New FCS Top 25, Monday links roundup

First, the top 25:

1. RICHMOND (1-0)
Last week: beat No. 12 Elon, 28-10
The scoop: A win on the road against a ranked FCS team moves the Spiders to the top of the heap for now. Mike London’s defense held Elon All-American receiver Terrell Hudgins to 78 yards on 10 receptions and it shut Elon out after halftime. Experienced Spiders have a legitimate shot of sneaking out of Scott Stadium with a win Saturday.
Next up: Sept. 6 at Virginia (0-1).

2. NORTH DAKOTA STATE (1-0)
Last week: beat Austin Peay, 41-6
The scoop: QB Nick Mertens threw for 304 yards and three touchdowns and ended the game with a QB rating of 274.64.
Next up: Sept. 6 vs. Central Connecticut State (1-0).

3. CAL POLY (1-0)
Last week: beat San Diego State, 29-27
The scoop: Aztecs probably won’t schedule Cal Poly again after losing to the Mustangs for the second time in three years at home.
Next up: Sept. 6 vs. No. 10 Montana.

4. APPALACHIAN STATE (0-1)
Last week: lost to LSU, 41-13
The scoop: I know, I know. It was LSU. I just wasn’t impressed at all with the effort in the first half. LSU simply overwhelmed the Mountaineers with speed.
Next up: Sept. 6 vs. Jacksonville (1-0).

5. MASSACHUSETTS (1-0)
Last week: beat Albany, 28-16
The scoop: Survived a rough start against plucky Albany, rallying from a 9-0 deficit.
Next up: Sept. 6 at No. 17 Holy Cross (0-0).

6. DELAWARE (1-0)
Last week: lost to Maryland, 14-7
The scoop: The pass defense was impressive, holding Maryland QB Jordan Steffy to 115 yards on 10 of 18 passing. The Terps wore the Hens down with the run. Once the offense catches up, UD is going to be very tough to beat in the CAA.
Next up: Sept. 6 vs. West Chester (0-0).

7. JAMES MADISON (0-1)
Last week: lost to Duke, 31-7
The scoop: Expected better things offensively from the Dukes. They’ll get back in a groove this week against N.C. Central, which just lost at home to Division II Fayetteville State.
Next up: Sept. 6 vs. North Carolina Central (0-1).

8. EASTERN WASHINGTON (0-1)
Last week: lost to Texas Tech, 49-24
The scoop: After falling behind 20-0, Eastern played fairly well. Unfortunately, once you’re down 20-0 to Texas Tech, the game is over.
Next up: Sept. 6 at Colorado (1-0).

9. NORTHERN IOWA (0-1)
Last week: lost to BYU, 41-17.
The scoop: Panthers did most of their damage after halftime. Too bad they were down 27-3 at that point.
Next up: Sept. 6 vs. South Dakota (1-0).

10. MONTANA (0-0)
Last week: Idle
The scoop: Bobby Hauck takes a young team on the road for its opener against a Mustangs team that just beat FBS foe San Diego State.
Next up: Sept. 6 No. 3 at Cal Poly (1-0).

11. MCNEESE STATE (0-1)
Last week: lost to North Carolina, 35-27
The scoop: Cowboys actually led in the second half at UNC, and Tar Heels coach Butch Davis came away impressed with McNeese’s team speed.
Next up: Sept. 6 vs. Delta State (0-0).

12. WOFFORD (1-0)
Last week: beat Presbyterian, 38-21
The scoop: Settled down after falling behind 14-0 in the first quarter to Presbyterian.
Next up: Sept. 6 at Charleston Southern (0-1).

13. NEW HAMPSHIRE (0-0)
Last week: Idle
The scoop: The Wildcats have won their last three games against FBS opponents (Marshall, Northwester, Rutgers), and Army is coming off a 35-7 thumping by Temple at home.
Next up: Sept. 6 at Army (0-1).

14. SOUTHERN ILLINOIS (0-0)
Last week: Idle
The scoop: Rematch of last year’s regular-season finale in Hampton, which SIU won 45-27.
Next up: Sept. 6 vs. Hampton (1-0).

15. ELON (0-1)
Last week: lost to No. 3 Richmond, 28-10
The scoop: Richmond stuffed Elon’s run game and kept the deep passing attack in check. Scott Riddle threw for 243 yards, but he needed 23 completions to get there.
Next up: Sept. 6 at Stony Brook (1-0).

