Cullowhee, N.C. – After a one-week absence from the national rankings, Western Carolina football again jumped back into the Stats Perform FCS Top 25 poll this week following the 38-34 Homecoming upset win over No. 25/18 Chattanooga last Saturday at E.J. Whitmire Stadium / Bob Waters Field. The Catamounts also reappeared in the 'others receiving votes' portion of the AFCA Coaches Poll presented by Hudl after failing to earn a nod from the coaching pollsters the week before.
Additionally, the Catamounts were listed at No. 14 in this week's FCS Nation Radio poll released via social media.
WCU is one of three Southern Conference teams ranked in the latest media tabulations, led by league-leading Mercer (8-1, 5-1 SoCon) at No. 10, up two spots from last week. Chattanooga (5-4, 4-2 SoCon) sits just behind the Catamounts at No. 23, sliding five positions after last Saturday's road loss to the Catamounts. ETSU, who the Catamounts face this week in a rivalry matchup, is the only other league team receiving votes, third in line with 61 votes to sit at No. 28 in the country.
A national media panel selects the Stats Perform FCS Top 25 Poll. 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.
Up to No. 13 overall, Mercer is the lone SoCon team in the coaches poll, though WCU (9 votes, t-34th) and Chattanooga (7 votes, 36th) remain in the ORV.
Western Carolina (5-4, 4-1 SoCon) returns to the national rankings for the first time since week eight (Oct. 21) when it was listed at No. 24 by the voting media. After entering the season among the national rankings for the first time since 1994, the Catamounts reached their highest ranking at No. 17 in both national polls back on Sept. 2. The close home loss to Campbell bounced WCU from polling before the Purple & Gold resurfaced at No. 24 following the road win over nationally-ranked Elon.
WCU opened the season with three of its first four opponents carrying a number next to their names and have played six teams either inside the Top 25 or receiving votes with a seventh on tap this weekend in the "Blue Ridge Border Battle" at mountain-rival East Tennessee State. The Catamounts have two nationally-ranked wins under their belt – 24-17 at No. 22 Elon and last week's 38-34 win over No. 25/18 Chattanooga. WCU has held leads in all four of their seasonal losses, thrice grabbing double-digit advantages including a 10-0 lead against Campbell, 17-0 at defending national runner-up No. 10/9 Montana, and 24-7 against Mercer.
Last season, WCU was among the national rankings for seven straight weeks and climbed as high as No. 8 in the media vote before finishing at No. 23, the program's first time ending a season ranked since 1983 when the national runner-up was ranked ninth at season's end.
After scoring the upset victory over No. 25/18 Chattanooga – a third-straight series win, matching the three-game win streak from 2000-02 – the Catamounts return to the road this weekend for the annual gridiron grudge match against mountain-rival ESU
Led by redshirt freshman quarterback
Taron Dickens in just his sixth career game and first collegiate start
Saturday's game will be broadcast on ESPN+ (
paid subscription required) with live audio coverage through the Catamount Sports Network. Airtime of the Pepsi Tailgate Show is 11 a.m. ahead of the Noon kickoff from Greene Stadium in Johnson City, Tenn. On Saturday, fans across Western North Carolina can listen to the game locally on SIX affiliate frequencies: in Sylva on
105.7 FM and 540 AM WRGC, "The River" (WRGC.com) and
104.9 FM and 1050 AM WFSC, "Franklin's First Voice" in Franklin (1050WFSC.com); in Asheville on
1310 AM WISE Sports Radio (wisesportsradio.com); and for the next two weeks (Nov. 9 and 16), in Marion, N.C. on
Bigfoot Country 103.9 FM and 1250 AM (bigfoot1039.com).
Live streaming audio is available online at CatamountSports.com.
Western Carolina's weekly football coaches show, "Catamount Football Weekly," presented by Stanberry Insurance LIVE on location at Rodgers Brothers & Speedy's Pizza in Cullowhee, moves to Tuesday (Nov. 5) night at 7 p.m. because of the season-opening Catamount basketball doubleheader on Monday (women vs. Warren Wilson College, 5 p.m.; men vs Bob Jones Univ., 7:30 p.m.). Fans can also
tune-in to the weekly show through the Catamount Athletics official Facebook page (FB.com/catamountsports).
Keep track of everything related to Catamount football and WCU Athletics through its social media outlets on Facebook (fb.com/CatamountSports) and Twitter (@Catamounts, @CatamountsFB).
