FCS Football: Top 25 Power Poll Following Week 7

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Eastern Washington Eagles Football — It feels like North Dakota State and Eastern Washington are mere inches behind Sam Houston, so we may soon be seeking a 1A and 1B in the Athlon FCS Top 25 Power Poll
Eastern Washington Athletics

With top-ranked Sam Houston on a bye, it wasn’t quite, “you snooze, you lose,” but No. 2 North Dakota State and No. 3 Eastern Washington surely tightened the race for No. 1 this past weekend. NDSU added a shutout to what was already the stingiest defense in the nation and EWU racked up 71 points as well as a program-record 837 yards of total offense.

Here’s the Athlon FCS Power Poll following Week 7 games:

1. Sam Houston
(5-0, 3-0 AQ7)
Previous Ranking: 1
Week 7 Result: Open week
Next Game: Oct. 23 vs. No. 23 Jacksonville State

2. North Dakota State
(6-0, 3-0 Missouri Valley)
Previous Ranking: 2
Week 7 Result: 20-0 win at Illinois State
Next Game: Oct. 23 vs. No. 11 Missouri State

3. Eastern Washington
(7-0, 4-0 Big Sky)
Previous Ranking: 3
Week 7 Result: 71-21 win over Idaho
Next Game: Oct. 23 vs. No. 21 Weber State

4. Southern Illinois
(6-1, 4-0 Missouri Valley)
Previous Ranking: 4
Week 7 Result: 31-28 win over North Dakota
Next Game: Oct. 30 at Northern Iowa

5. Villanova
(5-1, 3-0 CAA)
Previous Ranking: 5
Week 7 Result: 17-10 win at Albany
Next Game: Oct. 23 vs. No. 20 Rhode Island

6. James Madison
(5-1, 3-1 CAA)
Previous Ranking: 6
Week 7 Result: 19-13 win at Richmond
Next Game: Oct. 23 at No. 25 Delaware

7. South Dakota State
(5-1, 2-1 Missouri Valley)
Previous Ranking: 7
Week 7 Result: 41-17 win at Western Illinois
Next Game: Oct. 23 vs. No. 22 Northern Iowa

8. Montana State
(6-1, 4-0 Big Sky)
Previous Ranking: 8
Week 7 Result: 13-7 win at Weber State
Next Game: Oct. 23 vs. Idaho State

9. Southeastern Louisiana
(5-1, 3-0 Southland)
Previous Ranking: 13
Week 7 Result: 61-24 win over Houston Baptist
Next Game: Oct. 23 at Northwestern State

10. UC Davis
(6-1, 3-1 Big Sky)
Previous Ranking: 14
Week 7 Result: 32-3 win over Northern Colorado
Next Game: Oct. 23 at Cal Poly

11. Missouri State
(4-2, 2-1 Missouri Valley)
Previous Ranking: 19
Week 7 Result: 37-7 win over Indiana State
Next Game: Oct. 23 at No. 2 North Dakota State

12. Kennesaw State
(5-1, 2-0 Big South)
Previous Ranking: 17
Week 7 Result: 14-0 win over North Carolina A&T
Next Game: Oct. 23 at Campbell

13. Sacramento State
(4-2, 3-0 Big Sky)
Previous Ranking: Not Ranked
Week 7 Result: 28-21 win at Montana
Next Game: Oct. 23 vs. Northern Arizona

Team of the Week

19. Dartmouth
(5-0, 2-0 Ivy)
Previous Ranking: Not Ranked
Week 7 Result: 38-21 win at New Hampshire

While earning a Top 25 win, the Big Green captured the Granite State Trophy and evened the all-time series with UNH at 19-19-2. Derek Kyler threw for a career-high 324 yards as well as two touchdowns, and fellow quarterback Nick Howard rushed for three TDs.

Next Game: Oct. 22 vs. Columbia

20. Rhode Island
(5-1, 3-1 CAA)
Previous Ranking: 11
Week 7 Result: 28-7 loss at Towson
Next Game: Oct. 23 at No. 5 Villanova

21. Weber State
(2-4, 1-2 Big Sky)
Previous Ranking: 16
Week 7 Result: 13-7 loss to Montana State
Next Game: Oct. 23 at No. 3 Eastern Washington

22. Northern Iowa
(3-3, 1-2 Missouri Valley)
Previous Ranking: 12
Week 7 Result: South Dakota
Next Game: Oct. 23 at No. 7 South Dakota State

23. Jacksonville State
(3-3, 1-0 AQ7)
Previous Ranking: 25
Week 7 Result: Open week
Next Game: Oct. 23 at No. 1 Sam Houston

24. VMI
(5-2, 3-1 Southern)
Previous Ranking: Not Ranked
Week 7 Result: 45-7 win at Mercer
Next Game: Oct. 30 vs. Samford

25 (tie). Princeton
(5-0, 2-0 Ivy)
Previous Ranking: 23
Week 7 Result: 56-42 win at Brown
Next Game: Oct. 23 vs. Harvard

25 (tie). Delaware
(3-3, 2-2 CAA)
Previous Ranking: 15
Week 7 Result: 34-17 loss at Stony Brook
Next Game: Oct. 23 vs. No. 6 James Madison

— Written by Craig Haley, who is part of the Athlon Contributor Network. Haley has covered the FCS level since 1999 and is the national writer for www.TheAnalyst.com. He appears frequently on radio, TV and podcasts to discuss everything FCS. Follow him on Twitter @CraigHaley.