The Big Sky would figure to have one dandy of a conference title race this season.
On Monday, the power conference continued to have the most teams – six – in the Stats Perform FCS Top 25 Poll, presented by FedEx Ground, and they’re found in the top (oh-so-sweet) 16 of the national media rankings.
Of particular note, Idaho earned one of the 56 first-place votes while moving up two spots to No. 5 following its 33-6 thrashing of Nevada on Saturday. It marked the Vandals’ first win over an FBS opponent since returning to the FCS level and the Big Sky in 2018.
Third-ranked Montana State was a mere inches away from a last-second upset bid against top-ranked South Dakota State before falling 20-16. The other Big Sky teams in the poll were No. 8 Sacramento State, No. 9 Weber State, No. 12 Montana and No. 16 UC Davis. Weber State won 34-17 at then-No. 21 Northern Iowa in one of the bigger matchups of the weekend.
The top four spots went unchanged, with defending FCS champion South Dakota State followed by North Dakota State, Montana State and William & Mary. CAA member Villanova entered for the first time this season at No. 24.
A national media panel selects the Stats Perform FCS Top 25 Poll. A first-place vote is worth 25 points, a second-place vote 24 points, all the way down to one point for a 25th-place vote.
(For more on the FCS college football weekend, here are our Week 2 Takeaways)
Stats Perform FCS Top 25 Poll (Sept. 11)
Presented by FedEx Ground
1. South Dakota State (2-0), 1,396 points (52 of 56 first-place votes)
Previous Ranking: 1; Week 2: 20-16 win over then-No. 3 Montana State; Week 3: Sept. 16 vs. Drake in Minneapolis
2. North Dakota State (2-0), 1,335 (3)
Previous Ranking: 2; Week 2: 44-7 win over Maine; Week 3: Sept. 16 vs. Central Arkansas
3. Montana State (1-1), 1,263
Previous Ranking: 3; Week 2: 20-16 loss at then-No. 1 South Dakota State; Week 3: Sept. 16 vs. Stetson
4. William & Mary (2-0, 1-0 CAA), 1,208
Previous Ranking: 4; Week 2: 23-6 win over Wofford; Week 3: Sept. 16 at Charleston Southern
5. Idaho (2-0), 1,141 (1)
Previous Ranking: 7; Week 2: 33-6 win at Nevada; Week 3: Sept. 16 at California
6. Holy Cross (1-1), 1,092
Previous Ranking: 5; Week 2: 31-28 loss at Boston College; Week 3: Sept. 16 at Yale
7. Furman (1-1), 989
Previous Ranking: 6; Week 2: 47-21 loss at South Carolina; Week 3: Sept. 16 at Kennesaw State
8. Sacramento State (2-0), 986
Previous Ranking: 9; Week 2: 34-6 win over Texas A&M-Commerce; Week 3: Sept. 16 at Stanford
9. Weber State (2-0), 926
Previous Ranking: 12; Week 2: 34-17 win at then-No. 21 Northern Iowa; Week 3: Sept. 16 at Utah
10. UIW (1-1), 906
Previous Ranking: 10; Week 2: 42-7 win at Northern Colorado; Week 3: Sept. 16 at Abilene Christian
11. New Hampshire (1-1), 830
Previous Ranking: 11; Week 2: 45-42 loss at Central Michigan; Week 3: Sept. 16 vs. Dartmouth
12. Montana (2-0), 764
Previous Ranking: 13; Week 2: 43-13 win at Utah Tech; Week 3: Sept. 16 vs. Ferris State
13. Southeast Missouri (1-1, 1-0 Big South-OVC), 666
Previous Ranking: 14; Week 2: 45-7 win over Lindenwood; Week 3: Sept. 16 vs. No. 15 Southern Illinois
14. North Dakota (2-0), 620
