It was an exciting weekend of action on the gridiron. North Dakota beat Eastern Washington in a 50-44 OT thriller, while Illinois State upset Northwestern 9-7.
How would these games impact this week’s FCS Top 10 poll? Here’s what our rankings look like after week 2.
| Rank | Team | Points |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | North Dakota State (2) | 36 |
| tie | Richmond | 36 |
| 3 | Illinois State (2) | 35 |
| 4 | Eastern Washington | 25 |
| 5 | Montana | 20 |
| 6 | Sam Houston State | 14 |
| 7 | South Dakota State | 12 |
| 8 | Jacksonville State | 11 |
| 9 | Northern Iowa | 9 |
| 10 | James Madison | 6 |
| Tie | Chattanooga | 6 |
| Tie | Albany | 6 |
Notes and Observations
- As always, remember that these rankings are fluid and will fluctuate from week to week.
- For the second straight week, our panel was split over which team should be number one. Two of our voters picked North Dakota State, while the other two chose Illinois State as the top team.
- Richmond is tied for No. 1 even though it did not receive a first-place vote. Ironically, the Spiders have the top spot because they were second on everyone’s ballot.
- Illinois State had the biggest jump this week, moving from unranked to within 1 point of the top spot. The Redbirds certainly earned it by holding Northwestern to just 272 yards of total offense.
- Eastern Washington and Northern Iowa were not penalized for losing close games to North Dakota State and Montana, respectively. The Grizzlies debut at No. 5 this week.
- With so many great teams in the FCS this season, we had a three-way tie for the final spot. Expect this to continue as the season rolls long.
