| Rank | Team | Comments | Prior |
| 1 |  | Jacksonville State | The Gamecocks (4-1) extend their school record streak of consecutive games with at least 400 yards to 16. | 1 |
| 2 |  | North Dakota State | The Bison (3-1) beat South Dakota State, 28-7, in the MVFC opener for both teams. Northern Iowa is next. | 2 |
| 3 |  | Coastal Carolina | The Chanticleers (5-0) claim their 100th victory as a program with an easy 55-0 triumph over Alabama A&M. | 3 |
| 4 |  | James Madison | The Dukes can score in a hurry with Vad Lee as quarterback. They are 5-0 for the first time in program history. | 4 |
| 5 |  | Illinois State | Illinois State (3-1) solidified its top five ranking with a 21-13 triumph over Northern Iowa. Marshaun Coprich rushes for 169. | 5 |
| 6 |  | Chattanooga | The Mocs (3-1) enjoy a bye before getting back to business next week against Furman. | 9 |
| 7 |  | Northern Iowa | UNI (2-2) have played Iowa State and two top 10 FCS schools. Oh, and they visit Fargo, N.D. next Saturday. | 7 |
| 8 |  | Eastern Washington | The Eagles (2-2) enjoy a bye week. They host Cal Poly next weekend and have a shot to put together a win streak. | 8 |
| 9 |  | Sam Houston State | Everyone is gunning for the Bearkats (2-2), but they have been inconsistent. Two punt returns key comeback win over SFA. | 6 |
| 10 |  | Youngstown State | The Penguins (3-1) reach the top 10 with a 31-3 rout of South Dakota, but Illinois State visits next week. | 12 |
| 11 |  | South Dakota State | South Dakota State (3-1) had no answers for North Dakota State, falling behind 21-0 at halftime. | 11 |
| 12 |  | Montana | The Grizzlies (3-2) take care of business against UC Davis. The schedule is now set up for a nice October run. | 17 |
| 13 |  | Fordham | The Rams (4-1) cruise past Lafayette, 35-7. A visit to Penn, which stunned Villanova last week, is next on the schedule. | 13 |
| 14 |  | Montana State | Montana State (2-2) falls to Northern Arizona, 49-41, in a typical high scoring Big Sky contest. | 10 |
| 15 |  | Villanova | The Wildcats (2-2) were idle. William & Mary is up next as the 'Cats will have to make do without injured QB John Robertson. | 16 |
| 16 |  | Liberty | Liberty (3-2) captures a 41-33 victory over FBS Sun Belt member Georgia State. A visit to Gardner-Webb is next. | 21 |
| 17 |  | Eastern Kentucky | The Colonels (2-2) gave Kentucky all it could handle before falling in overtime, 34-27. | 18 |
| 18 |  | McNeese State | The Cowboys (4-0) remain unbeaten with an easy 37-7 win over Nicholls State. Huge game with SE Louisiana awaits. | 20 |
| 19 |  | Samford | Samford (2-2) enjoyed a bye week. The Bulldogs visit VMI next weekend. | 19 |
| 20 |  | Indiana State | The Sycamores (3-1) top Missoui State, 56-28. There are six MVFC schools in the CSM Top 20. | 23 |
| 21 |  | Harvard | Harvard (3-0) has an easy time with Georgetown on Friday night, 45-0. | 22 |
| 22 |  | New Hampshire | The Wildcats (3-2) cruise past Elon, 37-14. After a bye week next Saturday, they visit William & Mary on Oct. 17. | 25 |
| 23 |  | North Dakota | North Dakota (4-1) gives Portland State its first loss with a physical 19-17 Big Sky triumph. | NR |
| 24 |  | Southeastern Louisiana | SE Louisiana (3-1) avoids the upset to Lamar with a 30-27 victory on Thursday night. Lamar had already beaten SHSU. | NR |
| 25 |  | Portland State | Portland State (3-1) falls to North Dakota for its first loss. It takes a trip to North Texas next weekend. | 14 |
