The FCS Wedge

Selection Sunday has arrived and with it comes a special early release of the AGS Poll prior the selection show (which airs on ESPNU at 12:30PM ET). We got quite the shake up in week 12 as 8 teams ranked in last week’s top 25 took losses. Once again, despite all the turmoil behind them, Sam Houston took the #1 spot garnering 40 of 45 first place votes. North Dakota State slid up to #2 behind them. They were followed by James Madison and Eastern Washington at #3 and #4, respectively. Villanova rounded out the top 5 at #5.

As for other teams moving up Montana made a 3 spot rise to #6 after a huge win over in-state rival Montana State. Fellow Big Sky team Sacramento State jumped up 4 spots to #9 after their own rivalry game win over UC Davis and winning the outright Big Sky title. Incarnate Word took advantage of some chaos in front of them to move up 5 spots to #13. Northern Iowa got back into the top 25 after a week in the ORV section coming in at #25 (they would also be the last at-large team into the playoffs going off the AGS Poll consensus).

The teams dropping this week were headlined by Montana State who fell 6 spots to #8 following their aforementioned loss to Montana. UC Davis and Mercer each took 4 spots tumbles down to #12 and #24, respectively, after taking week 12 losses. Monmouth dropped out of the top 25 after losing to Big South rival Kennesaw State.

In terms of conference representation the MVFC led the way placing 6 teams into the top 25. They were followed by the Big Sky with 5 and the AQ7, CAA, Ivy League, SOCON, and Southland with 2 teams each in the top 25. 11 conferences were represented in this final AGS top 25 of the regular season.

Full results below:

Rank	Change	Team	Total Points	First Place Votes
1	–	Sam Houston Bearkats	1118	40
2	2	North Dakota State Bison	1061	5
3	–	James Madison Dukes	1034
4	1	Eastern Washington Eagles	919
5	1	Villanova Wildcats	907
6	3	Montana Grizzlies	902
7	–	East Tennessee State Buccaneers	816
8	-6	Montana State Bobcats	807
9	4	Sac State Hornets	792
10	-2	Missouri State Bears	747
11	–	South Dakota State Jackrabbits	678
12	2	Kennesaw State Owls	660
13	5	Incarnate Word Cardinals	577
14	-4	UC Davis Aggies	460
15	-3	South Dakota Coyotes	423
16	3	Dartmouth Big Green	362
17	-2	Southeastern Louisiana Lions	343
18	2	Jackson State Tigers	324
19	-3	Southern Illinois Salukis	304
20	-3	Tennesee-Martin Skyhawks	293
21	1	Stephen F Austin Lumberjacks	255
22	3	Holy Cross Crusaders	190
23	–	Princeton Tigers	185
24	-4	Mercer Bears	119
25	4	Northern Iowa Panthers	115
ORV:
26	2	Harvard Crimson	101
27	NR	Florida A&M Rattlers	30
28	NR	Eastern Kentucky Colonels	21
29	NR	Weber State Wildcats	20
30	-4	Rhode Island Rams	11
31	-7	Monmouth Hawks	10
32	NR	Nicholls Colonels	9
33T	-6	Chattanooga Mocs	8
33T	-3	William & Mary Tribe	8
33T	NR	Sacred Heart Pioneers	8
36	NR	Davidson Wildcats	4
37	-5	North Dakota Fighting Hawks	3
38	NR	Maine Black Bears	1

Most significant win: Montana Grizzlies
Most significant loss: Southern Illinois Salukis

Dropped out of the poll:
Virginia Military Institute Keydets

Join the discussion here: https://www.anygivensaturday.com/showthread.php?288137-AGS-Poll-Results-Week-12-2021-SELECTION-SUNDAY

Less than a week until Selection Sunday and the AGS Top 25 is rounding into shape. Week 11 was quite a bit calmer than last week but 2 losses amongst last week’s top 10 and several losses right around that playoff bubble line amongst teams ranked in the 20s have made things quite interesting going into the final week. Sam Houston remained a constant at the top of the poll picking up 50 of 51 first place votes. They were once again followed by Montana State and James Madison at #2 and #3, respectively. North Dakota State slid up to #4 and Eastern Washington came in at #5 following their big win over Big Sky rival UC Davis.

The other teams moving up were headlined by South Dakota who moved up 6 spots to #12 following their miraculous last second victory over in-state rival SDSU. Mercer moved up 4 spots into a tie at #20 after a big win over Chattanooga. Stephen F Austin made their first appearance in the AGS Top 25 this season coming in at #22 following their 4th straight win. Monmouth got back into the top 25 at #22 after stringing together their own 4 game win streak. Holy Cross also got back into the top 25 coming in at #25 after punching their ticket to the playoffs claiming the Patriot League autobid.

Teams going in the opposite direction started with UC Davis who dropped 4 spots to #10 following their aforementioned loss to EWU. That stinging last second defeat to USD dropped South Dakota State 7 spots down to #11. Chattanooga, Northern Iowa, and VMI all dropped out of the top 25 after taking losses in week 11.

In terms of conference representation the Big Sky and the MVFC led the way each placing 5 teams into the top 25. They were followed by the AQ7, Big South, CAA, Ivy League, SOCON, and Southland who each put 2 teams into the top 25. 11 conferences were represented in this week’s top 25.

Full results below:

Rank	Change	Team	Total Points	First Place Votes
1	–	Sam Houston Bearkats	1273	50
2	–	Montana State Bobcats	1206
3	–	James Madison Dukes	1150
4	1	North Dakota State Bison	1139	1
5	3	Eastern Washington Eagles	1035
6	1	Villanova Wildcats	976
7	2	East Tennessee State Buccaneers	887
8	3	Missouri State Bears	823
9	1	Montana Grizzlies	818
10	-4	UC Davis Aggies	717
11	-7	South Dakota State Jackrabbits	699
12	6	South Dakota Coyotes	674
13	–	Sac State Hornets	673
14	-2	Kennesaw State Owls	645
15	-1	Southeastern Louisiana Lions	616
16	-1	Southern Illinois Salukis	608
17	-1	Tennesee-Martin Skyhawks	561
18	-1	Incarnate Word Cardinals	532
19	3	Dartmouth Big Green	286
20T	1	Jackson State Tigers	265
20T	4	Mercer Bears	265
22	6	Stephen F Austin Lumberjacks	126
23	2	Princeton Tigers	115
24	3	Monmouth Hawks	110
25	5	Holy Cross Crusaders	100
ORV:
26	5	Rhode Island Rams	76
27	-7	Chattanooga Mocs	55
28	2	Harvard Crimson	52
29	-10	Northern Iowa Panthers	48
30	-4	William & Mary Tribe	20
31	-8	Virginia Military Institute Keydets	13
32	2	North Dakota Fighting Hawks	8

Most significant win: South Dakota Coyotes
Most significant loss: South Dakota State Jackrabbits

Dropped out of the poll:
Davidson Wildcats
Nicholls Colonels

Join the discussion here: https://www.anygivensaturday.com/showthread.php?287339-AGS-Poll-Results-Week-11-2021