SPARTANBURG, S.C. -- North Dakota State closes out the 2013 regular season as the only team to hold the No. 1 ranking in the FCS Coaches' Poll. The Bison have set atop the poll since Nov. 5, 2012, and have been selected as the unanimous top choice in all but two polls this season.
Eastern Illinois and Eastern Washington held on to the second and third positions, respectively, in the poll, while Towson, Montana and McNeese State each moved forward a spot in the rankings to take the Nos. 4-6 spots, respectively.
Southeastern Louisiana is seventh, three spots higher than last week, and Maine drops four spots to settle in the eighth slot. Northern Arizona and Fordham round out the top 10.Coastal Carolina fell four spots to No. 11, while Bethune-Cookman and South Dakota State earned the No. 12 and No. 13 ranking, respectively. Sam Houston State dropped to No. 14, while New Hampshire jumped nine spots in the poll to 15th. Samford moved ahead seven spots to No. 17 and Tennessee State is No. 17 after being ranked 25th last week.
Montana State, Youngstown State and Charleston Southern round out the top 20. Jacksonville State and Harvard are No. 21 and No. 22, respectively, while Chattanooga ends the regular season ranked 23rd. Lehigh and Southern Utah round out the poll.
Princeton and William and Mary were dropped from the rankings.
The final FCS Coaches' Poll will be released on Jan. 6, 2014, which is the Monday following the FCS national championship. The championship will be played on Jan. 4, 2014, in Frisco, Texas.