Stats Perform FCS Top 25 Poll (Week 10 - Nov. 4)
1. North Dakota State (9-1, 6-0 MVFC), 1,387 points (43 of 56 first-place votes)
Previous Ranking: 1;
Week 10: 42-19 win over Northern Iowa;
Week 11: No game
2. Montana State (9-0, 5-0 Big Sky), 1,352 (13)
Previous Ranking: 2;
Week 10: 42-28 win at Eastern Washington;
Week 11: Sacramento State
3. South Dakota State (7-2, 4-1 MVFC), 1,288
Previous Ranking: 3;
Week 10: 52-6 win over Murray State;
Week 11: at No. 21 North Dakota
4. UC Davis (8-1, 5-0 Big Sky), 1,213
Previous Ranking: 4;
Week 10: 59-7 win over Northern Colorado;
Week 11: at No. 7 Montana
5. South Dakota (6-2, 4-1 MVFC), 1,157
Previous Ranking: 5;
Week 10: No game;
Week 11: Indiana State
6. Southeast Missouri (8-1, 5-0 Big South-OVC), 1,107
Previous Ranking: 6;
Week 10: No game;
Week 11: at Lindenwood
7. Montana (7-2, 4-1 Big Sky), 1,009
Previous Ranking: 8;
Week 10: 42-7 win at Cal Poly;
Week 11: No. 4 UC Davis
8. UIW (7-2, 4-0 Southland), 950
Previous Ranking: 9;
Week 10: 45-20 win over HCU;
Week 11: Lamar
9. Idaho (6-3, 3-2 Big Sky), 930
Previous Ranking: 10;
Week 10: No game;
Week 11: at Portland State
10. Mercer (8-1, 5-1 SoCon), 929
Previous Ranking: 12;
Week 10: 37-31 win over then-No. 23 ETSU;
Week 11: at VMI
11. Rhode Island (8-1, 5-0 CAA), 829
Previous Ranking: 14;
Week 10: 37-28 win over Monmouth;
Week 11: at Delaware
12. Villanova (7-2, 4-1 CAA), 799
Previous Ranking: 13;
Week 10: 20-14 win at Hampton;
Week 11: North Carolina A&T
13. Richmond (7-2, 5-0 CAA), 683
Previous Ranking: 16;
Week 10: 35-24 win over Towson;
Week 11: at Campbell
14. Tarleton State (7-2, 4-1 UAC), 680
Previous Ranking: 7;
Week 10: 17-13 loss to Eastern Kentucky;
Week 11: at West Georgia
15. Abilene Christian (6-3, 5-1 UAC), 650
Previous Ranking: 17;
Week 10: 28-25 win over Southern Utah;
Week 11: at Austin Peay
16. Central Arkansas (6-3, 3-2 UAC), 447
Previous Ranking: 11;
Week 10: 34-21 loss at Utah Tech;
Week 11: at Eastern Kentucky
17. Stony Brook (7-2, 4-1 CAA), 444
Previous Ranking: 20;
Week 10: 31-30 OT win at Bryant;
Week 11: UAlbany
18. Illinois State (6-3, 3-2 MVFC), 411
Previous Ranking: 21;
Week 10: 23-16 win over Youngstown State;
Week 11: at Northern Iowa
19. UT Martin (6-3, 4-1 Big South-OVC), 349
Previous Ranking: NR;
Week 10: 28-21 win at then-No. 25 Tennessee State;
Week 11: at Charleston Southern
20. William & Mary (6-3, 4-2 CAA), 290
Previous Ranking: 24;
Week 10: 45-7 win at North Carolina A&T;
Week 11: Elon
21. North Dakota (5-4, 2-3 MVFC), 246
Previous Ranking: 15;
Week 10: 35-31 loss at Indiana State;
Week 11: No. 3 South Dakota State
22. Western Carolina (5-4, 4-1 SoCon), 160
Previous Ranking: NR;
Week 10: 38-34 win over then-No. 18 Chattanooga;
Week 11: at ETSU
23. Chattanooga (5-4, 4-2 SoCon), 158
Previous Ranking: 18;
Week 10: 38-34 loss at Western Carolina;
Week 11: at The Citadel
24. Harvard (6-1, 3-1 Ivy), 153
Previous Ranking: NR;
Week 10: 31-27 win at then-No. 22 Dartmouth;
Week 11: Columbia
25. Duquesne (6-2, 3-0 NEC), 102
Previous Ranking: NR;
Week 10: 31-24 win over Mercyhurst;
Week 11: Robert Morris
Dropped Out: North Carolina Central (19), Dartmouth (22), ETSU (23), Tennessee State (25)
Others Receiving Votes (schools listed on two or more ballots): Jackson State (7-2, 5-0 SWAC), 89;
North Carolina Central (6-3, 2-1 MEAC), 74;
ETSU (5-4, 3-2 SoCon), 61;
Northern Arizona (5-4, 3-2 Big Sky), 55;
Stephen F. Austin (6-3, 4-2 Southland), 54;
South Carolina State (6-2, 2-0 MEAC), 48;
Dartmouth (6-1, 3-1 Ivy), 37;
Drake (6-1, 5-0 Pioneer), 28;
Southeastern Louisiana (5-5, 4-1 Southland), 13;
Tennessee State (6-3, 3-2 Big South-OVC), 12;
Southern Utah (4-5, 3-2 UAC), 3
