Coaches’ Poll

Wildcats remain in Top 15 in both polls after loss to UCF

/ J Bell / Leave a comment

BCU vs UCF-325Bethune-Cookman held on to it’s Top 15 ranking in both the FCS Coaches’ Poll (#14) and the SportsNetwork Media Poll (#15) even after falling 41-7 to FBS foe Central Florida this past weekend.

North Dakota State was the unanimous No. 1 pick in the Football Championship Subdivision Coaches Poll this week. The Bison totaled a perfect 650 points after receiving all 26 first-place votes for the first time this season.

NDSU extended its FCS-record winning streak to 28 games after topping then No. 3 Montana, 22-10, on Saturday in a matchup of top-five teams. The Bison totaled 447 yards of offense, including 280 rushing yards, and possessed the ball for 39:08 to earn their 16th straight home win. Kicker Adam Keller kicked a school-record five field goals, including a season-long 47-yard field goal, and added one extra point to score 16

Nine conferences were represented among the 25 teams. The Missouri Valley Football Conference led all conferences with seven teams in the top 25. The Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) was second with four schools while the Big Sky, Big South and Ohio Valley Conference (OVC) each placed three.

The FCS Coaches Poll is based exclusively on a voting panel of head coaches in the FCS under the cooperation of the Collegiate Commissioners Association (CCA) and the American Football Coaches Association (AFCA) and is administered by the Southern Conference.

RANK SCHOOL RECORD POINTS PREVIOUS
1 North Dakota State (26) 4-0 650 1
2 Eastern Washington 3-1 623 2
3 Coastal Carolina 4-0 578 5
4 McNeese State 1-1 545 6
5 Villanova 2-1 526 7
6 Montana 2-2 505 3
7 New Hampshire 2-1 494 9
8 Jacksonville State 2-1 492 8
9 South Dakota State 3-1 449 10
10 UNI 1-2 408 11
11 Southeastern Louisiana 2-2 368 4
12 Youngstown State 3-1 303 15
13 William & Mary 3-1 301 17
14 Bethune-Cookman 2-1 273 12
15 Chattanooga 1-2 271 14
16 Southern Illinois 3-1 269 13
17 Montana State 2-2 241 16
18 Eastern Kentucky 4-1 210 22
19 Fordham 3-1 188 19
20 Tennessee State 3-1 154 2
21 Richmond 2-2 141 18
22 Illinois State 2-0 101 24
23 Liberty 3-1 80 NR
24 Missouri State 3-1 65 NR
25 Charleston Southern 4-0 39 NR

Dropped out: No. 21 Furham, No. 23 Northern Arizona, No. T25 Bryant, No. T25 Sam Houston State

Others receiving votes: Sam Houston State 26, Towson 22, Furman 18, Alcorn State 16, Samford 16, Harvard 13, Northern Arizona 13, Sacramento State 12, Stephen F. Austin 9, Indiana State 7, North Carolina A&T 7, Albany 5, Alabama State 3, South Dakota 3, Bryant 2, Cal Poly 2, Northwestern State 1, Southeast Missouri State 1

Wildcats ranked 18th/20th in latest FCS polls

/ J Bell / Leave a comment
Cary White rushes for a score against FIU

Cary White rushes for a score against FIU

Bethune-Cookman head into its bye-week losing one spot in both the FCS Coaches and SportsNetwork media polls.  The Wildcats currently sit 18th and 20th respectively in the each poll.

BCU registered an impressive 3-1 mark in the month of September with out-of-conference victories over Tennessee State of the Ohio Valley Conference and Florida International from FBS’ Conference USA.  The #8 ranked Florida State Seminoles handed BCU their lone defeat.

The Wildcats have won 14 straight MEAC contests and begin conference play after the bye-week when they head to Dover to take on Delaware State on October 5th.

