MISSOULA — Montana State held its No. 2 ranking in the Stats Perform FCS Top 25 Poll on Monday, while Montana rose one spot to No. 8.
The Bobcats, who were idle last week after starting the season 8-0 (4-0 Big Sky Conference), received 13 first-place votes and 1,350 total points. Top-ranked North Dakota State received 43 first-place votes and 1,387 points.
The Grizzlies, who shut out Northern Colorado for the third consecutive time in their 24-0 win on Saturday, climbed from ninth to eighth in the rankings. Montana (6-2 overall, 3-1 Big Sky) moved up a spot thanks to North Dakota tumbling from seventh to 15th after a 41-40 overtime loss to Youngstown State.
Following NDSU and MSU in the poll are No. 3 South Dakota State, No. 4 UC Davis and No. 5 South Dakota. The two-time reigning national champion Jackrabbits defeated then-No. 4 South Dakota 20-17 in overtime last week. Davis was idle but flipped places with the Coyotes in the poll.
Idaho is the only other Big Sky Conference team in the top 25. The Vandals are 10th after notching a 38-28 win over Eastern Washington last week. Northern Arizona received votes.
