MISSOULA — Montana State is second and Montana third in the final Stats Perform FCS Top 25 Poll of the regular season.
The latest rankings were announced Monday after the Bobcats clinched the Big Sky Conference championship Saturday with a thrilling 31-28 win over the rival Grizzlies. Both teams advanced to the FCS playoffs and will have first-round byes.
Related: Brawl of the Wild Replay: No. 3 Montana State at No. 2 Montana
The poll, which is voted on by a national panel of FCS media and representatives, is topped by North Dakota State. The undefeated Bison received all 56 first-place votes. They're the No. 1 overall seed for the FCS playoffs and will be searching for their second consecutive national championship.
Following NDSU, MSU and UM in the poll are No. 4 Lehigh, No. 5 Tarleton State, No. 6 Tennessee Tech and No. 7 Mercer. Those four teams held steady from last week's rankings.
Rhode Island climbed to No. 8, Villanova remained ninth and Stephen F. Austin moved up to No. 10.
UC Davis at No 11 is the third and final Big Sky team in the rankings. Northern Arizona, which was previously ranked 23rd, fell out of the top 25 following its season-ending loss to Weber State.
The Missouri Valley Football Conference has seven teams in the top 25: No. 1 North Dakota State, No. 12 South Dakota, No. 14 Youngstown State, No. 16 South Dakota State, No. 17 Illinois State, No. 19 North Dakota and No. 23 Southern Illinois.
