FARGO, N.D. - North Dakota State was the unanimous No. 1 team in the final STATS FCS Top 25 poll announced Monday, Jan. 7, completing a 2018 season in which NDSU finished 15-0 and went wire-to-wire in the top spot.
The Bison collected all 156 first-place votes in the final national media poll after beating Eastern Washington 38-24 to become the fifth unbeaten and untied national champion in the 41-year history of the FCS playoffs. It was NDSU's seventh national title in eight seasons.
Eastern Washington was second followed by the two national semifinalists South Dakota State in third and Maine in fourth. Kennesaw State was fifth followed by Weber State, UC Davis, Colgate, James Madison and Jacksonville State rounding out the top 10.
A national panel of sports information and media relations directors, broadcasters, writers and other dignitaries selected the STATS FCS Top 25 this season. A first-place vote was worth 25 points, a second-place vote 24 points, all the way down to one point for a 25th-place vote.
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| Final 2018 STATS FCS Top 25 |
|
Team (First-Place Votes) |
W-L |
Pts |
Prev |
| 1. |
North Dakota State (156) |
15-0 |
3,900 |
1 |
| 2. |
Eastern Washington |
12-3 |
3,741 |
4 |
| 3. |
South Dakota State |
10-3 |
3,563 |
3 |
| 4. |
Maine |
10-4 |
3,299 |
12 |
| 5. |
Kennesaw State |
11-2 |
3,224 |
2 |
| 6. |
Weber State |
10-3 |
3,096 |
3 |
| 7. |
UC Davis |
10-3 |
2,939 |
7 |
| 8. |
Colgate |
10-2 |
2,836 |
9 |
| 9. |
James Madison |
9-4 |
2,532 |
6 |
| 10. |
Jacksonville State |
9-4 |
2,360 |
8 |
| 11. |
Princeton |
10-0 |
2,189 |
10 |
| 12. |
North Carolina A&T |
10-2 |
2,136 |
11 |
| 13. |
Wofford |
9-4 |
2,135 |
13 |
| 14. |
Nicholls State |
9-4 |
1,951 |
14 |
| 15. |
Southeast Missouri State |
9-4 |
1,587 |
20 |
| 16. |
Stony Brook |
7-5 |
1,163 |
15 |
| 17. |
Montana State |
8-5 |
1,157 |
23 |
| 18. |
Dartmouth |
9-1 |
981 |
18 |
| 19. |
Elon |
6-5 |
909 |
17 |
| 20. |
Towson |
7-5 |
803 |
16 |
| 21. |
Duquesne |
9-4 |
699 |
NR |
| 22. |
East Tennessee State |
8-4 |
686 |
22 |
| 23. |
Northern Iowa |
7-6 |
676 |
NR |
| 24. |
Delaware |
7-5 |
670 |
21 |
| 25. |
San Diego |
9-3 |
635 |
19 |
Others receiving votes: Indiana State 239, Incarnate Word 187, Alcorn State 147, Lamar 133, Furman 43, Monmouth 25, Idaho State 15, Illinois State 14, McNeese State 14, Eastern Kentucky 5, Samford 4, Montana 2, Rhode Island 2, Stetson 2, Southern 1.
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