VERMILLION, S.D.—South Dakota football continued its ascent up the FCS Coaches Poll. The Coyotes, fresh off a 31-28 win against then-No. 3 Youngstown State on Dakota Days Saturday, are up two spots to No. 4 in the newest poll released Monday. It marks the highest ranking for the program at the FCS level, and best overall since 1987 when USD was ranked No. 1 for the initial six weeks of the season.
Defending national champion James Madison (5-0) remains No. 1. North Dakota State (5-0) is No. 2. Jacksonville State (4-1), whose one loss is to Georgia Tech, is No. 3. The Coyotes leaped Wofford (5-0) which remained at No. 5.
South Dakota State (4-1) at No. 7 and Youngstown State at No. 8 (3-2) give the Missouri Valley Football Conference four teams in the top-8. Illinois State (4-1) fell eight spots to No. 15 following a non-conference loss at Northern Arizona. Western Illinois (4-1) is up one spot to No. 18 after winning on the road at UNI.
South Dakota, 5-0 for the first time since 2005, hosts Indiana State (0-5, 0-2 MVFC) at 2 p.m. Saturday inside the DakotaDome. The Coyotes enter with the No. 1 offense in the nation at 537 yards per game. South Dakota beat Indiana State 33-30 in double overtime last season in Indiana.
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| Week 6 FCS Coaches Poll (Oct. 9, 2017) |
Points |
Last Week |
2017 Record |
| Team (First-Place Votes) |
|
|
|
| 1 |
James Madison (25) |
649 |
1 |
5-0 |
| 2 |
North Dakota State (1) |
625 |
2 |
5-0 |
| 3 |
Jacksonville State |
585 |
4 |
4-1 |
| 4 |
South Dakota |
561 |
6 |
5-0 |
| 5 |
Wofford |
548 |
5 |
5-0 |
| 6 |
Central Arkansas |
508 |
8 |
4-1 |
| 7 |
South Dakota State |
463 |
9 |
4-1 |
| 8 |
Youngstown State |
457 |
3 |
3-2 |
| T-9 |
Sam Houston State |
422 |
11 |
4-1 |
| T-9 |
Eastern Washington |
422 |
10 |
4-2 |
| 11 |
North Carolina A&T |
388 |
12 |
6-0 |
| 12 |
New Hampshire |
347 |
13 |
4-1 |
| 13 |
Richmond |
306 |
14 |
3-2 |
| 14 |
Villanova |
302 |
15 |
4-2 |
| 15 |
Illinois State |
301 |
7 |
4-1 |
| 16 |
Weber State |
284 |
16 |
4-1 |
| 17 |
Western Illinois |
256 |
18 |
4-1 |
| 18 |
Samford |
184 |
20 |
4-2 |
| 19 |
Grambling State |
167 |
19 |
5-1 |
| 20 |
Elon |
157 |
23 |
5-1 |
| 21 |
McNeese |
144 |
22 |
5-1 |
| 22 |
The Citadel |
88 |
17 |
3-2 |
| 23 |
Nicholls |
68 |
25 |
4-2 |
| 24 |
Northern Arizona |
40 |
RV |
3-2 |
| 25 |
Western Carolina |
36 |
RV |
4-2 |
Others receiving votes: Monmouth (20), Northern Iowa (19), Montana (16), Tennessee State (15), Stony Brook (11), Prairie View A&M (11), N.C. Central (9), Saint Francis (9), Southern Utah (8), Delaware (7), Kennesaw State (5), Northwestern State (4), Dartmouth (3), Albany (2), Eastern Illinois (2), Yale (1).
