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See video of Missouri State’s exciting win over Illinois State in the video above.
SPRINGFIELD – For the first time since the 2014 season, Missouri State boasts a Top 25 football program with the Bears (3-1) checking in at No. 24 in Monday’s STATS Division I FCS Top 25 poll.
Missouri State, which is one of five teams from the Missouri Valley Football Conference in this week’s rankings, has defeated back-to-back ranked foes with recent home wins over No. 20 Northern Arizona and this week’s win over No. 9 Illinois State.
The Bears were last ranked on Sept. 22 (No. 24) and Sept. 29 (No. 23) in the FCS Coaches Poll. MSU had not been ranked in the STATS (formerly The Sports Network) poll since 1996, which is also the last time the Bears were ranked in the month of October.
Other MVFC teams ranked in this week’s poll are: No. 1 North Dakota State, No. 3 South Dakota State, No. 15 Illinois State, and No. 22 Northern Iowa. South Dakota and Western Illinois are among the other programs receiving votes in this week’s STATS poll.
In the other weekly FCS poll, coordinated by the AFCA, Missouri State remains unranked but is receiving votes.
Coach Dave Steckel’s troops take to the road the next two weeks to take on South Dakota (2-2, 1-0 MVFC) this Saturday in Vermillion, before a trip to Terre Haute, Ind., on Oct. 13 against Indiana State. The Bears return to Robert W. Plaster Stadium for a homecoming clash with Western Illinois on Oct. 20 at 2 p.m.
The STATS FCS Top 25 for Oct. 1
1. North Dakota State (4-0), 3,947 points
2. James Madison (4-1), 3,794
3. South Dakota State (2-1), 3,433
4. Kennesaw State (4-1), 3,432
5. Eastern Washington (4-1), 3,351
6. Weber State (3-1), 3,124
7. Wofford (3-1), 3,002
8. Jacksonville State (3-1), 2,692
9. McNeese (4-1), 2,578
10. Elon (3-1), 2,483
11. North Carolina A&T (4-1), 2,253
12. Nicholls (3-2), 1,971
13. Stony Brook (4-1), 1,969
14. Montana (4-1), 1,731
15. Illinois State (3-1), 1,700
16. UC Davis (3-1), 1,420
17. Sam Houston State (2-2), 1,291
18. Rhode Island (3-1), 1,012
19. Villanova (3-2), 990
20. Central Arkansas (2-2), 972
21. Colgate (4-0), 723
22. Northern Iowa (2-2), 672
23. Towson (3-1), 586
24. Missouri State (3-1), 566
25. Maine (2-2), 409
Others Receiving Votes: Chattanooga 254, East Tennessee State 224, Princeton 187, South Dakota 162, Western Illinois 80, Montana State 70, North Dakota 65, Idaho State 54, Yale 46, Dartmouth 27, Sacramento State 23, Tennessee State 21, Prairie View A&M 14, Delaware 9, Harvard 7, Mercer 4, Howard 2
