| STATS FCS Poll | |||
| Rankings as of 10/23/2017 | |||
| Rank | School | Votes | Prev |
| 1 | James Madison (8-0) | 4141 (157) | 1 |
| 2 | North Dakota State (8-0) | 3993 (9) | 2 |
| 3 | Jacksonville State (7-1) | 3802 | 3 |
| 4 | Central Arkansas (7-1) | 3641 | 6 |
| 5 | Sam Houston State (7-1) | 3455 | 7 |
| 6 | South Dakota (7-1) | 2861 | 4 |
| 7 | North Carolina A&T (8-0) | 2688 | 12 |
| 8 | Wofford (7-1) | 2636 | 5 |
| 9 | Samford (5-3) | 2599 | 16 |
| 10 | Elon (7-1) | 2555 | 14 |
| 11 | South Dakota State (6-2) | 2536 | 13 |
| 12 | Western Illinois (5-3) | 2207 | 10 |
| 13 | Villanova (4-4) | 1856 | 15 |
| 14 | Eastern Washington (5-3) | 1806 | 8 |
| 15 | Grambling State (7-1) | 1418 | 17 |
| 16 | Illinois State (6-2) | 1312 | 24 |
| 17 | New Hampshire (5-3) | 1311 | 18 |
| 18 | Western Carolina (6-3) | 1243 | 19 |
| 19 | Richmond (4-4) | 1089 | 11 |
| 20 | McNeese (6-2) | 1055 | 20 |
| 21 | Youngstown State (3-5) | 953 | 9 |
| 22 | Stony Brook (6-2) | 671 | 22 |
| 23 | Delaware (5-3) | 668 | NR |
| 24 | Montana (5-3) | 634 | 21 |
| 25 | Southern Utah (6-2) | 624 | NR |
Others: Northern Arizona (532) , Weber State (501) , UNI (423) , Nicholls (162) , Kennesaw State (123) , Columbia (115) , Monmouth (88) , Albany (39) , Citadel (33) , Furman (33) , Southern Illinois (30) , Duquesne (22) ,North Carolina Central (20) , Charleston Southern (17) , Austin Peay (12) , Southeastern Louisiana (11) , Dartmouth (10) , Hampton (9) , Princeton (8) , Eastern Illinois (5) , Yale (2) , Montana State (1)
