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CAA Football

FCS Football Rankings For Week 9: Who Doesn't Love Surprises?

FCS Football Rankings For Week 9: Who Doesn't Love Surprises?

After one of the eventual weeks of the season, check out the changes in the new rankings from the AFCA Coaches Poll.

Oct 22, 2024 by Cameron Belcher
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What an incredible and explosive week of college football that took place this past week, specifically in the FCS, as we take a look at the new AFCA coaches poll rankings for week 9.

There were some top teams that still showed they were the best that the division has to offer, but the headlines came from the few surprise losses. Here are some of the biggest notes from this week's top 25.

North Dakota State Wins The 2024 Dakota Marker

  • NDSU Football is the new No. 1 - In a low-scoring affair that came to a game-winning 10 plays, 92-yard money drive ending with Cam Miller throwing a touchdown to receiver RaJa Nelson, their second touchdown connection of the game for the 13-9 win after South Dakota State had a narrow 9-7 lead throughout the majority of the second half.

  • Where does SDSU go from here? - The Jackrabbits do not have time to linger on the loss as they have a quick turnaround, facing state rival No. 3 South Dakota in what will now know be a No. 3 vs. No. 4 matchup with high stakes of the loser potentially falling out of the top ten.

Villanova Falls To No. 14 After Disappointing Performance

  • How shocking was the loss? - Villanova football entered the game as a 13-point favorite against unranked Maine, and both teams were coming into the week off the opposite sides of blowouts. Throughout the season, Villanova looked to be one of the elite teams in the FCS that could beat any opponent on any given night, and they may still be true, but it will be hard for future opponents to not feel like they may have the blueprint to take down the Wildcats.

  • Why the loss hurts their chances at being a top-ranked team - With the loss coming late in the season, it could already be difficult to gain ground in the rankings to be seen as a top team, but with Villanova essentially getting dominated and not scoring a single point until the fourth quarter against a 3-3 Maine team coming into the game, it will be hard to convince anyone that you deserve that type of hype again. The Wildcats also do not play any more ranked teams for the rest of the season with New Hampshire's lopsided defeat to Rhode Island.

New CAA teams Emerging Week After Week

  • Richmond - Even though Delaware can't be ranked due to the upcoming FBS transition, this is still one of the biggest wins in all of the FCS and CAA conferences after it looked as if the Fightin' Blue Hens were unbeatable.
  • Willam & Mary - A win against Campbell at home keeps Willam & Mary at pace with the rest of the FCS and has a test this week against No. 24 Stony Brook and plays Richmond the last game of the season.

  • Rhode Island - After a controlling win over New Hampshire, it showed the Rams may be a much better team than some would expect considering it was a No. 17 vs. No. 19 matchup, finally snapping the ten-game road losing streak in the history between the two teams, and knocking them out of the rankings.


AFCA NCAA FCS Football Rankings In Week 9

  1. North Dakota St. (24) 7-1
  2. Montana St. (2) 8-0
  3. South Dakota St. 5-2
  4. South Dakota 6-1
  5. UC Davis 7-1
  6. Southeast Missouri St. 7-1
  7. North Dakota 5-2
  8. Tarleton St. 6-1
  9. Montana 5-2
  10. Central Arkansas 5-2
  11. UIW 5-2
  12. Idaho 5-3
  13. Richmond 5-2
  14. Villanova 5-2
  15. William & Mary 5-2
  16. Rhode Island 6-1
  17. Mercer 6-1
  18. Missouri St. 5-2
  19. ACU 5-3
  20. Illinois St. 5-3
  21. North Carolina Central 5-2
  22. Dartmouth 5-0
  23. Jackson St. 5-2
  24. Stony Brook 5-2
  25. Chattanooga 4-3

Dropped Out: Florida A&M (18), New Hampshire (19)

Others Receiving Votes: Duquesne, 37; New Hampshire, 22; East Tennessee St., 18; UT Martin, 18; Western Carolina, 18; Florida A&M, 15; Monmouth (N.J.), 15; Tennessee St., 13; Sacramento St., 10; Harvard, 8; Drake, 7; Columbia, 5; Lafayette, 4; Robert Morris, 4; Lamar, 3; Butler, 2; Northern Arizona, 2; Samford, 2; Southeastern Louisiana, 1.

What Are The Top Conference In The FCS?

Curious about the top performers and strongest conference within the FCS ranks? We’ve got you covered.

See the FCS conferences ranked using a unique system that originally was developed for chess.

When Do The 2024 FCS College Football Playoffs Start?

The FCS playoffs begin on November 30, 2024.

The 2024 Division I FCS College Football Championship game will be played on January 6, 2025, at Toyota Stadium in Frisco, Texas.

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