Week 8 FCS Football Top 25 Rankings
October 22, 2017 · CSM Staff
| Rank | Team | Comments | Prior | |
| 1 |  |
James Madison | Dukes (7-0) took care of W&M. The last major obstacle before another CAA title comes this week at home, with UNH. | 1 |
| 2 |  |
North Dakota State | Bison (7-0) win a fight with WIU. Now they get a Northern Iowa team visiting, fighting for their playoff lives. | 2 |
| 3 |  |
Jacksonville State | JSU (6-1) may have just sewn up the OVC title, beating Eastern Illinois. 3 of 4 remaining are at home and SEMO is first. | 4 |
| 4 |  |
Central Arkansas | UCA (6-1) went to Louisiana and beat Northwestern State. Now they come home for another cajun – McNeese. | 6 |
| 5 |  |
South Dakota | Coyotes (6-1) were reminded why road life in the MVFC is no fun, by Illinois State. They get Southern Illinois at home now. | 3 |
| 6 |  |
Sam Houston State | SHSU (6-1) whipped Lamar. They’ll look to continue the beatings next week at SE Louisiana. | 7 |
| 7 |  |
Wofford | Wofford (6-1) lost their first game to Samford. The last three SoCon opponents are all weak, they’ll be fine. | 5 |
| 8 |  |
Elon | Elon (6-1) escaped Rhode Island with a win. Big road game at Villanova is next. | 12 |
| 9 |  |
South Dakota State | SDSU (5-2) rebound from a crushing home defeat to destroying Missouri State. On the road again, Western Illinois next. | 11 |
| 10 |  |
Monmouth | Monmouth (6-1) beat Liberty. If they can beat Charleston Southern next week, this team is a playoff lock. | 13 |
| 11 |  |
Stony Brook | Stony Brook (5-2) had the week off to prepare for this week’s game in Richmond. They could squash the Spiders playoff hopes. | 14 |
| 12 |  |
New Hampshire | UNH (5-2) beats Towson but was probably thinking about this road game at JMU the whole time. | 15 |
| 13 |  |
Western Illinois | WIU (5-2) lose at NDSU. Most teams do. Now they host SDSU in a game where someone will get their third loss. | 8 |
| 14 |  |
Samford | Samford (5-2) handed Wofford their first loss. Samford is looking good now and a struggling Chattanooga visits next. | 21 |
| 15 |  |
Weber State | WSU (5-2) has huge Big Sky match-ups these next two weeks. They’re home with Montana and at Eastern Washington. | 16 |
| 16 |  |
McNeese | Cowboys (6-1) beat UIW, holy moley! A win at UCA would almost assure them of a playoff bid. They might get one anyway. | 18 |
| 17 |  |
Western Carolina | WCU (6-2) crushed VMI – welcome to the club. They host Furman next in a playoff level match-up. | 20 |
| 18 |  |
Kennesaw State | Owls (6-1) sent Gardner-Webb back home with a loss. A roadie at Presby should be manageable. The big ones still await. | 22 |
| 19 |  |
North Carolina A&T | Have I disrespected A&T (8-0)? Only their opponents. They skirt by Bethune-Cookman. They play nobody again this week (bye). | 19 |
| 20 |  |
Southern Utah | SUU (5-2) welcome EWU then treated them very badly. Thunderbirds might be the Big Sky’s best right now. | 24 |
| 21 |  |
Eastern Washington | EWU (5-3) probably need the week off after SUU slapped them around. It’s gonna be tough on the flip side too, at Weber State. | 9 |
| 22 |  |
Montana | Montana (5-2) had the week off. Playoff-like atmosphere at Weber State next week. And Northern Arizona looms after that. | 25 |
| 23 |  |
Illinois State | The Redbirds (5-2) let themselves down, then turn around and beat South Dakota. The game at YSU is going to be a toughie. | NR |
| 24 |  |
Delaware | Delaware (5-2) disposed of Richmond, now look to further their renaissance at Towson next week. | NR |
| 25 |  |
Richmond | Spiders (4-3) are in major trouble for the playoffs right now. They better beat Stony Brook or they may be kaput. | 10 |
