McNeese State Stays No. 4 In Sports Network Football Poll
Philadelphia, PA (Sports Network) - The top five spots of the Sports Network Top 25 Poll remain the same this week as McNeese State is still No. 4. The Cowboys used a 27-21 win over Northwestern State to stay perfect on the year at 10-0 and improved to 6-0 in Southland Conference play. McNeese clinched a share of the SLC championship, its 12th all-time, and goes for the outright title when second-place Central Arkansas visits this weekend in the regular-season finale.
Northern Iowa again increased its stranglehold on the top spot of the Sports Network's FCS Top-25 poll on Monday.
The Panthers, who beat Indiana State 68-14 on Saturday to win the Gateway Conference championship outright, received 70 first-place votes, up from 61 last week.
UNI (10-0) can finish the regular season perfect for the first time since 1960 by beating winless Southern Utah next Saturday. The 1960 squad was 9-0 in the regular season, but lost 17-6 to Hillsdale in the Mineral Water Bowl.
The 10 consecutive wins are the most for a Panther team since the 1985 UNI squad won 11 straight in between season-opening and season-ending losses to Drake and Georgia Southern. The Georgia Southern loss was in the I-AA semifinals.
No. 2 North Dakota State (10-0) needed an 80-yard TD pass in the final 37 seconds from Steve Walker to Kole Heckendorf to beat Cal Poly on Saturday night and that close call may have cost the Bison support in this week's poll.
The Bison dropped from 42 first-place votes to 23 and barely held on to second ahead of No. 3 Montana (10-0) and No. 4 McNeese State (10-0) with 2,291 points on a day of close balloting.
Montana had 10 first-place votes, up from six last week, and 2,269 points, while McNeese State drew three first-place votes and 2,260 points. Montana survived another tight Big Sky Conference game on the road to beat Idaho State 27-14 and McNeese State survived Northwestern State 28-21.
Saturday's victory by McNeese State gave the Cowboys no less than a tie for the 2007 Southland Conference football championship, giving the university the 12th such title in school history.
It's the most football titles, by four, for any member, present or past, of the SLC.
It's also the second championship in a row for the Cowboys under head coach Matt Viator.
McNeese joined the Southland in 1972 and won its first title in 1976. Other championships came in 1979, 1980, 19981, 1993, 1995, 1997, 2001, 2002, 2003 and 2006.
The Cowboys have shared the title only three times, in 1991 and 2001 with Sam Houston State and in 1997 with Northwestern State.
McNeese can make the 2007 title a solo feat by defeating Central Arkansas in Saturday's upcoming game in Cowboy Stadium. McNeese is 6-0 in league play while the Bears are 5-1.
Former league member Louisiana Tech won eight titles while it was in the Southland while Arkansas State claimed seven. Northwestern State is the only other current member with more than three crowns and the Demons have won four.
In conference games only since 1972, the Cowboys have a 125-70-7 won-lost record (not counting the 2007 season), winning almost twice as many league games as any other member (past or present).
Up after the Central Arkansas contest for McNeese will be the Cowboys 13th appearance in the Football Championship Subdivision postseason playoffs.
McNeese has an 11-12 playoff record, twice going all the way to the championship game (1997 and 2002).
Sports Network's FCS College Football Poll
| Team (First-place votes) |
Record |
Points |
Previous Rank |
| 1. Northern Iowa Panthers (70) |
10-0 |
2,474 |
1 |
| 2. North Dakota State Bison (23) |
10-0 |
2,291 |
2 |
| 3. Montana Grizzlies (10) |
10-0 |
2,269 |
3 |
| 4. McNeese State Cowboys (3) |
10-0 |
2,260 |
4 |
| 5. Southern Illinois Salukis |
9-1 |
2,084 |
5 |
| 6. Appalachian State Mountaineers |
8-2 |
1,982 |
7 |
| 7. Richmond Spiders |
8-2 |
1,845 |
9 |
| 8. Massachusetts Minutemen |
8-2 |
1,841 |
8 |
| 9. Delaware Blue Hens |
8-2 |
1,591 |
6 |
| 10. Delaware State Hornets |
9-1 |
1,538 |
10 |
| 11. Yale Bulldogs |
9-0 |
1,417 |
12 |
| 12. Eastern Kentucky Colonels |
8-2 |
1,408 |
13 |
| 13. Wofford Terriers |
8-3 |
1,366 |
15 |
| 14. James Madison Dukes |
7-3 |
1,253 |
16 |
| 15. Eastern Washington Eagles |
7-3 |
942 |
20 |
| 16. Georgia Southern Eagles |
7-3 |
892 |
11 |
| 17. Youngstown State Penguins |
7-4 |
742 |
21 |
| 18. Fordham Rams |
8-2 |
672 |
22 |
| 19. Grambling State Tigers |
8-2 |
653 |
17 |
| 20. New Hampshire Wildcats |
6-4 |
568 |
14 |
| 21. Eastern Illinois Panthers |
7-3 |
539 |
25 |
| 22. Hofstra Pride |
7-3 |
380 |
18 |
| 23. Alabama A&M Bulldogs |
8-2 |
307 |
NR |
| 24. Elon Phoenix |
6-4 |
223 |
19 |
| 25. Cal Poly Mustangs |
6-4 |
188 |
24 |
|
Others receiving votes: Harvard 158, South Dakota State 140, Norfolk State 138, Dayton 124, The Citadel 97, Villanova 68, San Diego 63, Western Illinois 59, Liberty 53, Nicholls State 42, Colgate 36, Central Arkansas 30, Furman 23, Hampton 12, South Carolina State 11, Southern 9, Montana State 6, Sam Houston State 5, Albany 4, Prairie View 4, Missouri State 1.
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