Grand Forks, N.D. -- After a three-week absence, the North Dakota football team was back in the national rankings on Monday as the Fighting Hawks were pegged No. 24 by the STATS FCS Top 25 poll and No. 21 in the FCS Coaches Top 25 poll.
Winners of three straight, UND was in both preseason polls at No. 19 and No. 21, respectively, and remained in the STATS poll at No. 24 following a week-one loss at Stony Brook, but the Fighting Hawks fell out of both after their one-point setback at FBS-foe Bowling Green on Sept. 10.
UND's 31-24 victory over No. 16/18 Cal Poly was enough to move the squad back into the polls after receiving votes in last week's editions.
The Fighting Hawks will take their three-game winning streak to California's Capital City on Saturday as they take on Sacramento State in a Big Sky affair. Kickoff against the Hornets is set for 8 p.m. CT.
| STATS FCS Top 25 Poll |
| Rk. |
School (1st-place votes) |
Record |
Pts. |
PR |
| 1. |
North Dakota State (164) |
4-0 |
4100 |
1 |
| 2. |
Sam Houston State |
4-0 |
3866 |
2 |
| 3. |
Jacksonville State |
3-1 |
3707 |
3 |
| 4. |
Eastern Washington |
4-1 |
3596 |
4 |
| 5. |
Chattanooga |
5-0 |
3596 |
5 |
| 6. |
Richmond |
4-1 |
3486 |
6 |
| 7. |
James Madison |
4-1 |
3073 |
7 |
| 8. |
Charleston Southern |
3-2 |
3011 |
10 |
| 9. |
Citadel |
4-0 |
2836 |
9 |
| 10. |
Montana |
3-1 |
2810 |
11 |
| 11. |
Northern Iowa |
2-2 |
2571 |
12 |
| 12. |
South Dakota State |
2-2 |
2340 |
15 |
| 13. |
Western Illinois |
3-1 |
2201 |
8 |
| 14. |
Villanova |
4-1 |
1944 |
17 |
| 15. |
Youngstown State |
3-1 |
1936 |
20 |
|
16.
|
Albany |
4-0 |
1569 |
21 |
|
17.
|
Coastal Carolina |
3-2 |
1422 |
14 |
|
18.
|
North Caorlina A&T |
3-1 |
1253 |
22 |
|
19.
|
Eastern Illinois |
3-2 |
1222 |
13 |
|
20.
|
McNeese |
3-2 |
910 |
23 |
|
21.
|
Cal Poly |
3-2 |
866 |
16 |
|
22.
|
Harvard |
3-0 |
706 |
25 |
|
23.
|
Illinois State |
2-3 |
679 |
18 |
|
24.
|
North Dakota |
3-2 |
365 |
NR |
|
25.
|
Central Arkansas |
4-1 |
363 |
NR |
| Others receiving votes: Grambling State (305), Tennessee State (259), William & Mary (218), Samford (168), New Hampshire (134), Stony Brook (125), Missouri State (73), Stephen F. Austin (70), Indiana State (64), Sacred Heart (54), Wagner (45), Colgate (28), Southern Utah (26), Northern Arizona (22), Cornell (21), South Carolina State (13), Dartmouth (11), Portland State (11), Lehigh (10), Penn (7), Fordham (7), Nicholls (5), Towson(5), Northern Colorado (4), Monmouth (3), North Carolina Central (3), Kennesaw State (3), Wofford (2), Georgetown (1), Eastern Kentucky (1), San Diego (1). |
| FCS Coaches Top 25 Poll |
| Rk. |
School (1st-place votes) |
Record |
Pts. |
PR |
| 1. |
North Dakota State (164) |
4-0 |
650 |
1 |
| 2. |
Sam Houston State |
4-0 |
615 |
2 |
| 3. |
Chattanooga |
5-0 |
588 |
3 |
| 4. |
Jacksonville State |
3-1 |
566 |
4 |
| 5. |
Eastern Washington |
4-1 |
559 |
5 |
| 6. |
James Madison |
4-1 |
511 |
6 |
| 7. |
Richmond |
4-1 |
474 |
7 |
| 8. |
Charleston Southern |
3-2 |
462 |
8 |
| 9. |
Citadel |
4-0 |
434 |
10 |
| 10. |
Montana |
3-1 |
417 |
11 |
| 11. |
Northern Iowa |
2-2 |
371 |
12 |
| 12. |
Villanova |
4-1 |
353 |
14 |
| 13. |
Youngstown State |
3-1 |
307 |
15 |
| 14. |
Western Illinois |
3-1 |
276 |
8 |
| 15. |
South Dakota State |
2-2 |
273 |
16 |
|
16.
|
Harvard |
3-0 |
227 |
19 |
|
17.
|
Albany |
4-0 |
216 |
21 |
|
18.
|
North Caorlina A&T |
3-1 |
204 |
23 |
|
19.
|
McNeese |
3-2 |
184 |
22 |
|
20.
|
Eastern Illinois |
3-2 |
135 |
13 |
|
21.
|
North Dakota |
3-2 |
131 |
NR |
|
22.
|
Cal Poly |
3-2 |
87 |
18 |
|
23.
|
Illinois State |
2-3 |
73 |
20 |
|
24.
|
Central Arkansas |
4-1 |
63 |
NR |
|
25.
|
Grambling State |
4-1 |
55 |
NR |
| Others receiving votes: William & Mary (43), Samford (25), Stony Brook (24), Tennessee State (21), Tennessee Tech (20), New Hampshire (18), South Dakota (15), South Carolina State (14), Southern Utah (10), Portland State (7), Wofford (5), Stephen F. Austin (5), Missouri State (3), Sacred Heart (2), Liberty (2), Lehigh (2), Towson (1), Monmouth (1), Northern Colorado (1). |
-- UND --
