FCS Top 25 Week 10: Lamar Climbs Six Spots, SFA Drops Seven

Lamar made the biggest jump in our Week 10 FCS Top 25. The Cardinals beat then-No. 2 Stephen F. Austin 45-28 on Saturday in Beaumont, Texas, and rose six spots to No. 6. The Lumberjacks fell seven spots to No. 9.

Tarleton State stayed No. 1 after a 40-27 home win over Abilene Christian. The Texans (10-0) received 19 of 22 first-place votes, up from 13 a week ago, and 547 of a possible 550 points. Montana State moved up one spot to No. 2 and took the other three first-place votes.

How Lamar's win over SFA moved both teams

Lamar led 17-7 at halftime and never trailed. Stephen F. Austin pulled within 24-21 and 31-28 in the second half, but the Cardinals answered both times. Blake Thomas caught a 62-yard touchdown pass with 4:43 left to make it 38-28, and Parker Jenkins added his third rushing touchdown 1:39 later.

Aiden McCown threw for 307 yards and three touchdowns. Jenkins carried 30 times for 138 yards. A crowd of 11,126 watched at Provost Umphrey Stadium. For SFA, Gavin Rutherford threw for 315 yards and two touchdowns with two interceptions, and Clayton Wayland caught nine passes for 173 yards and two scores, including a 79-yarder.

The voters moved Lamar from 315 points to 433. SFA dropped from 508 points to 385 and lost the three first-place votes it had in Week 9. We previewed the matchup in Stephen F. Austin at Lamar: Southland lead at stake.

Both teams are now 6-1 in Southland play, and Lamar owns the head-to-head win. Lamar clinches the Southland's automatic bid if it beats East Texas A&M on Saturday and SFA loses at UT Rio Grande Valley, according to the NCAA.com automatic-bid tracker.

Montana State, South Dakota State and Youngstown State move up

Montana State needed three overtimes to win 28-26 at Idaho State, but the Bobcats still climbed from No. 3 to No. 2 with 515 points. South Dakota State moved from No. 4 to No. 3 after a 41-15 win at Northern Iowa.

Youngstown State rose one spot to No. 4 after a 62-35 win at Murray State. Beau Brungard completed 31 of 34 passes for 423 yards and four touchdowns. Northern Arizona moved up to No. 5 after winning 38-10 at Cal Poly.

South Dakota was idle and stayed at No. 7. Austin Peay held at No. 8 after beating Eastern Kentucky 55-31.

Illinois State slides five spots after loss at North Dakota

Illinois State fell from No. 11 to No. 16 after a 49-21 loss at North Dakota. The game was tied 14-14 after one quarter. North Dakota then scored the next 28 points, and Jerry Kaminski finished with 293 passing yards and five touchdown passes.

North Dakota still slipped one spot to No. 11, from 331 points to 328. Tennessee Tech also moved down one spot, to No. 10, after a 66-14 win over VMI. Lamar's jump pushed both teams back a place.

Illinois State goes to Youngstown State on Saturday with the Missouri Valley lead on the line for the Penguins.

Mercer, Harvard, Lehigh and Incarnate Word climb

Mercer moved from No. 15 to No. 13 after a 14-7 overtime win at Chattanooga. Brayden Smith caught both of JP Pickles' touchdown passes, including the 7-yard winner in overtime. Montana moved up one spot to No. 12 after a 57-24 win over Portland State, and Campbell rose to No. 15 after beating Stony Brook 48-35.

Harvard climbed three spots to No. 17 after a 37-0 win over Columbia. Lehigh also gained three, rising to No. 19 after a 33-7 win over Colgate. Incarnate Word made the second-biggest jump of the week, five spots to No. 20, after a 35-16 win at Southeastern Louisiana.

Monmouth stayed at No. 14 after a 21-17 win over North Carolina A&T. Weber State was idle and held at No. 18. Abilene Christian stayed at No. 21 after its loss at Tarleton State. Idaho State moved up one spot to No. 22 despite the triple-overtime loss to Montana State.

Three teams in, three teams out

South Carolina State entered at No. 23 after a 35-28 win at Howard on Friday. Idaho came in at No. 24 after beating Eastern Washington 62-31, and Princeton entered at No. 25 after a 21-14 win over Dartmouth.

East Tennessee State dropped out from No. 17 after a 37-35 home loss to Samford. UAlbany fell out from No. 19 after a 31-7 loss at Bryant, and Chattanooga dropped out from No. 24 after the overtime loss to Mercer. All three still received votes. UAlbany led the teams outside the Top 25 with 26 points, and ETSU had 24.

What's next for the FCS Top 25

Several ranked teams can clinch automatic bids Saturday, including Tarleton State, Tennessee Tech, Youngstown State and Lamar. The FCS playoff field is announced Nov. 22. As far as Redshirt Sports knows, the selection committee doesn't use our poll, but it can be a good indicator of how teams are viewed. Our FCS ratings page ranks every team by strength of record and schedule, using only games between two FCS teams.