Coaches Poll

TEAM SCHOOL (FIRST-PLACE VOTES) RECORD POINTS PREV- IOUS
1. North Dakota State (26) 3-0 650 1
2. Towson 4-0 616 3
3. Eastern Washington 2-1 598 4
4. Sam Houston State 3-1 573 5
5. Northern Iowa 3-0 531 7
6. South Dakota State 3-1 465 6
T-7. New Hampshire 2-1 460 9
T-7. Montana 3-0 460 11
9. McNeese State 4-0 409 13
10. Montana State 2-2 402 2
11. Coastal Carolina 4-0 372 15
12. Eastern Illinois 3-1 354 10
13. Central Arkansas 2-2 326 14
14. James Madison 3-1 283 16
15. Wofford 2-2 278 8
16. Fordham 4-0 217 21
17. Lehigh 3-0 214 18
18. Bethune-Cookman 3-1 179 17
19. Cal Poly 1-2 169 19
20. Richmond 2-2 156 20
21. Villanova 1-2 155 23
22. Northern Arizona 2-1 117 22
23. Stony Brook 1-2 107 12
24. Illinois State 1-2 80 24
25. Youngstown State 3-1 47 NR

Dropped out: No. 25 Maine.

Others receiving votes: Maine 46, Tennessee-Martin 44, Gardner-Webb 35, William & Mary 27, Jacksonville State 21, Portland State 15, Southern Utah 8, Delaware 7, Tennessee State 6, Harvard 5, Chattanooga 4, Stephen F. Austin 4, Indiana State 2, North Carolina A&T 1, Sacred Heart 1.

 

Wildcats debut at #20 in FCS coaches poll

/ J Bell / Leave a comment

FCS_logoSPARTANBURG, S.C. – The Bethune-Cookman Wildcats are ranked 20th in the 2013 Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) Preseason Coaches Poll.  BCU, winners of two of the last three MEAC crowns, finished 23rd in the final Coaches Poll last season and 15th in 2010.

Two time defending FCS National Champions North Dakota State received 23 of 26 first place votes and grabbed top honors in the poll.  Montana State earned the No. 2 preseason ranking, Eastern Washington is third, followed by Sam Houston State and Wofford rounding out the top 5.

The FCS Coaches Poll is based exclusively on a voting panel of head coaches in the FCS under the cooperation of the Collegiate Commissioners Association (CCA) and the American Football Coaches Association (AFCA) and is administered by the Southern Conference.

Preseason 2013 FCS Coaches Preseason Poll

Team (No. 1 Votes) 2012 Record Points Final 2012 Ranking

1. North Dakota State (23) 14-1 645 1

2. Montana State (1) 11-2 591 5

3. Eastern Washington 11-3 549 4

4. Sam Houston State (1) 11-4 534 2

5. Wofford 9-4 450 7

6. Central Arkansas 9-3 428 10

7. South Dakota State 9-4 410 17

8. New Hampshire 8-4 386 13

9. Villanova 8-4 381 16

10. Illinois State 9-4 379 9

11. Cal Poly 9-3 348 11

12. Towson 7-4 347 15

13. Stony Brook 10-3 326 12

14. Richmond 8-3 274 18

15. James Madison 7-4 235 21

16. Northern Iowa 5-6 218 NR

17. Lehigh 10-1 198 14

18. Northern Arizona 8-2 196 20

19. Eastern Kentucky (1) 8-3 188 19

20. Bethune-Cookman 9-3 159 23

21. Coastal Carolina 8-5 140 24

22. Montana 6-2* 135 NR

23. Eastern Illinois 7-5 120 25

24. Youngstown State 7-4 107 NR

25. Chattanooga 6-5 104 NR

Others receiving votes: Wagner (87), Colgate (67), Tennessee State (52), Harvard (48), Delaware (47), The Citadel (39), Liberty (39), Arkansas Pine-Bluff (35), Indiana State (27), Stephen F. Austin (19), McNeese State (16), Penn (13), Alcorn State (12), Jacksonville State (11), Samford (10), Norfolk State (7), Alabama State (7), UC Davis (7), Southern Illinois (6), Maine (5), Albany (5), Tennessee Tech (5), UT Martin (4), Gardner Webb (4), Sacramento State (3), Hampton (3), San Diego (2), Jackson State (1), Missouri State (1), Brown (1)

* Final 6 games of 2012 vacated

Note: The following programs are ineligible for the Coaches Poll due to their transition to the FBS- Appalachian State, Charlotte, Georgia Southern and Old Dominion.