Southern Illinois ends regular season at No. 1

Philadelphia, PA (Sports Network) - Southern Illinois closed out the regular season with a 42-24 non-conference victory at Southeast Missouri and that allowed the Salukis to remain in the top spot of The Sports Network FCS Top-25 poll.

SIU (10-1) received 36 of 94 first-place votes to hold off No. 2 Villanova by 23 points, 2,259 to 2,236.

The Wildcats (10-1) defeated Delaware, 30-12, at home in Colonial Athletic Association play to earn a share of the CAA title and the league's automatic bid to the playoffs, due to a victory over Richmond during the season.

Montana (11-0) remained third in the poll, following a 33-19 victory over previously-No. 23-ranked Montana State in Big Sky Conference action. The Grizzlies had 29 first-place votes and 2,088 points, as they finished the regular season as the only undefeated team in FCS.

Richmond (10-1) pulled out a 13-10 victory over William & Mary (9-2) at home and stayed in the No. 4 spot in the poll. William & Mary dropped one position to No. 6.

Appalachian State (9-2) jumped from sixth to fifth and received one first- place vote, after clinching the Southern Conference title outright with a 19-14 win over Western Carolina.

South Carolina State (10-1) remained at No. 7 with a 28-10 victory at home over North Carolina A&T in a MEAC game, while McNeese State (9-2) continued at No. 8 by beating Central Arkansas 21-17 in a home contest to clinch a share of the Southland Conference crown.

Elon (9-2) inched up one slot to No. 9 with a 27-7 decision on the road against Samford in SoCon play, while New Hampshire (9-2) moved back into the top-10 with a 27-24 comeback win at home against Maine to win the CAA North Division title.

South Dakota State (8-3) gained one place to No. 11 by defeating Western Illinois, 27-7, on the road in a Missouri Valley Conference encounter.

Stephen F. Austin (9-2) and Eastern Washington (8-3) captured significant wins on Saturday and were rewarded with big jumps in the poll.

SFA won a share of the Southland and the league's automatic playoff bid by edging Northwestern State, 19-10, and leaped from 15th to 12th. The Lumberjacks defeated McNeese State during the season to earn the playoff bid. EWU came from behind to beat Northern Arizona, 49-45, in a Big Sky road game and leaped from 18th to 13th.

Jacksonville State (8-3) spoiled Eastern Kentucky's hopes of winning the Ohio Valley Conference title with a 34-26 home win and the Gamecocks moved from 17th to 14th in the poll, but are not eligible for the playoffs.

Weber State (7-4) also made a significant climb in the poll, rising from 19th to 15th by defeating Cal Poly, 47-14, at home in non-conference action.

Completing the top-20 were Northern Iowa (7-4), Holy Cross (9-2), Prairie View (8-1), Eastern Illinois (8-3) and Colgate (9-2).

Northern Iowa dropped from ninth to 16th with a 22-20 loss in the final second to Illinois State in MVFC action, while Holy Cross fell from 13th to 17th with its 23-17 defeat at Bucknell in the Patriot League.

Prairie View clubbed Arkansas-Pine Bluff, 49-17, in SWAC action to rise from 20th to 18th, while Eastern Illinois plummeted from 14th to 19th with a stunning 21-10 loss to Tennessee State in the OVC. EIU still won the OVC title and automatic bid, however, when Jacksonville State beat Eastern Kentucky.

Colgate was idle.

Completing the poll were Penn, Liberty, Florida A&M, Lafayette and Texas State.

Penn (8-2) completed a perfect Ivy League season with a 34-0 win over Cornell at home to climb from 24th to 21st.

Liberty (8-3) had a chance to win the Big South Conference title outright and probably clinch a playoff berth with a win at Stony Brook, but the Flames lost 36-33 to share the crown with Stony Brook. That dropped Liberty from 16th to 22nd.

Florida A&M won the Florida Classic over Bethune-Cookman, 42-6, and returned to the poll at No. 23 after a one-week absence.

Lafayette skidded from 21st to No. 24 with its second consecutive loss, a 27-21 overtime setback at Lehigh in the nation's most-played rivalry. The defeat cost Lafayette a share of the Patriot League title and likely an at- large bid to the playoffs.

Texas State (7-4) beat Sam Houston State, 28-20, in Southland Conference play to return to the poll for the third time this season at No. 25.

Falling out of the poll were Montana State (23rd last week) and Delaware (25th last week).

The final poll of the season will be released on Dec. 21, following the Division I national football championship game on Dec. 18 in Chattanooga, TN.