Coastal Carolina football claims No. 1 national ranking in FCS poll
For the second season in a row, the Coastal Carolina football team has ascended to a No. 1 national ranking.
The Chanticleers, who opened the season ranked No. 5 in both the FCS Coaches poll and the STATS media poll, jumped to No. 1 in the coaches poll and No. 3 in the media poll as the new rankings were unveiled Monday.
The Chants opened their season Saturday night with a 38-35 win at Furman while the other teams ahead of them in the rankings all lost as former No. 1 North Dakota State fell 38-35 at Montana, Illinois State lost 31-14 at FBS-level Iowa, Villanova narrowly lost 20-15 to FBS-level Connecticut and Sam Houston State lost 59-45 at FBS-level Texas Tech.
The voting was far from a consensus as seven teams received first-place votes in the coaches poll with the Chants receiving four of the 23 cast.
Coastal Carolina reached the No. 1 ranking in the coaches poll for two weeks near the end of last season as well before losing to Liberty in the regular-season finale. The Chants peaked at No. 2 in the media poll last year.
Sam Houston State and North Dakota State remained ahead of Coastal Carolina in the current media poll.
The team is off today, but coach Joe Moglia will address the ranking during his weekly radio show at Buffalo Wild Wings in Carolina Forest at 6 p.m.
FCS Coaches Poll Top 10
Team (First-place votes) | Record | Points | Previous |
1. Coastal Carolina (4) | 1-0 | 517 | 5 |
2. North Dakota State (6) | 0-1 | 490 | 1 |
3. Villanova | 0-1 | 490 | 3 |
4. Sam Houston State (2) | 0-1 | 487 | 4 |
5. Illinois State (6) | 0-1 | 481 | 2 |
6. Jacksonville State (1) | 1-0 | 453 | 9 |
7. Eastern Washington | 0-1 | 437 | 6 |
8. Montana (3) | 1-1 | 393 | 12 |
9. Montana State | 1-0 | 384 | 11 |
10. South Dakota State (1) | 1-0 | 363 | 15 |
STATS FCS Media Poll Top 10
Team (First-place votes) | Record | Points | Previous |
1. Sam Houston State (31) | 0-1 | 3132 | 3 |
2. North Dakota State (22) | 0-1 | 3123 | 1 |
3. Coastal Carolina (24) | 1-0 | 3115 | 5 |
4. Illinois State (20) | 0-1 | 3068 | 2 |
5. Jacksonville State (24) | 1-0 | 3047 | 7 |
6. Villanova (6) | 0-1 | 2972 | 4 |
7. Eastern Washington (6) | 0-1 | 2688 | 6 |
8. Montana (2) | 1-1 | 2401 | 13 |
9. South Dakota State (8) | 1-0 | 2374 | 16 |
10. Chattanooga | 0-1 | 2040 | 8 |
This story was originally published September 7, 2015 at 5:02 PM with the headline "Coastal Carolina football claims No. 1 national ranking in FCS poll."