September 18, 2000


FURMAN CLIMBS TO NO. 6 IN
SPORTS NETWORK NCAA I-AA POLL

GREENVILLE -- The Furman Paladins, on the strength of a 34-10 win over William & Mary on Saturday, climbed from eighth to sixth in the Sports Network NCAA I-AA Top 25 Poll, which was released today.

In addition to Furman, two other Southern Conference teams are ranked in the Top 10. Defending national champion Georgia Southern remained at No. 2 following a 24-17 win over Wofford, and idle Appalachian State dropped from seventh to eighth in the poll.

Furman returns to action this Saturday when it squares off against VMI in Lexington in the Paladins' 2000 Southern Conference season opener.

The Sports Network 2000 I-AA College Football Poll (Sept. 18)

Team (First-place votes) 2000 Record Points Previous Rank
1. Troy State Trojans (72)  3-0  2,287  1
2. Georgia Southern Eagles (18)  2-1  2,152  2
3. Youngstown State Penguins (1)  3-0  2,062  5
4. Florida A&M Rattlers  3-0  1,917  6
5. Portland State Vikings (2)  3-0  1,803  9
6. Furman Paladins  3-0  1,801  8
7. Delaware Blue Hens (2)  3-0  1,773  11
8. Appalachian State Mountaineers  1-1  1,716  7
9. Montana Grizzlies  2-1  1,565  10
10. Stephen F. Austin Lumberjacks  3-0  1,283  17
11. Massachusetts Minutemen  1-1  1,274  3
12. Hofstra Flying Dutchmen  2-1  1,270  4
13. North Carolina A&T Aggies  2-0  1,109  14
14. Eastern Kentucky Colonels  2-0  1,084  15
15. Western Illinois Leathernecks  2-1  931  19
16. Villanova Wildcats  2-1  815  18
17. Northern Arizona Lumberjacks  2-0  710  23
18. James Madison Dukes  2-1  709  13
19. Northwestern State Demons  1-1  420  22
20. Richmond Spiders  2-1  402  NR
21. Lehigh Mountain Hawks  2-0  383  24
22. Eastern Washington Eagles  2-1  285  NR
23. Illinois State Redbirds  1-2  251  12
24. Western Kentucky Hilltoppers  3-0  214  NR
25. New Hampshire Wildcats  3-0  181  NR