| Rank | Team | Comments | Prior |
| 1 |  | Jacksonville State | The Gamecocks (6-1) take care of winless Austin Peay, 27-7. JSU led 27-0 at halftime. It has showdown with EKU next. | 1 |
| 2 |  | Coastal Carolina | The Chanticleers (7-0) survive Monmouth's upset bid, 23-20 when Ryan Granger boots a 30-yard FG as time expires. | 2 |
| 3 |  | Illinois State | Illinois State (6-1) break a 21-21 halftime tie to win a key MVFC contest against Western Illinois, 48-28. | 4 |
| 4 |  | Eastern Washington | EWU (5-2) tops UNC, 43-41 on Jordan Dascalo's 44-yard FG. Cooper Kupp sets school mark with 20 catches and 275 yds. | 6 |
| 5 |  | Chattanooga | The Mocs (6-1) survive Wofford's upset bid as Henrique Ribeiro hits 38-yard field goal as time expires. | 5 |
| 6 |  | Richmond | The Spiders (6-1) spoil JMU's "College GameDay" experience with a wild 59-49 win. Their 720 yards total offense is a school record. | 15 |
| 7 |  | Sam Houston State | The Bearkats (5-2) top Nicholls State for their fifth straight victory. The big one at McNeese State is two weeks away. | 7 |
| 8 |  | North Dakota State | The Bison (5-2) top Indiana State, 28-14 for a big MVFC win, but NDSU must go rest of season without QB Carson Wentz. | 8 |
| 9 |  | James Madison | The Dukes (7-1) had to figure a 49-point effort would be enough to beat Richmond. They were wrong. | 3 |
| 10 |  | Montana | The Grizzlies (4-3) top North Dakota 42-16. A huge conference game at Portland State awaits next week. | 10 |
| 11 |  | Fordham | The Rams (7-1) are winning, beating Lehigh 59-42 after trailing 21-17 at halftime, but they're not as dominant as in 2014. | 11 |
| 12 |  | Portland State | Portland State (6-1) beats a pesky Cal Poly, 38-35. Montana comes to town next weekend. | 12 |
| 13 |  | Eastern Kentucky | The Colonels (5-2) look impressive in beating Tennessee State, 45-21, but it gets tougher with a trip to No. 1 JSU. | 13 |
| 14 |  | Harvard | Harvard (6-0) just keeps rolling along in the Ivy League. This week, they took care of Princeton, 42-7. | 14 |
| 15 |  | McNeese State | The Cowboys (7-0), Coastal Carolina and Harvard are the only remaining unbeatens in the CSM Top 25. | 20 |
| 16 |  | South Dakota State | South Dakota State (5-2) gets shut down by Northern Iowa's defense, 10-7. | 9 |
| 17 |  | Montana State | The Bobcats (4-3) beat nonconference foe East Tennessee State, but the schedule gets tougher now. | 16 |
| 18 |  | William & Mary | The Tribe (5-2) beat Hampton, 40-7. They host James Madison next Saturday in a huge CAA contest. | 22 |
| 19 |  | Western Illinois | The Leathernecks (4-3) lose to Illinois State, 48-28. They'll face an angry Youngstown State next Saturday. | 17 |
| 20 |  | Northern Iowa | UNI (3-4) won a huge game against SD State. Left are: South Dakota, Indiana State, Missouri St. and Southern Illinois. | 23 |
| 21 |  | Charleston Southern | The Buccaneers (6-1) wallop Gardner-Webb, 34-0. Coastal Carolina is next in a huge contest. | 24 |
| 22 |  | Indiana State | The Sycamores (4-3) lose to North Dakota State, 28-14, and miss a real chance to bolster their playoff hopes. | 19 |
| 23 |  | North Carolina A&T | The Aggies (6-1) show Howard they're the strength of MEAC this season with a 65-14 victory. | 25 |
| 24 |  | Southeastern Louisiana | The Lions (4-3) top Houston Baptist, 22-7. If they beat Central Arkansas on Saturday, SE Louisiana could run the table. | NR |
| 25 |  | Liberty | There are several teams who could lay claim to this spot. For now, we'll give it to the Flames (4-4). | NR |
