James Madison is No. 1 in Stats Perform FCS Top 25

By CRAIG HALEY

(Stats Perform) - A familiar team sat atop the Stats Perform FCS Top 25 on Monday, and it was James Madison, not North Dakota State.

JMU, which gained 34 of the 40 first-place votes in the national media poll, moved up one spot to No. 1 after posting its second straight win to open the spring season. NDSU, which capped the 2019 season by defeating the Dukes for their third straight national title, fell to No. 6 following a blowout loss at Southern Illinois.

The two pre-eminent FCS powers have developed a long-distance rivalry, meeting three times in the last four national playoffs. NDSU was perched in the top spot for 32 straight polls (dating to the final 2017 rankings) after JMU, the 2016 national champ, was No. 1 for the previous 14 polls.

Second-ranked Weber State and fourth-ranked North Dakota gained their highest FCS rankings in the new poll. Northern Iowa was third and Villanova fifth.

A national panel selects the Stats Perform FCS Top 25, which this spring includes only schools that have committed to playing a regular schedule. 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.

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STATS PERFORM FCS TOP 25 (MARCH 1)

1. James Madison (2-0, 0-0 CAA), 992 points (34 first-place votes)

Previous Ranking: 2; Week 3 Result: 36-16 win over Robert Morris

2. Weber State (1-0 Big Sky), 945 (4)

Previous Ranking: 4; Week 3 Result: 49-21 win at Idaho State

3. Northern Iowa (1-1 Missouri Valley), 855

Previous Ranking: 5; Week 3 Result: 21-0 win at Youngstown State

4. North Dakota (2-0 Missouri Valley), 846 (2)

Previous Ranking: 14; Week 3 Result: 28-17 win over then-No. 3 South Dakota State

5. Villanova (0-0 CAA), 788

Previous Ranking: 6; Week 3 Result: No game

6. North Dakota State (2-1, 1-1 Missouri Valley), 784

Previous Ranking: 1; Week 3 Result: 38-14 loss at Southern Illinois

7. Nicholls (2-0, 1-0 Southland), 756

Previous Ranking: 9; Week 3 Result: 55-0 win over Lamar

8. South Dakota State (1-1 Missouri Valley), 736

Previous Ranking: 3; Week 3 Result: 28-17 loss at then-No. 14 North Dakota

9. Kennesaw State (1-0, 0-0 Big South), 714

Previous Ranking: 8; Week 3 Result: 35-3 win over Shorter

10. Jacksonville State (4-1, 1-0 Ohio Valley), 597

Previous Ranking: 16; Week 3 Result: 27-10 win over then-No. 23 Tennessee Tech

11. Southern Illinois (2-1, 1-1 Missouri Valley), 594

Previous Ranking: Unranked; Last Week's Result: 38-14 win over then-No. 1 North Dakota State

12. Sam Houston (1-0 Southland), 552

Previous Ranking: 17; Week 3 Result: 43-38 win over then-No. 18 Southeastern Louisiana

13. Albany (0-0 CAA), 456

Previous Ranking: 13; Week 3 Result: No game

14. New Hampshire (0-0 CAA), 382

Previous Ranking: 15; Week 3 Result: No game

15. Illinois State (0-1 Missouri Valley), 374

Previous Ranking: 7; Week 3 Result: 27-20 loss to South Dakota

16. Southeast Missouri (1-1, 1-0 Ohio Valley), 329

Previous Ranking: 21; Week 3 Result: 47-7 win at Eastern Illinois

17. Furman (1-1 Southern), 277

Previous Ranking: 10; Week 3 Result: 14-13 loss at VMI

18. Chattanooga (1-1, 1-0 Southern), 268

Previous Ranking: Unranked; Last Week's Result: 24-13 win over then-No. 11 Wofford

19. Idaho (1-0 Big Sky), 267

Previous Ranking: Unranked; Last Week's Result: 28-21 win over then-No. 12 Eastern Washington

T20. South Dakota (1-0 Missouri Valley), 229

Previous Ranking: Unranked; Last Week's Result: 27-20 win over then-No. 7 South Dakota

T20. Wofford (1-1 Southern), 229

Previous Ranking: 11; Week 3 Result: 24-13 loss at Chattanooga

22. Eastern Washington (0-1 Big Sky), 228

Previous Ranking: 12; Week 3 Result: 28-21 loss at Idaho

T23. Monmouth (0-0 Big South), 165

Previous Ranking: 20; Week 3 Result: No game

T23. Southeastern Louisiana (0-1 Southland), 165

Previous Ranking: 18; Week 3 Result: 43-38 loss at then-No. 17 Sam Houston

25. Delaware (0-0 CAA), 101

Previous Ranking: 25; Week 3 Result: No game

Others Receiving Votes (schools listed on two or more ballots): Austin Peay 75, UIW 58, McNeese 39, VMI 32, Jackson State 22, Richmond 17, Gardner-Webb 16, San Diego 16, Dixie State 14, ETSU 14, Tennessee Tech 13, Tarleton 11, South Carolina State 10, Southern 8, UC Davis 7.

Updated March 1, 2021