Wofford, Furman finish in top 20 of FCS Polls

GREENVILLE, S.C. — Furman and Wofford’s football programs recorded Top 20 finishes in two Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) final polls, which were released today following Saturday’s national championship game.

Furman, which went 8-5 overall and tied for second in the Southern Conference with a 6-2 league mark under first-year and consensus SoCon Coach of the Year Clay Hendrix, finished 19th in the STATS FCS Poll and 20th in the FCS Coaches Poll.

A sixth place pick in a pair of SoCon preseason polls and unranked nationally, Furman dropped its first three games before putting together a seven-game winning streak, its longest since 1999, and cracking the Top 25 on Oct. 30 following a 28-6 road win over Western Carolina.  The Paladins remained in the Top 25 for the remainder of the season, rising to their final rankings on the strength of a 28-27 first round playoff victory over Elon on No. 25.

The twin rankings represented the first Top 25 finish by Furman since 2013, when the Paladins finished 22nd in the Sports Network Poll (STATS FCS’s predecessor) and 21st in the FCS Coaches Poll.

Furman has recorded 19 final Top 25 poll season finishes since the SoCon was reclassified to FCS (formerly I-AA) in 1982 — more than twice as many as any other current SoCon member school.

STATS FCS Poll – Final (Jan. 8, 2018)
Rank, Team (Record), Points, Previous
1    North Dakota State (14-1)    3950    4
2    James Madison (14-1)    3788    1
3    South Dakota State (11-3)    3512    6
4    Sam Houston State (12-2)    3508    5
5    Weber State (11-3)    3045    11
6    WOFFORD (10-3)    2964    8
7    North Carolina A&T (12-0)    2830    7
8    Kennesaw State (12-2)    2748    18
9    Jacksonville State (10-2)    2700    2
10    Central Arkansas (10-2)    2560    3
11    Stony Brook (10-3)    2155    10
12    New Hampshire (9-5)    2141    21
13    Western Illinois (8-4)    1857    9
14    Southern Utah (9-3)    1831    12
15    South Dakota (8-5)    1765    16
16    Grambling State (11-2)    1451    13
17    UNI (8-5)    1365    20
18    Samford (8-4)    1302    14
19    FURMAN (8-5)    1297    22
20    Elon (8-4)    1117    15
21    Eastern Washington (7-4)    693    17
22    McNeese (9-2)    675    19
23    San Diego (10-3)    552    NR
24    Yale (9-1)    299    24
25    Nicholls (8-4)    293    NR

FCS Coaches Poll – Final (Jan. 8, 2018)
Rank, Team (First-Place Votes), Points, Previous, 2017 Record           
1    North Dakota State (24)    646    4    14-1
2    James Madison (1)    623    1    14-1
3    Sam Houston State    559    5    12-2
4    South Dakota State    557    6    11-3
5    Weber State    503    8    11-3
6    North Carolina A&T (1)    476    7    12-0
7    WOFFORD    445    9    10-3
8    Central Arkansas    431    3    10-2
9    Kennesaw State    427    16    12-2
10    Jacksonville State    423    2    10-2
11    Stony Brook    375    11    10-3
12    Western Illinois    356    10    8-4
13    Southern Utah    329    13    9-3
14    Grambling State    294    12    11-2
15    New Hampshire    279    20    9-5
16    South Dakota    239    18    8-5
17    Samford    222    14    8-4
18    McNeese    213    15    9-2
19    Northern Iowa    182    21    8-5
20    FURMAN    173    25    8-5
21    Elon    162    17    8-4
22    Eastern Washington    122    19    7-4
23    Nicholls    110    22    8-4
24    Yale    102    24    9-1
25    San Diego     72    RV    10-3

Furman and Wofford athletics contributed to the writing of this article.