NCAA Division I FCS Rankings [Update]: Coastal Carolina Staves Off Presbyterian, Likely To Remain No. 1 In Country
The Coastal Carolina Chanticleers held off Presbyterian College 24-17 in Conway, South Carolina, on Saturday, to remain one of six NCAA FCS teams that are undefeated.
Coastal Carolina junior kicker Ryan Granger produced 16 points as the Chanticleers improved to 6-0 on the season and 1-0 in Big South play. Granger, a junior, scored his first career collegiate touchdown and kicked three field goals, as well as an extra point.
Granger’s touchdown came on a fake field goal early in the second quarter to give Coastal Carolina a 6-3 lead. On fourth-and-goal from the four yard line, Granger took a pitch from holder Tyler Keane and scampered into the end zone.
In total, Coastal Carolina (6-0, 1-0 Big South) scored 14 straight unanswered points to take 14-3 lead on a safety with 13:26 remaining in the third. Presbyterian (1-5, 0-1 conference) got a 30-yard touchdown run from Darrell Bridges to get within 14-10 with 8:07 left in the quarter, but a 22-yard field by Granger put the Chanticleers up 17-10 heading into the fourth quarter.
Coastal Carolina then went up 24-10 on a De’Angelo Henderson five-yard touchdown dash. With the touchdown, Henderson tied an FCS record by scoring at least one touchdown in 20 consecutive games, according to Coastal Carolina Athletics. The 5-foot-8 junior ran for 124 yards on 25 carries, marking the 15th 100-yard game of his career. The Chanticleers totaled 208 yards on the ground.
Presbyterian (1-5, 0-1 Big South) cut the deficit to 24-17 with six minutes to go in regulation and had a chance to tie the game late in the game. Facing a fourth-and-goal from the 10-yard line, Blue Hose quarterback Kaleb Griffin’s pass fell incomplete. Griffin finished the game, completing 13-of-26 passes for 157 yards.
The Chanticleers entered the game against Presbyterian as the No. 1 ranked team in the FCS Coaches Poll, and will likely remain, as No. 2 North Dakota State needed a touchdown with 35 seconds left to defeat No. 10 Northern Iowa 31-28.
Coastal Carolina received 16 of 26 first place votes last year, and held a 11 point lead over North Dakota State going into Week 6. The Chanticleers also have victories over Furman (38-35), South Carolina State (41-14), Western Illinois (34-27), Bryant (31-17) and Alabama A&M (55-0).
Coastal Carolina is off next week.
Here is the rest of the results for FCS Teams ranked in the Coaches Top-25 poll. Teams ranked in the top-25 poll went 15-8 this week, though four games featured two ranked opponents.
- North Dakota State (4-1). The Bison could close the game between them and the Chanticleers after winning two straight, including two consecutive against top-ranked teams. ND State defeated No. 10 Northern Iowa on Saturday as Carson Wentz threw an 18-yard touchdown pass to Darrius Shepherd with 35 seconds, per ESPN. North Dakota State hosts South Dakota (2-3) on October 17.
- Jacksonville State (4-1). The Gamecocks were off this week. Their lone loss was to Auburn (27-20). Jacksonville State received four first place votes last week and will travel to Tennessee Tech on October 17.
- Illinois State (4-1). The Redbirds should close the gap between them and Jacksonville State after defeating ranked opponents the past two weeks. Illinois State defeated No. 7 Youngstown State 31-29 as Marshaun Coprich ran for 131 yards and a touchdown. Next: @ Missouri State 10/17.
- James Madison (6-0). The Dukes remained perfect with a 51-30 win over Towson. JMU travels to Elon on 10/17.
- Chattanooga (4-1). The Mocs won their fourth consecutive game, defeating Furman 31-3. Chattanooga hosts VMI on 10/17.
- Youngstown State (3-2). The Penguins will likely drop in poll after loss to No. Illinois State. YSU hosts South Dakota State.
- Eastern Washington (3-2). The Eagles scored on the first play in overtime and Cal Poly messed up their two point conversation as Eastern Washington won their third straight (42-41). Next @ Idaho State 10/17.
- South Dakota State (4-1). The Jackrabbits defeated Indiana State (24-7). Next @ Youngstown State 10/17.
- Nothern Iowa (2-3). The Panthers surely will fall after dropping their second straight game albeit to a ranked opponent again. Northern Iowa hosts Western Illinois on 10/17.
Other Top-25 winners: No. 11 Montana (3-3) lost to Weber State 24-21; No. 12 Fordham (5-1) over Penn (48-45); No. 13 McNeese State (5-0) defeated No. 17 Southeastern Illinois 21-7. No. 14 Sam Houston State (3-2), No. 18 Richmond (4-1), No. 19 Montana State (3-2), No. 20 Eastern Kentucky (3-2), No. 23 Portland State (4-1) and No. 24 Harvard (4-0)also won.
No.15 Liberty (3-3), No. 16 Villanova (2-3), No. 17 Southeastern Illinois (3-2), No. 21 Indiana State (3-2) and No. 25 North Dakota (4-2) suffered losses.
No. 22 New Hampshire (3-2) was off.
Here are the official FCS Coaches Football Poll for the Week of October 12.
Coastal Carolina did indeed stay No.1, in fact the top six teams remained unchanged from the previous week though as predicted North Dakota State did cut the deficit and moved five points behind the Chanticleers.
Harvard and Portland State each moved up six places while Montana and Villanova dropped eight spots each. Charleston Southern and William & Mary moved into the poll. Indiana State and North Dakota dropped out of the poll.
RANK SCHOOL RECORD POINTS LAST WEEK
1 Coastal Carolina (15) 6-0 628 1
2 North Dakota State (5) 4-1 623 2
3 Jacksonville State (4) 4-1 600 3
4 Illinois State 4-1 573 4
5 James Madison (2) 6-0 565 5
6 Chattanooga 4-1 515 6
7 South Dakota State 4-1 469 9
8 Eastern Washington 3-2 455 8
9 McNeese State 5-0 402 13
10 Fordham 5-1 364 12
11 Sam Houston State 3-2 363 14
12 Youngstown State 3-2 352 7
13 Richmond 4-1 322 18
14 Northern Iowa 2-3 294 10
15 Eastern Kentucky 3-2 280 20
16 Montana State 3-2 279 19
17 Portland State 4-1 234 23
18 Harvard 4-0 157 24
19 Montana 3-3 146 11
20 New Hampshire 3-2 134 22
21 Southeastern Louisiana 3-2 108 17
22 Liberty 3-3 102 15
23 Charleston Southern 4-1 78 NR
24 (t) Villanova 2-3 61 16
24 (t) William & Mary 3-2 61 NR
Dropped from rankings: Indiana State, North Dakota
Others receiving votes: North Carolina A&T (57), Indiana State (42), Western Illinois (31), North Dakota (28), Alcorn State (28), Dartmouth (16), Cal Poly (14), Lamar (13), Furman (12), Samford (11), Bethune-Cookman (11), Jacksonville (10), South Carolina State (5), Central Arkansas (3), Idaho State (2), Princeton (2).
[Photo courtesy of Coastal Carolina Athletics]