Previous Ranking: 17; Week 2: 37-22 win over Northern Arizona; Week 3: Sept. 16 at Boise State
15. Southern Illinois (2-0), 552
Previous Ranking: 24; Week 2: 14-11 win at Northern Illinois; Week 3: Sept. 16 at No. 13 Southeast Missouri
16. UC Davis (1-1), 540
Previous Ranking: 15; Week 2: 55-7 loss at Oregon State; Week 3: Sept. 16 vs. Southern Utah
17. North Carolina Central (2-0), 467
Previous Ranking: 18; Week 2: 30-16 win at North Carolina A&T; Week 3: Sept. 16 at UCLA
18. Samford (1-1, 0-1 SoCon), 390
Previous Ranking: 8; Week 2: 30-7 loss at Western Carolina; Week 3: Sept. 16 at Auburn
19. Southeastern Louisiana (0-2), 369
Previous Ranking: 16; Week 2: 35-17 loss at South Alabama; Week 3: Sept. 16 at Eastern Washington
20. Mercer (2-1), 264
Previous Ranking: 20; Week 2: 48-22 win over Morehead State; Week 3: No game
21. Rhode Island (1-1, 1-0 CAA), 245
Previous Ranking: 22; Week 2: 35-14 win over Stony Brook; Week 3: Sept. 16 at Maine
22. Delaware (1-1, 1-0 CAA), 241
Previous Ranking: 19; Week 2: 63-7 loss at Penn State; Week 3: Sept. 16 vs. Saint Francis
23. Florida A&M (2-0, 1-0 SWAC), 150
Previous Ranking: 23; Week 2: 38-24 loss at USF; Week 3: Sept. 16 vs. West Florida
24. Villanova (2-0), 135
Previous Ranking: NR; Week 2: 42-19 win over Colgate; Week 3: Sept. 16 at UCF
25. Youngstown State (1-1), 105
Previous Ranking: 25; Week 2: 35-7 loss at Ohio State; Week 3: Sept. 16 vs. Robert Morris
Dropped Out: Northern Iowa (21)
Others Receiving Votes (schools listed on two or more ballots): Gardner-Webb (1-1) 88; Central Arkansas (1-1) 83; Western Carolina (1-1, 1-0 SoCon) 81; Northern Iowa (0-2) 72; Abilene Christian (2-0) 51; UT Martin (1-1) 44; Morgan State (1-1) 43; Eastern Kentucky (0-2) 36; Tarleton (2-0) 28; Fordham (2-1) 25; UAlbany (1-2) 19; Jackson State (2-1, 0-1 SWAC) 13; Yale (0-0) 11; Eastern Washington (0-2) 9; Campbell (1-1, 0-1 CAA) 8; Illinois State (2-0, 1-0 MVFC) 5
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Stats Perform FCS Top 25 Voters – Stats Perform: Craig Haley, Gary Reasons. Big Sky Conference: Doug Kelly, Tyson Rodgers, Larry Weir. Big South-OVC Football Association: Mike Bradd, Brian Cleary, Kyle Schwartz, Mark Simpson. CAA Football: Matt Harmon, Scott Klatzkin, Rob Washburn. Ivy League: Rick Bender, Craig Larson. Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference: Kendrick Lewis, Patricia Porter-Mayfield. Missouri Valley Football Conference: Dom Izzo, Mike Kern, Randy Reinhardt. Northeast Conference: Sarah Boissonneault, Randy Brochu. Patriot League: Eric Malanoski, Ryan Sakamoto. Pioneer Football League: Cody Bush, Jack Cronin. Southern Conference: Scott Keeler, Andrew Miller, Ralan Wardlaw. Southland Conference: Matthew Bonnette, James Dixon, James Hill. Southwestern Athletic Conference: Ronnie Johnson, Joshua Padilla. United Athletic Conference: Steve East, Tony Jones, Brian Morgan, Jake Withee. National Representatives: Sean Anderson, Zack Carlton, Riley Corcoran, Joe DeLeone, Steven J. Gaither, Sam Herder, Emory Hunt, Kyle Kensing, Brandon Lawrence, Zach McKinnell, Brian McLaughlin, Jon Passman, Omar Rashon Borja, Ryan Roberts, Kent Schmidt, Phil Sokol, Reggie Thomas, Ralph Ventre, Jamie Williams.