James Madison clinched the Colonial Athletic Association's automatic bid to the Football Championship Subdivision playoffs Saturday and retained its No. 1 ranking in The Sports Network FCS Top 25 poll on Monday.

The Dukes (9-1) received 106 of 120 first-place votes and 2,986 out of a possible 3,000 points following their 48-24 victory at home against then-12th-ranked William & Mary. JMU closes out the regular season Saturday on the road against Towson.

Along with James Madison, the rest of the top 10 stayed the same this week.

Appalachian State (9-2) clinched the automatic bid in the Southern Conference by beating Elon 24-16 in the cold, rain, ice and snow of Kidd Brewer Stadium. The Mountaineers were rewarded by receiving 13 first-place votes and 2,871 points to stay on JMU's heels at No. 2 in the poll.

Cal Poly (8-1) won the Great West Conference title on Saturday night by downing UC Davis 51-28 and remained No. 3 in the poll. The Mustangs received one first-place vote and 2,623 points.

Northern Iowa (9-2) captured a share of the Missouri Valley Football Conference crown on Saturday with a 28-0 victory at winless Indiana State. The No. 4 Panthers barely held off No. 5 Montana (10-1), which dumped winless Idaho State at home, 29-10.

Villanova (8-2) came in at No. 6 again after surviving a close call at home against Towson, 34-31, while Richmond (8-3) remained at No. 7  with a 31-14 victory at home over Delaware.

Weber State (9-2) had an off-week after wrapping up the Big Sky Conference auto bid last week and held on to the No. 8 position.

Wofford (8-2) used a solid 28-7 win at Samford to stay in the ninth position, while Southern Illinois remained at No. 10 by holding off South Dakota State 38-35 at home.

New Hampshire (8-2) picked up a crucial 52-21 victory at home against Massachusetts to improve by two spots in the new poll at No. 11. UMass fell from No.22 out of the top 25 for the first time since the final 2004 poll. The Minutemen had been ranked for 55 consecutive weeks.

Joining UNH in the second 10 are Central Arkansas at No. 12, followed by Elon, McNeese State, South Carolina State, William & Mary, Maine, Tennessee-Martin, Harvard and Furman.

Completing the poll are Colgate at No. 21, Liberty at No. 22, Western Illinois at No. 23, Jacksonville State at No. 24 and Tennessee State at No. 25. Jacksonville State returns to the poll after a three-week absence.

Sports Network's FCS College Football Poll

Team (First-place votes)        Record  Points
1. James Madison Dukes (106)    9-1     2,986
2. Appalachian State Mountaineers (13)  9-2     2,871
3. Cal Poly Mustangs (1)        8-1     2,623
4. Northern Iowa Panthers       9-2     2,517
5. Montana Grizzlies    10-1    2,499
6. Villanova Wildcats   8-2     2,355
7. Richmond Spiders     8-3     2,188
8. Weber State Wildcats         9-2     2,161
9. Wofford Terriers     8-2     2,005
10. Southern Illinois Salukis   8-2     1,988
11. New Hampshire Wildcats      8-2     1,659
12. Elon Phoenix        8-3     1,473
13. Central Arkansas Bears      9-2     1,448
14. McNeese State Cowboys       7-3     1,272
15. South Carolina State Bulldogs       9-2     1,231
16. William & Mary Tribe        7-3     1,106
17. Maine Black Bears   8-3     900 
18. Tennessee-Martin Skyhawks   8-3     863
19. Harvard Crimson     8-1     769
20. Furman Paladins     7-4     595
21. Colgate Raiders     8-2     506
22. Liberty Flames      9-2     409
23. Western Illinois Leathernecks       6-4     338
24. Jacksonville State  8-3     242
25. Tennessee State Tigers      8-3     238

Others receiving votes: Holy Cross 196, Prairie View 185, Eastern Kentucky 174, North Dakota State 147, Grambling 117, Montana State 111, Texas State 107, South Dakota State 87,  Lafayette 47, Massachusetts 43,  Florida A&M 35, Albany 28, Georgia Southern 23, Bethune-Cookman 18, Brown 10, Northern Arizona 7, Dayton 6, Jacksonville 5, San Diego 4, Yale 3, Monmouth 2 Northwestern State 2, South Dakota 2.