January 9, 2012

Golden Eagles rank 19th and 21st in final two FCS national polls

Tennessee Tech made it a sweep of the Football Championship Subdivision final Top 25 polls, earning a 19th place showing in USA Today/Coach's Poll and 21st in The Sports Network/Fathead.com poll.

COOKEVILLE, Tenn. -- Tennessee Tech completed a sweep of the national Football Championship Subdivision final polls Monday, earning a 19th place finish in the USA Today/Coach's Poll and placing 21st in The Sports Network/Fathead.com listing. Yesterday, Tech was listed 16th in the College Sports Madness.com poll.

The Golden Eagles, who finished the year 7-4 overall after winnning a share of the Ohio Valley Conference championship and reaching the FCS Playoffs for the first-time in school history, are the highest ranked OVC team in all three of the polls.

Slipping into the polls, just behind Tech on both charts, Eastern Kentucky was listed 24th in The Sports Network/Fathead.com poll and 21st in the USA Today Coach's Poll. Jacksonville State was listed high among other teams receiving votes in both polls. Tech, JSU and EKU were tri-champions of the league.

North Dakota State, which captured the FCS Championship game with a 17-6 victory over Sam Houston State, jumped from fourth to the top spot in every final poll. The Bisons finished the year 14-1. Sam Houston, which suffered its only loss of the year in the title game, also finished 14-1 and placed second.

The Sports Network/Fathead.com Poll

Team (First-place votes) 2011 Record Points Previous Rank

1. North Dakota State Bison (125) 14-1 3125 4
2. Sam Houston State Bearkats 14-1 2998 1
3. Montana Grizzlies 11-3 2801 5
4. Georgia Southern Eagles 11-3 2795 3
5. Lehigh Mountain Hawks 11-2 2466 6
6. Northern Iowa Panthers 10-3 2455 2
7. Montana State Bobcats 10-3 2387 7
8. Maine Black Bears 9-4 2105 13
9. Towson Tigers 9-3 2058 8
10. Old Dominion Monarchs 10-3 2009 10
11. New Hampshire Wildcats 8-4 1869 11
12. Appalachian State Mountaineers 8-4 1825 9
13. Wofford Terriers 8-4 1651 12
14. Central Arkansas Bears 9-4 1411 15
15. James Madison Dukes 8-5 1307 17
16. Harvard Crimson 9-1 996 16
17. Delaware Blue Hens 7-4 961 14
18. Stony Brook Seawolves 9-4 957 22
19. Norfolk State Spartans 9-3 829 19
20. Illinois State Redbirds 7-4 694 18
21. Tennessee Tech Golden Eagles 7-4 669 21
22. Jackson State Tigers 9-2 523 20
23. North Dakota Fighting Sioux 8-3 371 23
24. Eastern Kentucky Colonels 7-5 298 NR
25. Liberty Flames 7-4 215 24

Others receiving votes: Albany 214, Jacksonville State 151, San Diego 74, Furman 59, Grambling State 48, Bethune-Cookman 44, Alabama State 42, Drake 37, Duquesne 26, Southern Utah 21, Portland State 21, Cal Poly 20, Eastern Washington 19, William & Mary 13, Murray State 12, Tennessee State 8, South Dakota 8, Youngstown State 7, Georgetown 6, Alabama A&M 5, Brown 5, Chattanooga 4, South Carolina State 3, Stephen F. Austin 2, Indiana State 1

NCAA FCS Coaches Final Poll (January 9, 2012)
Team (No. 1 Votes)                Record                             Points                      Last Week

1. North Dakota State (25)         14-1                              625                               4
2. Sam Houston State               14-1                              600                               1
3. Georgia Southern                  11-3                              563                               2
4. Montana                                11-3                              555                               5
5. Northern Iowa                        10-3                              482                               3
6. Lehigh                                   11-2                              473                               6
7. Montana State                       10-3                              470                               7
8. Maine                                    9-4                                445                               13
9. Towson                                 9-2                                380                               9
10. Old Dominion                      10-3                              367                               10
11. Appalachian State                8-4                                357                               8
12. New Hampshire                    8-4                                336                               12
13. Wofford                              6-2                                326                               11
14. James Madison                   8-5                                278                               19
15. Central Arkansas                  9-4                                273                               15
16. Stony Brook                        9-4                                200                               24
17. Harvard                               9-1                                199                               14
18. Norfolk State                       9-3                                158                               22
19. Tennessee Tech                   7-4                                152                               20
20. Delaware                             7-4                                143                               16
21. Eastern Kentucky                 7-5                                136                               NR
22. Illinois State                         7-4                                122                               17
23. Albany                                8-4                                89                                 NR
24. Jackson State                     9-2                                85                                 18
25. Liberty                                 7-4                                57                                 23

Others Receiving Votes: North Dakota (32); Jacksonville State (20); Indiana State (19); Massachusetts (14); Portland State (14); San Diego (23); South Carolina State (15); Drake (14); South Dakota (12); Furman (10); William & Mary (10); Bethune-Cookman (7); Grambling State (7); Murray State (7); Eastern Washington (6); Alabama State (4); Florida A&M (4); Southern Utah (3); Brown (2); Youngstown State (2).