After completing one of the biggest upsets in college football history, the Montana Grizzlies find themselves in the top five in the national rankings.
After stunning Washington 13-7 on Saturday evening, the Grizzlies jumped from No. 9 to No. 4 in the Stats Perform FCS Top 25. UM was also named the Stats Perform FCS National Team of the Week and the Athlon FCS Power Poll co-Team of the Week.
Montana garnered five first-place votes this week. Sam Houston, South Dakota State and James Madison all round out the top four in the poll. UM's victory over Washington was just the sixth FCS win over a ranked FBS opponent since 1983. The Grizzlies were also paid $675,000 to play the game.
After nearly defeating FBS Wyoming on Saturday as well, Montana State also finds itself climbing the rankings as the Bobcats moved up to No. 11 from No. 12. Montana State lost to Wyoming 19-16 in Laramie, a game in which Montana State was paid $425,000 to play in.
It was a big week for the Big Sky Conference and the rankings reflect that with five teams in the top 25. Eastern Washington comes in at No. 7 after the Eagles topped UNLV on Thursday evening to open the season. EWU won 35-33 in double overtime and was paid $350,000 for that game. The Eagles were No. 11 a week ago.
Weber State was dropped from No. 6 to No. 10 after losing to Utah 40-17 while UC Davis comes in at No. 14 after shocking FBS Tulsa 19-17 on Thursday night as well. The Aggies were paid $400,000 for their game against Tulsa while Weber State was paid $600,000.
Both Montana and Montana State are back home this Saturday as the Grizzlies host Western Illinois while the Bobcats welcome Drake to Bozeman.
Stats Perform FCS Top 25
1. Sam Houston (1-0, 0-0 AQ7), 1,212 points (32 first-place votes), Previous Ranking: 1; Week 1 Result: 42-16 win at Northern Arizona
2. South Dakota State (1-0, 0-0 Missouri Valley), 1,185 (11), Previous Ranking: 3; Week 1 Result: 42-23 win at Colorado State
3. James Madison (1-0, 0-0 CAA), 1,150 (2), Previous Ranking: 2; Week 1 Result: 68-10 win over Morehead State
4. Montana (1-0, 0-0 Big Sky), 1,087 (5), Previous Ranking: 9; Week 1 Result: 13-7 win at Washington
5. North Dakota State (1-0, 0-0 Missouri Valley), 1,050, Previous Ranking: 4; Week 1 Result: 28-6 win over Albany
6. Delaware (1-0, 1-0 CAA), 965, Previous Ranking: 5; Week 1 Result: 34-24 win at Maine
7. Eastern Washington (1-0, 0-0 Big Sky), 880, Previous Ranking: 11; Week 1 Result: 35-33 2-OT win at UNLV
8. Southern Illinois (1-0, 0-0 Missouri Valley), 873, Previous Ranking: 7; Week 1 Result: 47-21 win at Southeast Missouri
9. North Dakota (1-0, 0-0 Missouri Valley), 858, Previous Ranking: 8; Week 1 Result: 35-14 win at Idaho State
10. Weber State (0-1, 0-0 Big Sky), 764, Previous Ranking: 6; Week 1 Result: 40-17 loss at Utah
11. Montana State (0-1, 0-0 Big Sky), 598, Previous Ranking: 12; Week 1 Result: 19-16 loss at Wyoming
12. Villanova (1-0, 0-0 CAA), 585, Previous Ranking: 16; Week 1 Result: 47-3 win at Lehigh
13. Southeastern Louisiana (1-0, 0-0 Southland), 584, Previous Ranking: 15; Week 1 Result: 49-28 win at North Alabama
14. UC Davis (1-0, 0-0 Big Sky), 576, Previous Ranking: 23; Week 1 Result: 19-17 win at Tulsa
15. ETSU (1-0, 0-0 Southern), 442, Previous Ranking: Not Ranked; Week 1 Result: 23-3 win at Vanderbilt
16. Jacksonville State (0-1, 0-0 AQ7), 427, Previous Ranking: 10; Week 1 Result: 31-0 loss to UAB
17. Austin Peay (1-0, 0-0 Ohio Valley), 417, Previous Ranking: 20; Week 1 Result: 30-20 win at Chattanooga
18. VMI (1-0, 0-0 Southern), 415, Previous Ranking: 17; Week 1 Result: 45-24 win over Davidson
19. Central Arkansas (0-1, 0-0 AQ7), 407, Previous Ranking: 14; Week 1 Result: 40-21 loss at Arkansas State
20. Monmouth (0-1, 0-0 Big South), 290, Previous Ranking: 13; Week 1 Result: 50-15 loss at Middle Tennessee
21. Northern Iowa (0-1, 0-0 Missouri Valley), 287, Previous Ranking: 21; Week 1 Result: 16-10 loss at Iowa State
22. Kennesaw State (1-0, 0-0 Big South), 208, Previous Ranking: 19; Week 1 Result: 35-25 win over Reinhardt
23. Missouri State (0-1, 0-0 Missouri Valley), 187, Previous Ranking: 24; Week 1 Result: 23-16 loss at Oklahoma State
24. Holy Cross (1-0, 0-0 Patriot), 160, Previous Ranking: Not Ranked; Week 1 Result: 38-28 win at UConn
25. Richmond (1-0, 0-0 CAA), 135, Previous Ranking: Not Ranked; Week 1 Result: 38-14 win over Howard
Dropped Out: Chattanooga (18), Nicholls (22) and North Carolina A&T (25)
Others Receiving Votes (schools listed on two or more ballots): Murray State 125, Chattanooga 72, Nicholls 61, Sacramento State 40, Samford 40, New Hampshire 36, Alabama A&M 34, Furman 20, Sacred Heart 17, Jackson State 14, Illinois State 10, Rhode Island 8, Stephen F. Austin 8, North Carolina Central 7
