PHILADELPHIA – Jacksonville State remained No. 24 in The Sports Network FCS Top 25 football poll for the second straight week after the poll was released on Monday.

The Gamecocks defeated Chattanooga 27-24 after Griffin Thomas kicked a 37-yard field goal as time expired last Saturday in front of almost 19,000 fans in the home opener at Burgess-Snow Field.

Defending FCS national champion North Dakota State moved into the top spot after claiming a 22-7 win at Colorado State, while Sam Houston State is second. Eastern Kentucky is the only other Ohio Valley Conference school ranked, coming in at No. 20, while UT Martin, Tennessee Tech, Tennessee State, Eastern Illinois Southeast Missouri State and Murray State all received votes.

On Sunday, the Gamecocks won all four Ohio Valley Conference Football Player of the Week awards as DaMarcus James was named Offensive co-Player of the Week, Rashad Smith was named Defensive Player of the Week, Griffin Thomas earned Special Teams Player of the Week honors, and Troymaine Pope was the OVC Newcomer of the Week.

Jacksonville State became the first school in Ohio Valley Conference history to win all four football Player of the Week awards during the 2008 season.

Since the OVC began playing football in 1978, only nine other times has a school claimed three OVC Player of the Week awards during the same week and this marks the first time since Tennessee Tech won three awards during the 2010 season and the third time for Jax State.

Jacksonville State has an open date this week, before opening up Ohio Valley Conference action next weekend at Eastern Kentucky.

THE SPORTS NETWORK POLL

(September 10, 2012)

Team (1st Votes) Record Points PR

1. North Dakota State (94) 2-0 3946 2

2. Sam Houston State (61) 1-0 3897 1

3. Montana State (1) 2-0 3485 4

4. James Madison (1) 2-0 3398 5

5. Youngstown State (4) 2-0 3367 6

6. Old Dominion 2-0 3037 7

7. Northern Iowa 1-1 2884 8

8. Appalachian State 1-1 2796 11

9. Wofford 2-0 2554 10

10. Eastern Washington 1-1 2431 9

11. Georgia Southern 1-1 2201 3

12. Towson 0-1 1987 13

13. Delaware 2-0 1900 15

14. Montana 1-1 1756 12

15. Illinois State 2-0 1692 18

16. Lehigh 2-0 1639 16

17. Stony Brook 2-0 1460 17

18. New Hampshire 1-1 1422 14

19. McNeese State 2-0 962 22

20. Eastern Kentucky 1-1 704 21

21. The Citadel 2-0 649 NR

22. Indiana State 1-1 571 23

23. Stephen F. Austin 1-1 564 19

24. Jacksonville State 1-1 509 24

25. Maine 0-1 472 20

Others receiving votes: Central Arkansas 462, Norfolk State 256, Bethune-Cookman 207, Harvard 159, Northern Arizona 158, Sacramento State 149, North Dakota 123, UT Martin 71, Tennessee Tech 64, Cal Poly 52, Albany 50, Samford 41, South Dakota State 36, Tennessee State 29, Richmond 24, Alabama State 23, Eastern Illinois 21, Penn 17, Southern Utah 16, South Carolina State 15, Western Illinois 11, Lafayette 9, Coastal Carolina 9, William & Mary 7, Southeast Missouri State 7, Georgetown 6, Liberty 6, Villanova 4, Alcorn State 3, Alabama A&M 2, Murray State 1, Monmouth 1, Drake 1, Cornell 1, Chattanooga 1