NC A&T, which tied a school record Saturday with its eighth straight win to start the season, has jumped to No. 7 in the nation among FCS schools, according to the STATS FCS Top 25 poll released Monday.
It’s the Bulldogs’ highest ranking since getting up to No. 5 in 1993 and the fifth time in school history that they have been included among the nation’s top 10.
A&T improved to 8-0 on the season with a come-from-behind 24-20 victory against MEAC rival Bethune-Cookman on Saturday. The Bulldogs were ranked 12th in last week’s poll.
“It looks like we are starting to get to get recognition and some respect from people from across the country and that’s good because it means we’ve come a long way from when we first started here,” coach Rod Broadway told NCATAggies.com. “I don’t know if a ranking ever helped anyone win a ballgame, but it is nice to see people are recognizing the hard work we’re putting in.”
Joining A&T in this week’s poll is Elon at No. 10 and Western Carolina at No. 19. The Phoenix (6-1) jumped four spots after a 35-34 win against Rhode Island to earn their first top 10 standing since 2010. The Catamounts (6-2) dropped one spot despite beating VMI 26-7.
NC Central, which was ranked 25th last week, dropped out of the rankings after losing to Norfolk State.
Defending national champion James Madison was the unanimous pick at No. 1 in this week’s poll. North Dakota State, Jacksonville State, Central Arkansas and Sam Houston State rounds out the top five.
