Georgia Southern moved to No. 1 in this week’s FCS Coaches Poll after claiming a 39-31 triple-overtime win at Chattanooga Saturday. The Eagles received

17 first-place votes and tallied 635 total points.  Georgia Southern forced overtime with a fourth-quarter field goal and the Eagles’ defense came up with a stop on fourth-down in the third overtime to hold off Chattanooga. 
North Dakota State received five first-place votes (619 points) and rose one spot to No.2 after defeating Southern Illinois, 23-17. Montana State and Sam Houston State each climbed one spot to No.3 and No.4, respectively, as well.
Sam Houston State also received two first-place votes. Old Dominion moved up two spots to No.5, while Lehigh, which was idle last week, received one first-place vote and maintained their No.6 ranking. Wofford rose one spot to No.7 after defeating The Citadel (24-21). 
Last week’s No.1, Eastern Washington, dropped to No.8 after falling to unranked Southern Utah. Stony Brook (No.9) and James Madison (No.10) maintain their rankings from last week and round out the top ten. Previously unranked Bethune-Cookman (No.24) and South Dakota State (No.25) each entered this week’s poll after picking up wins over the weekend. Eleven conferences are represented in the poll.
The Colonial Athletic Association has the most teams in the top-25 with five. The Big Sky and Missouri Valley are represented by four teams each, while the Southern Conference has three teams in this week’s poll.
The Ohio Valley and Southland conferences are represented by two teams, and the Big South, Ivy League, Mid-Eastern Athletic, Northeast, and Patriot League have one team in the top-25. The FCS Coaches Poll is based exclusively on a voting panel of head coaches in the FCS under the cooperation of the Collegiate Commissioners Association (CCA) and the American Football Coaches Association (AFCA) and is administered by the Southern Conference.  

2012 FCS Coaches Week 9 Poll
(October 29, 2012)
      Team      (No. 1 Votes)  Record    Points  Last Week
1. Georgia Southern  (17)        6-2      635       2
2. North Dakota State (5)        7-1      619       3
3. Montana State                 7-1      586       4
4. Sam Houston State  (2)        6-2      561       5
5. Old Dominion                  7-1      528       7
6. Lehigh             (1)        8-0      517       6
7. Wofford                       7-1      486       8
8. Eastern Washington (1)        6-2      471       1
9. Stony Brook                   8-1      450       9
10. James Madison                6-2      429      10
11. New Hampshire                7-2      396      12
12. Northern Arizona             7-1      363      13
13. Central Arkansas             7-2      326      14
14. Appalachian State            6-3      275      15
15. Illinois State               7-2      264      17
16. Cal Poly                     7-1      256      11
17. Indiana State                6-3      249    T-18
18. Albany                       7-1      188      20
19. Tennessee State              8-1      173    T-21
20. Delaware                     5-3      122      16
21. Harvard                      6-1       96      24
22. Towson                       4-4       87      25
23. Eastern Kentucky             6-3       68    T-18
24. Bethune-Cookman              6-2       54      NR
25. South Dakota State           6-2       51      NR

Others Receiving Votes: Sacramento State (44), Richmond (27), Villanova (27), UT Martin (26), McNeese State (23), Jacksonville State (16), Youngstown State (10), Eastern Illinois (8), The Citadel (5), Samford (5), Southern Illinois (4), Northern Iowa (4), Alabama A&M (1).