Eastern Washington still atop FCS

SPARTANBURG, S.C. – After being voted the preseason favorite, Eastern Washington maintained its No. 1 ranking in the Football Championship Subdivision Coaches Poll. The Eagles, who won the 2010 National Championship game, received 22 out of 28 first-place votes.

Eastern Washington opened the 2011 season on the road at Washington where it fell narrowly to the Huskies 30-27. Eastern Washington quarterback Bo Levi Mitchell recorded the second-best passing performance in Eagle history with 473 yards.

Georgia Southern jumped one spot to No. 2 after defeating Southern Conference foe Samford 31-17 Saturday night. The Eagles received 666 points and the remaining six first-place votes.

Appalachian State and Northern Iowa finished opening week tied at No. 3 with 557 votes. The Mountaineers fell to Virginia Tech 66-13 in Blacksburg, Va. Northern Iowa almost knocked off in-state rival Iowa State, but dropped its season opener 20-19. Appalachian State, which was No. 2 in the preseason, dropped one spot, while Northern Iowa jumped four.

William & Mary, which lost to Virginia 40-3, fell one spot to No.5, while Montana State maintained its ranking at No. 6.

Rounding out the top 10 are Delaware, North Dakota State, Wofford and Jacksonville State.

The biggest jump in the rankings was made by Richmond. The Spiders began the season at No. 19, but after defeating Duke Saturday evening 23-21, they jumped eight spots to No. 11. It marked the third consecutive victory for Richmond against the Blue Devils in the past six seasons. Richmond quarterback Aaron Corp threw for 193 yards and a touchdown and wide receiver Tre Gray notched a career-high 129 yards.

New to the poll this week is Sacramento State (No. 18). The Hornets shocked Oregon State with their 29-28 overtime win after wide receiver Brandyn Reed followed his 6-yard touchdown with a two-point conversion.

Nine conferences are represented in the poll. The Colonial Athletic Association led the way with six teams, followed by the Southern Conference and Big Sky with four ranked teams. The Southland and Missouri Valley had three teams in the top 25 and the Mid-Eastern Atlantic added two. The Big South, Ohio Valley and Patriot League are all represented with one team in this week’s poll.