16. EASTERN ILLINOIS (0-1)
Last week: lost to Central Michigan, 31-12
The scoop: Second game of the EIU paycheck tour awaits this week in Champaign. Illini smarting after losing to rival Mizzou.
Next up: Sept. 6 at Illinois (0-1).

17. HOLY CROSS (0-0)
Last week: Idle
The scoop: A real chance for the Crusaders to earn respect. Holy Cross lost 40-30 to UMass in Amherst last season.
Next up: Sept. 6 vs. No. 5 Massachusetts.

18. YOUNGSTOWN STATE (0-1)
Last week: Lost to Ohio State, 43-0
The scoop: I know Ohio State is good, but five first downs in the entire game? Wow.
Next up: Sept. 6 at South Dakota State (0-1).

19. VILLANOVA (0-1)
Last week: lost to West Virginia, 48-21
The scoop: Mountaineers’ team speed just too much for ’Nova to handle.
Next up: Sept. 13 vs. Lehigh (0-0).

20. WESTERN ILLINOIS (0-1)
Last week: lost to Arkansas, 28-24
The scoop: Leathernecks led by 10 in the fourth quarter before succumbing. Tailback Herb Donaldson racked up 153 yards on 35 carries.
Next week: Sept. 6 vs. Quincy (0-0).

21. LIBERTY (1-0)
Last week: beat North Greenville, 49-10
The scoop: As expected, LU hammered the first of two Division II opponents on the schedule. Still some question marks on defense, especially in the banged-up linebacking corps.
Next up: Sept. 6 vs. Glenville State (1-0).

22. SOUTH DAKOTA STATE (0-1)
Last week: lost to Iowa State, 44-17
The scoop: Jackrabbits rolled up 350 yards of offense against Cyclones, so that’s at least encouraging.
Next up: Sept. 6 vs. Youngstown State (0-1).

23. HARVARD (0-0)
Last week: Idle
The scoop: Ivy League schools don’t begin play for another two weeks.
Next up: Sept. 20 vs. Holy Cross.

24. SOUTH CAROLINA STATE (0-1)
Last week: lost to Central Florida, 17-0
The scoop: Though the Bulldogs were down only 7-0 heading into the fourth quarter at UCF, they had little shot of winning. SCSU simply couldn’t move the ball. Five first downs and 126 yards of total offense.
Next week: Sept. 6 vs. Benedict (0-0).

25. GEORGIA SOUTHERN (0-1)
Last week: lost to Georgia, 45-21.
The scoop: Market adjustment, I suppose. Georgia Southern should have been in my initial rankings. Eagles play their next four games at home.
Next week: Sept. 6 vs. Austin Peay (0-1).

DROPPED OUT: No. 18 Eastern Kentucky, No. 25 Jacksonville State.

ON THE RADAR (in no particular order): Northern Arizona, Montana State, Portland State, Yale, Fordham, Grambling State, Prairie View A&M, Sam Houston State, Central Arkansas, Hampton, Albany, Jacksonville State, Eastern Kentucky, The Citadel, Furman.

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Big South players of the week are:

OFFENSE: RB Conte Cuttino, Stony Brook (104 yards, TD against Colgate)

DEFENSE: CB Chris Richards, Stony Brook (4 tackles, 2 INT)

SPECIAL TEAMS: WR Jonathan Crawford, Liberty (76-yard KO return for TD against North Greenville)

FRESHMAN: RB Edwin Gowins, Stony Brook (147 yards, 2 TD)

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On to the links:

Coastal Carolina was simply out-manned at Penn State Saturday. Travis Sawchik breaks down the Chanticleers' lone touchdown here. Penn State paid the Chanticleers $450,000 for the beating.

Charleston Southern coach Jay Mills was happy his team made it out of Miami with its health intact, the Post and Courier reports.

Gardner-Webb stunk in the red zone Thursday night against Tennessee Tech, the Shelby Star reports.

Presbyterian shocked the home crowd at Wofford with 14 points in the first five minutes. But the Terriers turned it around, the Spartanburg Herald-Journal reports.

Stony Brook put it all together against Colgate, Newsday's Chris Mascaro reports.