EIU Moves Back Into Football Poll

CHARLESTON – Following a week in which four of the nation’s top five FCS teams lost, multiple teams received first place votes in both the Sports Network and FCS Coaches Top 25 polls.  Coming off a 31-28 homecoming win over Jacksonville State, Eastern Illinois moved back into the teams also receiving votes category in both polls.

The Panthers are among the teams also receiving votes in the Sports Network poll landing as the 15th team and No. 40 in the nation.  In the FCS Coaches poll, EIU was the seventh team also receiving votes to rank No. 32.  Eastern Illinois (4-3 overall, 3-1 in the OVC) will be off this week before traveling to Eastern Kentucky on Oct. 27.  That game will be televised on FOX College Sports.

Eastern Washington which picked up a win over previously unbeaten Montana State was No. 1 in both polls.  EWU received 92 votes in the Sports Network poll and 11 votes in the FCS Coaches poll.  A total of nine teams split first place votes in the Sports Network rankings while six teams shared first place votes in the FCS Coaches poll.

Despite the split first place votes James Madison, Georgia Southern, North Dakota State and Montana State rounded out the top five in each poll.  Sam Houston State was sixth in each poll.

Lehigh, one of four remaining undefeated teams at the FCS level, moved up to ninth in the Sports Network poll and seventh in the FCS Coaches poll. The three other undefeated teams are Cal Poly (14th), Tennessee State (17th) and Harvard (22nd).  TSU currently leads the OVC race with a 3-0 record.  Tennessee State and Eastern Illinois do not meet each other this season in OVC action due to the unbalanced schedule.

Old Dominion, Wofford, Lehigh and Stony Brook rounded out the top ten.  Illinois State led off the next group of schools in 11th followed by New Hampshire, Appalachian State, Cal Poly, Youngstown State, Northern Arizona, Tennessee State, Towson, Central Arkansas and South Dakota State.

The final five schools in the rankings were Indiana State which knocked off No. 1 North Dakota State, Harvard, Eastern Kentucky, Villanova and Delaware.