| Rank | Team | Comments | Prior | |
| 1 |  | James Madison | Dukes (4-0) beat Maine 28-10. They will look to get the offense rolling again next week at Delaware. | 1 |
| 2 |  | North Dakota State | Bison (3-0) shutout Robert Morris in their final non-conference game. MVFC play starts now with Missouri State visiting. | 2 |
| 3 |  | South Dakota State | SDSU (3-0) took this week off before Valley play. Good idea. They travel to Youngstown State right out of the gate. | 3 |
| 4 |  | Sam Houston State | Bearkats (3-0) must have been tired of hearing about Nicholls. Should be tougher at Central Arkansas. | 4 |
| 5 |  | Jacksonville State | Gamecocks (2-1) put out Liberty's Flames. Time to crank up OVC action at Tennessee Tech. | 7 |
| 6 |  | Western Illinois | WIU (3-0) destroyed FBS Coastal Carolina. The Road Warriors finally come home for the Neilson Bowl with South Dakota. | 11 |
| 7 |  | South Dakota | Coyotes (3-0) sat at home this week, thinking of ways to beat their coach's former team at Western Illinois next week. | 12 |
| 8 |  | Wofford | Wofford (3-0) sneeked by Gardner-Webb. Three wins by a total of five points. Lucky or clutch? At Presbyterian next. | 8 |
| 9 |  | Youngstown State | Penguins (2-1) took the week off in preparation for next week's showdown with the Jackrabbits. | 9 |
| 10 |  | New Hampshire | Wildcats (3-1) followed up their 'WHAT?' moment last week witha win over URI. Their final non-con vs. Bryant is next. | 13 |
| 11 |  | Citadel | Bulldogs (3-0) rested this week, but have a huge SoCon roadie at Samford next. | 14 |
| 12 |  | Liberty | Liberty (3-1) didn't look like an FBS transitioner against JSU. Would suspect St. Francis will feel the burn next week. | 5 |
| 13 |  | Central Arkansas | Bears (2-1) couldn't have liked how SHSU treated Nicholls. Now they get to host the Bearkat offensive attack. | 16 |
| 14 |  | Villanova | Nova (2-2) knows road games in the CAA are tough, Albany reminded them. So expect even more focus at Towson. | 6 |
| 15 |  | Eastern Washington | EWU (2-2) look like the team that scored at will in recent years. Can the defense contain Sacramento State who just scored 54? | 17 |
| 16 |  | Richmond | Spiders (2-2) knew Elon was off to a good start. Elon rolled to victory. Richmond gets a week to think about losing. | 10 |
| 17 |  | Albany | Danes (3-1) win their CAA opener over Villanova. Now they play an equally hot Elon on the road. | 23 |
| 18 |  | UT-Martin | Skyhawks (3-1) thump Tennessee State. They might be the team to challenge JSU. They go to Austin Peay next weekend. | 24 |
| 19 |  | Illinois State | Illinois State (3-0) beat Missouri State, getting a jump in the MVFC race. Next week they host the other ISU, from Indiana. | 22 |
| 20 |  | North Carolina A&T | Aggies (4-0) beat Morgan State by 32. Impressive? No. They allowed the Bears first 17 points all season. At SCSU next. | 21 |
| 21 |  | Tennessee State | Tigers (3-1) lost their first game vs. UT-Martin. Home game against Eastern Illinois is bigger than earlier thought. | 15 |
| 22 |  | Weber State | Wildcats (3-1) have taken three opponents to the woodshed (and lost to California). Can they do it at Montana State? | NR |
| 23 |  | Stony Brook | Stony Brook (3-1) lost to USF to start the season, but have rattled off three straight since. They travel to W&M next week. | NR |
| 24 |  | Monmouth | Monmouth (3-1) an unlikely candidate for Big South champion, but they have the best record of the bunch. At Bucknell next. | NR |
| 25 |  | McNeese | Cowboys (3-1) have won three in a row, but no real substance to their opponents. At SFA next...life in the Southland. | NR |
