After a 3-0 start to the season, the Montana Grizzlies are now the consensus No. 2 team in the nation this week, with UM slotting in second in both the AFCA FCS Coaches Poll and the Stats Perform FCS Top-25 for the first time this year.
The Griz moved up a spot to No. 2 in the Stat Perform media poll on Monday, tied with South Dakota State with 1,267 total points in the voting. However, UM received six first-place votes, one more than the Jackrabbits, to hold the advantage in second place.
Montana has been No. 2 in the coaches poll all season and held that spot Monday when this week’s poll was released. The Griz picked up four additional first-place votes for a total of five and now trail No. 1 North Dakota State by just 16 points in the voting.
The Griz were last ranked No. 2 in the nation in both polls back in 2010 when UM started the season at No. 2 and spent the first week at No. 1 before sliding to No. 6 after a loss at Cal Poly.
Montana will look to stay unbeaten this weekend, hosting Portland State on Homecoming, with kickoff set for 2 p.m. Saturday, with limited tickets remaining at GrizTix.com.
Stats Perform FCS Media Top 25 (Sept. 19)
1. North Dakota State (2-1, 0-0 Missouri Valley), 1,334 points (43 first-place votes)
Previous Ranking: 1; Week 3 Result: 31-28 loss at Arizona
2.(tie) Montana (3-0, 0-0 Big Sky), 1,267 (6)
Previous Ranking: 3; Week 3 Result: 49-14 win at Indiana State
2.(tie) South Dakota State (2-1, 0-0 Missouri Valley), 1,267 (5)
Previous Ranking: 2; Week 3 Result: 45-17 win over Butler
4.(tie) Montana State (2-1, 0-0 Big Sky), 1,108
Previous Ranking: 4; Week 3 Result: 68-28 loss at Oregon State
4.(tie) UIW (3-0, 0-0 Southland), 1,108
Previous Ranking: 6; Week 3 Result: 31-14 win at Prairie View A&M
6. Missouri State (2-1, 0-0 Missouri Valley), 1,091
Previous Ranking: 5; Week 3 Result: 38-27 loss at Arkansas
7. Sacramento State (2-0, 0-0 Big Sky), 995
Previous Ranking: 8; Week 3 Result: 37-21 win at Northern Iowa
8. Delaware (3-0, 1-0 CAA), 963
Previous Ranking: 9; Week 3 Result: 42-21 win at then-No. 17 Rhode Island
9. Villanova (2-1, 0-0 CAA), 874
Previous Ranking: 7; Week 3 Result: 49-10 loss at Army
10. Chattanooga (3-0, 1-0 Southern), 831
Previous Ranking: 10; Week 3 Result: 41-14 win over North Alabama
11. Jackson State (3-0, 1-0 SWAC), 818
Previous Ranking: 11; Week 3 Result: 66-24 win over Grambling State
12. Weber State (3-0, 0-0 Big Sky), 789
Previous Ranking: 12; Week 3 Result: 44-14 win over Utah Tech
13. Holy Cross (3-0, 0-0 Patriot), 742
Previous Ranking: 13; Week 3 Result: 38-14 win over Yale
14. William & Mary (3-0, 0-0 CAA), 610
Previous Ranking: 15; Week 3 Result: 34-7 win at Lafayette
15. Eastern Washington (1-1, 0-0 Big Sky), 559
Previous Ranking: 14; Week 3 Result: No game
16. Eastern Kentucky (2-1, 2-0 ASUN-WAC), 449
Previous Ranking: 19; Week 3 Result: 40-17 win over Charleston Southern
17. Mercer (2-1, 1-0 Southern), 401
Previous Ranking: 20; Week 3 Result: 17-0 win over The Citadel
18. UT Martin (1-2, 0-0 Ohio Valley), 351
