The Montana Grizzlies climbed in the latest FCS football polls after defeating Eastern Washington 34-17 over the weekend at Washington-Grizzly Stadium. Montana State, meanwhile, fell in both polls after a 16-12 defeat at North Dakota.
UM's win improved the Griz to 6-2 overall and 3-1 in Big Sky Conference play, landing Bobby Hauck's club at No. 8 in both the STATS FCS and FCS coaches' polls. Montana climbed two spots in the STATS FCS poll, while the coaches pushed UM up three spots.
Montana travels to Portland State (5-4, 3-2) this weekend for a 3 p.m. (MDT) kickoff against the Vikings.
Montana State (5-3, 2-2), meanwhile, fell out of the top 10 in both polls after falling in Grand Forks. North Dakota blocked an MSU punt and recovered in the end zone for the eventual game-winning touchdown. Jeff Choate and the Bobcats, ranked No. 9 in both of last week's polls, are now ranked No. 14 per the STATS FCS voters and are 15th in the coaches' poll.
MSU, losers of its last two, looks to get back on track at Bobcat Stadium this weekend, when Southern Utah (2-7, 1-4) visits in the ROOT Sports game of the week.
North Dakota State remained the top team in both polls, garnering all but one vote -- James Madison received a single first-place vote in the STATS FCS poll. The Bison defeated rival South Dakota State 23-16 with ESPN's College Game Day in attendance in Brookings, S.D. over the weekend.
Big Sky Conference teams Weber State and Sacramento State join Montana in the top 10 in both polls. Sacramento State defeated both Montana State and Montana, while Weber State travels to Missoula to face the Grizzlies on Nov. 16.
UC Davis dropped out of both polls this week after falling 36-20 against Weber.
To view the STATS FCS poll for the week of Oct. 28, please click here. The FCS coaches' poll can be found below.
FCS football coaches' poll
Oct. 28, 2019
| RANK | SCHOOL | RECORD | POINTS | PREVIOUS RANK |
| 1 | North Dakota State (26) | 8-0 | 650 | 1 |
| 2 | James Madison | 8-1 | 624 | 2 |
| 3 | Weber State | 6-2 | 573 | 5 |
| 4 | Kennesaw State | 7-1 | 569 | 4 |
| 5 | South Dakota State | 6-2 | 559 | 3 |
| 6 | Sacramento State | 6-2 | 512 | 8 |
| 7 | Illinois State | 6-2 | 507 | 7 |
| 8 | Montana | 6-2 | 447 | 11 |
| 9 | Central Arkansas | 6-2 | 436 | 10 |
| 10 | Northern Iowa | 5-3 | 411 | 12 |
| 11 | Villanova | 6-2 | 366 | 6 |
| 12 | Princeton | 6-0 | 349 | 13 |
| 13 | Furman | 5-3 | 321 | 14 |
| 14 | Dartmouth | 6-0 | 293 | 16 |
| 15 | Montana State | 5-3 | 264 | 9 |
| 16 | North Carolina A&T | 5-2 | 232 | 18 |
| 17 | Florida A&M | 7-1 | 185 | 23 |
| 18 | Jacksonville State | 6-3 | 175 | 21 |
| 19 | Central Connecticut State | 7-1 | 163 | 24 |
| 20 | Wofford | 5-2 | 136 | NR |
| 21 | Southeast Missouri State | 5-3 | 103 | NR |
| 22 | Towson | 4-4 | 85 | 17 |
| 23 | North Dakota | 5-3 | 81 | NR |
| 24 | Nicholls | 4-4 | 66 | 15 |
| 25 | Austin Peay | 5-3 | 62 | NR |
Dropped out: Delaware (19), UIW (20), UC Davis (22), Sam Houston St. (25)
Others receiving votes: Campbell, 40; Monmouth (N.J.), 36; Stony Brook, 32; Sam Houston St., 29; Youngstown St., 27; Elon, 18; UT Martin, 16; UIW, 15; Delaware, 11; Abilene Christian, 9; UC Davis, 9; Southeastern Louisiana, 8; Albany, 7; Alcorn St., 7; San Diego, 6; New Hampshire, 4; Southern Illinois, 2; The Citadel, 2; Chattanooga, 1; Lehigh, 1; Yale, 1.
