Sept. 20, 2004

GREENVILLE, S.C. -- Fresh from a 38-6 win over Gardner-Webb on Saturday, the 3-0 Furman Paladins have climbed to No. 2 in the latest Sports Network NCAA I-AA poll, which was released Monday.

The Paladins racked up 2,520 points and 30 first place votes to trail only Southern Illinois in this week's poll. Furman's No. 2 ranking is the program's highest since the Paladins posted a 13-2 record and recorded a national runner-up and No. 2 final ranking in 2001.

Furman takes on Big East Conference member Pittsburgh this Saturday at Heinz Field. The Panthers are 1-1 on the season and are coming off a 24-17 loss to Nebraska on Saturday. Kickoff for the Comcast/Charter Sports Southeast televised game is set for 1:00 p.m.

The Sports Network 2004 I-AA Top 25 Poll (Sept. 20)

Team (First-place votes) 2004 Record Points Previous Next Week

1. Southern Illinois (59) 2-1 2,520 at Delaware State

2. Furman (30) 3-0 2,476 4 at Pittsburgh

3. Georgia Southern (10) 2-1 2,313 8 at Chattanooga

4. Delaware 2-1 2,027 6 at No. 16 Massachusetts

5. Stephen F. Austin (1) 3-0 2,022 13 Southern Utah

6. Western Kentucky (1) 2-1 1,928 11 at Florida International

7. Montana 2-1 1,919 1 Northern Colorado

8. Maine (2) 2-1 1,892 15 OPEN

9. Wofford 1-1 1,543 3 Johnson C. Smith

10. Colgate 1-1 1,380 12 Georgetown

11. Villanova 2-1 1,256 5 at No. 22 Penn

12. McNeese State 2-1 1,236 17 at Portland State

13. Northern Iowa 1-2 1,157 7 OPEN

14. New Hampshire 2-1 1,058 10 at Dartmouth

15. Cal Poly 3-0 1,038 22 OPEN

16. Massachusetts 2-1 1,017 9 No. 4 Delaware

17. Appalachian State 2-1 902 20 at No. 19 Northwestern State

18. Northeastern 1-1 775 18 at Towson

19. Northwestern State 2-1 749 21 No. 17 Appalachian State

20. Hampton (1) 3-0 671 NR Morgan State

21. Montana State 1-1 463 14 at Colorado State

22. Penn 1-0 461 23 No. 11 Villanova

23. Northern Arizona 0-2 457 19 Weber State

24. James Madison 2-0 395 NR at West Virginia

25. Lehigh 2-1 317 24 OPEN