LAKE CHARLES – McNeese moved up in both national FCS Top 25 polls on Monday, climbing one sport to No. 16 in the STATS poll while moving up four spots to No. 14 in the AFCA Coaches rankings.
The Cowboys defeated Northern Colorado 17-14 in Saturday's season opener in Greeley, Colorado. Next up, McNeese will visit HBU this Saturday at 6 p.m. in the Southland Conference opener for both teams.
The Huskies (1-0) are coming off a 49-7 win over Southwest Baptist in its opener.
Saturday's game will broadcast live on Eleven Sports as well as simulcast on Cox Sports TV, which was announced on Monday.
The top four remain the same in both polls – North Dakota State, James Madison, South Dakota State and Sam Houston State. SD State and SHSU will open its seasons this Saturday.
North Carolina A&T made a big jump to No. 5 in the STATS poll and No. 6 in the AFCA rankings after beating then-No. 6 Jacksonville State in week zero and topping FBS member Eastern Carolina this past Saturday.
The Southland Conference is represented with four teams in the poll and a fifth receiving votes.
Nicholls, who took down Power 5 and Big 12 member Kansas in overtime on Saturday, moved up to 10 in the coaches poll and 11 in STATS. Central Arkansas, who nearly upset Tulsa, fell to No. 17 in both polls.
STATS FCS Top 25 Poll – Sept. 3
| Rank |
School |
Votes |
Prev. |
| 1 |
North Dakota State (1-0) |
3997 (157) |
1 |
| 2 |
James Madison (0-1) |
3700 (1) |
2 |
| 3 |
South Dakota State (0-0) |
3619 |
3 |
| 4 |
Sam Houston State (0-0) |
3410 |
4 |
| 5 |
North Carolina A&T (2-0) |
3103 (2) |
14 |
| 6 |
Eastern Washington (1-0) |
2930 |
9 |
| 7 |
Kennesaw State (0-1) |
2807 |
5 |
| 8 |
Wofford (1-0) |
2637 |
10 |
9
10 |
Samford (1-0)
Weber State (0-1) |
2398
2388 |
11
8 |
| 11 |
Nicholls (1-0) |
2297 |
18 |
| 12 |
Villanova (1-0) |
2169 |
19 |
| 13 |
Jacksonville State (0-1) |
2116 |
6 |
| 14 |
Montana (1-0) |
1716 |
24 |
| 15 |
Elon (0-1) |
1586 |
12 |
| 16 |
McNeese (1-0) |
1493 |
17 |
| 17 |
Central Arkansas (0-1) |
1253 |
16 |
| 18 |
Northern Arizona (1-0) |
1142 |
NR |
| 19 |
Illinois State (1-0) |
974 |
21 |
| 20 |
New Hampshire (0-1) |
964 |
7 |
| 21 |
Northern Iowa (0-1) |
921 |
13 |
| 22 |
Maine (1-0) |
568 |
NR |
| 23 |
South Dakota (0-1) |
538 |
NR |
| 24 |
Stony Brook (0-1) |
433 |
20 |
| 25 |
Furman (0-1) |
432 |
23 |
Others: UC Davis (417), Delaware (361), Austin Peay (343), Rhode Island (178), Montana State (169), Yale (141), Sacramento State (136), San Diego (117), Grambling State (94), Southern Utah (67), Colgate (50), Richmond (44), Western Illinois (42), Butler (42), North Alabama (33), North Dakota (28), Tennessee State (22), Lehigh (21), Youngstown State (21), Western Carolina (16), Prairie View A&M (16), Southeastern Louisiana (10), Chattanooga (9), Monmouth (8), Southern Illinois (5), Howard (5), Idaho (4), Alabama State (3), Central Connecticut State (3), Fordham (2), Harvard (1), Duquesne (1).
AVCA FCS Coaches Top 25 Poll – Sept. 3
| Rank |
School |
Votes |
Prev. |
| 1 |
North Dakota State (1-0) |
650 (26) |
1 |
| 2 |
James Madison (0-1) |
614 |
2 |
| 3 |
South Dakota State (0-0) |
585 |
3 |
| 4 |
Sam Houston State (0-0) |
565 |
4 |
| 5 |
Eastern Washington (1-0) |
524 |
7 |
| 6 |
North Carolina A&T (2-0) |
479 |
14 |
| 7 |
Wofford (1-0) |
461 |
11 |
| 8 |
Kennesaw State (0-1) |
447 |
5 |
| 9 |
Samford (1-0) |
434 |
10 |
| 10 |
Nicholls (1-0) |
392 |
17 |
| 11 |
Villanova (1-0) |
368 |
19 |
| 12 |
Jacksonville State (0-1) |
348 |
6 |
| 13 |
Weber State (0-1) |
315 |
8 |
| 14 |
McNeese (1-0) |
296 |
18 |
| 15 |
Elon (0-1) |
250 |
13 |
| 16 |
Montana (1-0) |
248 |
25 |
| 17 |
Central Arkansas (0-1) |
247 |
15 |
| 18 |
Northern Iowa (0-1) |
206 |
12 |
| 19 |
Illinois State (1-0) |
205 |
20 |
| 20 |
Northern Arizona (1-0) |
175 |
NR |
| 21 |
Furman (0-1) |
102 |
21 |
| 22 |
New Hampshire (0-1) |
95 |
9 |
| 23 |
Stony Brook (0-1) |
79 |
22 |
| 24 |
Austin Peay (0-1) |
59 |
23 |
| 25 |
Maine (1-0) |
54 |
NR |
Others: South Dakota, 46; Delaware, 40; Sacramento St., 27; UC Davis, 23; Yale, 22; San Diego, 20; Colgate, 18; Montana St., 11; Rhode Island, 11; Dayton, 9; Western Carolina, 9; Youngstown St., 5; Southeastern Louisiana, 4; Alabama St., 3; Charleston Southern, 3; Grambling St., 1.
