In the FCS Huddle: Sacred Heart ranked for first time

Philadelphia, PA (SportsNetwork.com) – Those who downplay national rankings because the games on the field ultimately decide a season should consider North Dakota State.

The Bison are thrilled to have the No. 1 ranking in the FCS and be able to defend it every week.

Better yet, consider Sacred Heart. The first-place team in the Northeast Conference race moved into The Sports Network FCS Top 25 for the first time in program history on Monday, turning an important win over Duquesne into the No. 24 national ranking.

“Being nationally ranked for the first time is a testament to the hard work and dedication of our student-athletes,” coach Mark Nofri said. “There efforts over the past year-and-a-half have put us in position to be recognized on the national level, and I could not be prouder of them, or happier for the program and Sacred Heart University.”

Located in Fairfield, Connecticut, Sacred Heart is a small school whose athletic director – former major league player and manager Bobby Valentine – is more well-known than the football coach.

But Nofri has accomplished a lot in 2 1/2 seasons. After he debuted with a 2-9 record in 2012, his program posted an eight-win improvement, earned a share of the NEC title and participated in the FCS playoffs for the first time a year ago.

On Saturday, the Pioneers gained sole possession of first place by scoring the final 16 points of a 23-20 road win over Duquesne, the other 2013 NEC co-champ. Quarterback RJ Noel’s 12-yard touchdown pass to Tyler Dube with 23 seconds remaining provided the winning margin.

The Pioneers (6-1, 2-0 NEC) have lost only to a one-loss Bucknell squad, opening the season with wins over 2013 Pioneer Football League co-champ Marist and 2013 Patriot League champ Lafayette, and then beating a CAA Football team for the first time with a 10-7 victory at then-No. 24 Delaware.

The Noel-Dube connection has worked for 10 touchdowns this season and running back Keshaudas Spence, last year’s NEC offensive player of the year, has rushed for nearly 500 yards. The defense has surrendered only 15.9 points per game and has 25 sacks, led by linebacker James Rentz’s eight.

Top-ranked North Dakota State knows a thing or two about terrific defense. The Bison doubled up Indiana State, 34-17, on Saturday, extending their FCS-record winning streak to 31 games and beating the last team to defeat them more than two years ago.

The three-time reigning national champions out of the Missouri Valley Football Conference strengthened their hold on No. 1 by securing all but two of the 152 first-place votes in the poll.

All of the top 12 teams either won games or were idle on Saturday. The only change among them was Illinois State moving up one spot to No. 9 over Montana State.

After North Dakota State, the rest of the Top 10 was No. 2 Eastern Washington (7-1), which gained the other two first-place votes; No. 3 New Hampshire (5-1); No. 4 Coastal Carolina (7-0); No. 5 Villanova (6-1); No. 6 Jacksonville State (5-1); No. 7 Montana (5-2); No. 8 Southeastern Louisiana (6-2); No. 9 Illinois State (6-0); and No. 10 Montana State (6-2).

Next up were No. 11 McNeese State (4-2), No. 12 Fordham (6-1), No. 13 South Dakota State (5-2), No. 14 Bethune-Cookman (6-1), No. 15 Chattanooga (4-3), No. 16 Richmond (5-2), No. 17 Youngstown State (5-2), No. 18 William & Mary (4-3), No. 19 Eastern Kentucky (6-1) and No. 20 Southern Illinois (5-3).

Rounding out the Top 25 were No. 21 Harvard (5-0), No. 22 Indiana State (4-3), No. 23 Northern Iowa (3-4), No. 24 Sacred Heart and No. 25 Albany (5-2), which returned to the poll after a two-week absence.

Charleston Southern and Sam Houston State fell out of the Top 25 after both suffered losses on Saturday.

An impressive 11 conferences were represented in the rankings, with the Missouri Valley leading with seven representatives followed by the CAA’s five.

A national panel of sports information and media relations directors, broadcasters, writers and other dignitaries select the Top 25. In the voting, a first-place vote is worth 25 points, a second-place vote 24 points, all the way down to one point for a 25th-place vote.

During the regular season, the Top 25 will be released every Monday afternoon, except for the final weekend of the regular season, when it will be released Sunday morning, Nov. 23, prior to the selection of the 24-team FCS playoff field.

The Sports Network will release a final Top 25 following the FCS championship game, which will be held Jan. 10 in Frisco, Texas.

Categorized in: NCAA Football