Oct. 31, 2005

GREENVILLE, S.C. -- The Furman Paladins are the No. 1 ranked team in NCAA I-AA according to the latest Sports Network NCAA I-AA Poll, which was released early Monday afternoon.

Idle this past Saturday, Furman (7-1, 3-1 SoCon) climbed into the top spot after previous top-ranked Western Kentucky fell to Southern Illinois 31-20 last Thursday. The Paladins garnered 2,792 points and 61 first place votes to rank ahead of second place New Hampshire (7-1) with 2,628 points and 25 first place votes. Hampton (8-0) is ranked third, Montana (6-2) fourth, and Southern Illinois (6-2) rounds out this week's top five.

The No. 1 ranking is the first for Furman since 1990, when the Paladins spent one week atop the poll before dropping to fourth following a 27-3 loss to Florida. Furman has been ranked No. 1 six times in program history and has appeared in the NCAA I-AA Top 25 a total of 222 weeks overall since 1982.

Winners of six straight, Furman plays 14th-ranked Georgia Southern this Saturday in Statesboro. Kickoff is set for 4:00 p.m., and the contest will be televised by Fox Sports Net South.