs	6
33	5	Elon Phoenix	3
34T	NR	Eastern Kentucky Colonels	2
34T	NR	Tennessee State Tigers	2
36	NR	Southeast Missouri State Redhawks	1

Most significant win: Idaho Vandals
Most significant loss: Montana State Bobcats

Dropped out of the poll:
Fordham Rams
Illinois State Redbirds
Lamar Cardinals
New Hampshire Wildcats
Nicholls Colonels
Pennsylvania Quakers
UC Davis Aggies

Join the discussion here: AGS Poll Results 2023 Wk9 (anygivensaturday.com)

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)