Previous Ranking: 16; Week 3 Result: 30-7 loss at Boise State
19. North Dakota (2-1, 1-0 Missouri Valley), 305
Previous Ranking: 22; Week 3 Result: 27-24 win at Northern Arizona
20. Rhode Island (2-1, 1-1 CAA), 232
Previous Ranking: 17; Week 3 Result: 42-21 loss to then-No. 9 Delaware
21. Samford (2-1, 0-0 Southern), 212
Previous Ranking: 24; Week 3 Result: 33-28 win at Tennessee Tech
22. Richmond (2-1, 0-0 CAA), 164
Previous Ranking: Not Ranked; Week 3 Result: 30-6 win at Lehigh
23. Stephen F. Austin (1-2, 1-0 ASUN-WAC), 131
Previous Ranking: 21; Week 3 Result: No game
24. Southern Illinois (1-2, 0-0 Missouri Valley), 123
Previous Ranking: Not Ranked; Week 3 Result: 31-24 win at Northwestern
25. North Carolina Central (3-0, 0-0 MEAC), 104
Previous Ranking: Not Ranked; Week 3 Result: 45-27 win at then-No. 25 New Hampshire
Dropped Out: ETSU (18), Kennesaw State (23), New Hampshire (25)
Others Receiving Votes (schools listed on two or more ballots): Furman (2-1, 1-0 Southern) 99; Southeastern Louisiana (1-2, 0-0 Southland) 98; Kennesaw State (0-2, 0-1 ASUN-WAC) 93; Southeast Missouri (2-1, 0-0 Ohio Valley) 93; Austin Peay (3-1, 3-0 ASUN-WAC) 87; UC Davis (1-2, 0-0 Big Sky) 82; ETSU (1-2, 0-2 Southern) 46; Elon (2-1, 0-0 CAA) 28; Fordham (3-0, 0-0 Patriot) 27; Dartmouth (1-0, 0-0 Ivy) 23; New Hampshire (2-1, 2-0 CAA) 19; Northern Arizona (1-2, 0-0 Big Sky) 5; Youngstown State (2-1, 0-0 Missouri Valley) 5; South Dakota (1-2, 0-0 Missouri Valley) 2
American Football Coaches Association FCS Coaches’ Top 25 Poll – September 19, 2022
| Rank | School (1st votes) | Rec. | Pts. | Prev. |
| 1. | North Dakota St. (21) | 2-1 | 642 | 1 |
| 2. | Montana (5) | 3-0 | 626 | 2 |
| 3. | South Dakota St. | 2-1 | 595 | 3 |
| 4t. | Missouri St. | 2-1 | 512 | 6 |
| 4t. | Montana St. | 2-1 | 512 | 4 |
| 6. | Sacramento St. | 2-0 | 502 | 7 |
| 7. | UIW | 3-0 | 500 | 8 |
| 8. | Delaware | 3-0 | 468 | 10 |
| 9. | Chattanooga | 3-0 | 461 | 9 |
| 10. | Villanova | 2-1 | 438 | 5 |
| 11. | Jackson St. | 3-0 | 406 | 11 |
| 12. | Weber St. | 3-0 | 367 | 13 |
| 13. | Holy Cross | 3-0 | 357 | 12 |
| 14. | William & Mary | 3-0 | 301 | 17 |
| 15. | Eastern Washington | 1-1 | 253 | 15 |
| 16. | Mercer | 2-1 | 174 | 20 |
| 17. | Stephen F. Austin | 1-2 | 160 | 16 |
| 18. | Fordham | 3-0 | 150 | 21 |
| 19. | UT Martin | 1-2 | 141 | 18 |
| 20. | Eastern Kentucky | 2-1 | 130 | 24 |
| 21. | Rhode Island | 2-1 | 121 | 14 |
| 22. | Samford | 2-1 | 83 | 25 |
| 23. | Austin Peay | 3-1 | 64 | NR |
| 24t. | Richmond | 2-1 | 51 | NR |
| 24t. | Youngstown St. | 2-1 | 51 | 23 |
Dropped Out: East Tennessee St. (19), Kennesaw St. (22)
Others Receiving Votes: Furman, 47; North Carolina Central, 47; North Dakota, 46; Southern Illinois, 39; Kennesaw St., 36; Southeastern Louisiana, 22; Elon, 18; Southeast Missouri St., 18; East Tennessee St., 16; New Hampshire, 15; Harvard, 12; UC Davis, 12; North Alabama, 9; Princeton, 9; Dayton, 8; Hampton, 6; Dartmouth, 5; Florida A&M, 4; Lindenwood, 4; South Carolina St., 3; Tarleton, 3; Idaho, 2; Northern Arizona, 2; Abilene Christian, 1; Davidson, 1.