| STATS FCS Poll | |||
| Rankings as of 1/9/2017 | |||
| Rank | School | Votes | Prev |
| 1 | James Madison (14-1) | 3850 (154) | 5 |
| 2 | Youngstown State (12-4) | 3631 | 13 |
| 3 | North Dakota State (12-2) | 3492 | 4 |
| 4 | Eastern Washington (12-2) | 3428 | 3 |
| 5 | Sam Houston State (12-1) | 3067 | 1 |
| 6 | South Dakota State (9-4) | 2944 | 7 |
| 7 | Jacksonville State (10-2) | 2776 | 2 |
| 8 | Richmond (10-4) | 2666 | 12 |
| 9 | Wofford (10-4) | 2532 | 19 |
| 10 | Citadel (10-2) | 2386 | 6 |
| 11 | Villanova (9-4) | 2225 | 9 |
| 12 | North Dakota (9-3) | 2133 | 8 |
| 13 | Chattanooga (9-4) | 2091 | 11 |
| 14 | Central Arkansas (10-3) | 1798 | 14 |
| 15 | Charleston Southern (7-4) | 1605 | 10 |
| 16 | Grambling State (11-1) | 1496 | 16 |
| 17 | New Hampshire (8-5) | 1323 | 22 |
| 18 | Coastal Carolina (10-2) | 1164 | 15 |
| 19 | San Diego (10-2) | 956 | 24 |
| 20 | North Carolina A&T (9-3) | 915 | 17 |
| 21 | Lehigh (9-3) | 776 | 18 |
| 22 | North Carolina Central (9-3) | 716 | 20 |
| 23 | Samford (7-5) | 624 | 23 |
| 24 | Cal Poly (7-5) | 538 | 21 |
| 25 | Weber State (7-5) | 284 | 25 |
Others: Illinois State (167) , Saint Francis U (116) , Princeton (83) , Albany (65) , UT Martin (31) , Montana (30) , Penn (22) , Western Illinois (19) , Fordham (17) , Maine (17) , Southeastern Louisiana (17) , UNI (8) ,Kennesaw State (8) , Duquesne (6) , Southern University (6) , Northern Arizona (5) , Tennessee State (5) , Southern Utah (4) , Stony Brook (4) , Dayton (2) , McNeese (2)
