GREENVILLE, S.C. -- Coming off a 17-14 Southern Conference title clinching road win over Chattanooga on Saturday, Furman has maintained its No. 2 ranking in this week's AFCA FCS Top 25 Poll released this morning.

The Paladins (8-1, 6-0 SoCon), winners of seven straight, trail only reigning FCS national champion South Dakota State in this week's poll.  A trio of Big Sky Conference schools — Montana (3rd), Idaho (4th), and Montana State (5th) round out the top five.

Two other SoCon teams are also ranked — Chattanooga (17th) and Western Carolina (21st). Mercer (27th) is among others receiving votes.

Furman, which clinched at least a share of the 2023 SoCon championship — the 15th in program history — and league's automatic bid to the FCS playoffs with the triumph over Chattanooga, can secure the conference's outright title with a victory over VMI (Nov. 11) or Wofford (Nov. 18).

Kickoff for Saturday's home contest against the Keydets, which will highlight Military Appreciation Day at Paladin Stadium, has been moved to 1:30 p.m.

The Paladins sport an eight-game home winning streak and have won 12 consecutive SoCon games — one shy of the school standard.

American Football Coaches Association FCS Coaches' Top 25 Poll – November 6, 2023
 

Rank	School (1st votes)	Rec.	Pts.	Prev.	Week 10	Next Game
1	South Dakota St. (26)	9-0	650	1	D. No. 10 North Dakota St., 33-16	Nov. 11 at Youngstown St.
2	Furman	8-1	612	2	D. No. 13t Chattanooga, 17-14	Nov. 11 vs. VMI
3	Montana	8-1	603	3	D. No. 7 Sacramento St., 34-7	Nov. 11 at Portland St.
4	Idaho	7-2	575	5	D. Northern Colorado, 27-13	Nov. 11 at Weber St.
5	Montana St.	7-2	533	8	D. Northern Arizona, 45-21	Nov. 11 vs. Eastern Washington
6	South Dakota	7-2	492	12	D. No. 11 Southern Illinois, 14-7	Nov. 11 vs. No. 12 North Dakota
7	North Carolina Central	8-1	491	9	D. Norfolk St., 38-24	Nov. 11 at Howard
8	Delaware	7-2	386	6	Lost to Elon, 33-27	Nov. 11 at Campbell
9	Florida A&M	8-1	378	13t	D. Alabama A&M, 42-28	Nov. 11 vs. Lincoln (Calif.)
10	UIW	7-2	368	4	Lost to Nicholls, 45-32	Nov. 11 vs. Northwestern St.
11	Sacramento St.	6-3	355	7	Lost to No. 3 Montana, 34-7	Nov. 11 vs. Cal Poly
12	North Dakota	6-3	346	15	D. Murray St., 45-31	Nov. 11 at No. 6 South Dakota
13	North Dakota St.	6-3	324	10	Lost to No. 1 South Dakota St., 33-16	Nov. 11 vs. No. 15 Southern Illinois
14	Austin Peay	7-2	304	17	D. Eastern Kentucky, 33-30 OT	Nov. 11 vs. Utah Tech
15	Southern Illinois	6-3	285	11	Lost to No. 12 South Dakota, 14-7	Nov. 11 at No. 13 North Dakota St.
16	UT Martin	7-2	263	18	D. Tennessee Tech, 44-41 OT	Nov. 11 vs. Southeast Missouri St.
17	Chattanooga	7-3	258	13t	Lost to No. 2 Furman, 17-14	Nov. 18 at Alabama
18	Villanova	7-2	193	22	D. New Hampshire, 45-33	Nov. 11 vs. Towson
19	Harvard	7-1	191	19	D. Columbia, 38-24	Nov. 11 vs. Penn
20	Northern Iowa	6-3	161	23	D. Western Illinois, 50-6	Nov. 11 at Missouri St.
21	Western Carolina	6-3	158	20	D. Wofford, 28-25	Nov. 11 vs. East Tennessee St.
22	Holy Cross	6-3	129	21	D. Lehigh, 28-24	Nov. 11 at Army
23	Lafayette	7-2	91	16	Lost to Colgate, 37-34	Nov. 11 vs. Fordham
24	Central Arkansas	6-3	79	25	D. North Alabama, 27-14	Nov. 11 vs. Eastern Kentucky
25	Albany	7-3	67	NR	D. No. 24 William & Mary, 24-8	Nov. 11 at Stony Brook

 
Dropped Out: William & Mary (24)
 
Others Receiving Votes: Youngstown St., 59; Mercer, 56; Illinois St., 16; Davidson, 9; Eastern Illinois, 5; Fordham, 3; Samford, 3; Tarleton, 3; William & Mary, 3; Nicholls, 1.