Massachusetts improved to 4-1 over the weekend, but the victory came against lowly Towson (1-4, 0-2 in the CAA), meaning the Minutemen did not improve their place in The Sports FCS Top 25 College Football Poll for Week 6.
UMass remains at No. 8, earning 2,603 votes, just behind the No. 7 team, James Madison (2,626 votes), who fell from No. 3 after its loss to New Hampshire, the new No. 2.
Meanwhile, New Hampshire lost again, falling to 2-3 overall, and dropping from No. 14 to No. 23.
Appalachian State takes over as the country's No. 1 team following Villanova's loss at William & Mary. The Mountaineers earned 101 of a possible 143 first-place votes.
Amidst all the top-ten shake-up (it should be noted: there are no new top-ten teams this week, and no one dropped out, either), the Colonial Athletic Association maintained its overall superiority with a total of seven of the top-25 teams, including five of the top eight: Delaware, W&M, Villanova, JMU and UMass. Additionally, the CAA boasts six of the top 11 (No. 11 Richmond).
Full rankings of The Sports Network/Fathead.com FCS Top-25 College Football Poll for Week 6 (as voted on by the sports information and media relations directors, broadcasters and writers) are as follows (first-place votes included):
1. Appalachian State Mountaineers (101)
2. Delaware Blue Hens (29)
3. Jacksonville State Gamecocks (12)
4. William & Mary Tribe
5. Stephen F. Austin Lumberjacks (1)
6. Villanova Wildcats
7. James Madison Dukes
8. Massachusetts Minutemen
9. South Carolina State Bulldogs
10. Montana State Bobcats
11. Richmond Spiders
12. Montana Grizzlies
13. Eastern Washington Eagles
14. Cal Poly Mustangs
15. Northern Iowa Panthers
16. Georgia Southern Eagles
17. Texas State Bobcats
18. North Dakota State Bison
19. Elon Phoenix
20. Western Illinois Leathernecks
21. Wofford Terriers
22. New Hampshire Wildcats
23. Southern Illinois Salukis
24. Liberty Flames
25. Southeast Missouri State Redhawks
In Week 6 action, No. 22 New Hampshire hosts No. 11 Richmond, while UMass enjoys its bye week.
Complete CAA Football Standings (conference record/overall record):
Delaware (2-0/5-0)
Massachusetts (2-0/4-1)
Rhode Island (1-0/2-2)
William & Mary (2-1/4-1)
Villanova (1-1/3-2)
Maine (1-1/2-3)
James Madison (0-1/3-1)
Richmond (0-1/2-2)
New Hampshire (0-2/2-3)
Towson (0-2/1-4)