North Dakota State Unanimous No. 1 in Final FCS Polls

FARGO, N.D. - National champion North Dakota State is the unanimous No. 1 team in the Football Championship Subdivision according to the final polls for the 2021 season announced Monday, Jan. 10.

North Dakota State earned all 50 first-place votes in the Stats Perform FCS Top 25 media poll and all 24 first-place votes in the American Football Coaches Association FCS Coaches Poll.

The Bison (14-1) routed Montana State 38-10 in the NCAA Division I Football Championship Game for NDSU's ninth FCS title in 11 seasons. The Bobcats, who entered the FCS playoffs as the No. 8 seed, finished 12-3 overall and were second in both polls.

National semifinalist James Madison was picked third in both polls. Quarterfinalist Sam Houston was fourth in the coaches poll and fifth in the media poll, and semifinalist South Dakota State was fourth in the media poll and fifth in the coaches poll.

The Missouri Valley Football Conference had six teams in both of the polls.

Final 2021 Stats Perform FCS Top 25

	Team (First-Place Votes)	W-L	Pts	Prev
1.	North Dakota St. (50)	14-1	1250	3
2.	Montana St.	12-3	1173	7
3.	James Madison	12-2	1165	2
4.	South Dakota St.	11-4	1051	11
5.	Sam Houston	11-1	1046	1
6.	Montana	10-3	1008	5
7.	Eastern Washington	10-3	924	4
8.	Villanova	10-3	919	6
9.	East Tennessee St.	11-2	879	9
10.	Sacramento St.	9-3	745	8
11.	Kennesaw St.	11-2	740	10
12.	Incarnate Word	10-3	682	13
13.	Tennessee-Martin	10-3	654	16
14.	Missouri St.	8-4	531	12
15.	Southeastern Louisiana	9-4	522	18
16.	Southern Illinois	8-5	504	21
17.	UC Davis	8-4	439	14
18.	South Dakota	7-5	326	17
19.	Holy Cross	10-3	319	24
20.	Dartmouth	9-1	281	19
21.	Stephen F. Austin	8-4	268	20
22.	Jackson St.	11-2	259	15
23.	Northern Iowa	6-6	132	NR
24.	Princeton	9-1	116	23
25.	Florida A&M	9-3	114	22

Dropped out: Mercer (25)
Others receiving votes: Mercer 76, South Carolina St. 35, Rhode Island 23, Sacred Heart 23, Eastern Kentucky 15, Davidson 12, Harvard 8.

Final 2021 AFCA FCS Coaches Poll

	Team (First-Place Votes)	W-L	Pts	Prev
1.	North Dakota St. (24)	14-1	600	3
2.	Montana St.	12-3	571	9
3.	James Madison	12-2	548	2
4.	Sam Houston	11-1	520	1
5.	South Dakota St.	11-4	471	11
6.	Montana	10-3	470	5
7.	East Tennessee St.	11-2	438	8
8.	Villanova	10-3	435	7
9.	Eastern Washington	10-3	416	6
10.	Kennesaw St.	11-2	399	4
11.	Sacramento St.	9-3	358	12
12.	Tennessee-Martin	10-3	307	13
13.	Incarnate Word	10-3	297	15
14.	Missouri St.	8-4	276	10
15.	Southeastern Louisiana	9-4	248	17
16.	UC Davis	8-4	205	16
17.	Southern Illinois	8-5	203	23
18.	Stephen F. Austin	8-4	188	19
19.	Jackson St.	11-2	136	14
20.	South Dakota	7-5	133	T20
21.	Princeton	9-1	130	18
22.	Holy Cross	10-3	117	24
23.	Dartmouth	9-1	89	T20
24.	Florida A&M	9-3	88	22
25.	Northern Iowa	6-6	62	25

Dropped out: None
Others receiving votes: Davidson 20, Sacred Heart 18, South Carolina St. 17, Eastern Kentucky 13, Mercer 9, Monmouth 6, Chattanooga 5, Harvard 4, Columbia 1, Elon 1, Rhode Island 1.

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