WACO, TEX.– Southeast Missouri State and Southern Illinois are only 48 miles apart, so it wasn’t too far of a drive for the Redhawks to face their rival. The No. 7 Salukis had a 21-16 lead late in the third quarter, but Paxton DeLaurent threw two touchdown passes and Payton Brown ran another score in during the final stages of the game allowing Southeast Missouri State to run away with the War for the Wheel Trophy, 38-21. The wins moves SEMO up to No. 14 in this week’s AFCA FCS Coaches Poll, presented by Hudl. Southern Illinois drops 10 places to No. 17.
The Salukis don’t have long to lick their wounds as they travel to No. 5 South Dakota in one of four top 25 matchups in the final weekend of September. The other matchups feature No. 2 North Dakota State traveling to No. 15 Illinois State and No. 4 Idaho facing their third straight ranked opponent in No. 11 UC Davis. The final matchup has newly ranked and No. 25 Lamar traveling to No. 7 Central Arkansas. This is the first time Lamar has been ranked in the FCS Coaches Poll since the AFCA took over in 2018.
AFCA FCS Coaches Poll, presented by Hudl – September 23, 2024
| Rank | School (1st votes) | Rec. | Pts. | Prev. | Week 4 | Next Game |
| 1 | South Dakota St. (22) | 3-1 | 644 | 1 | D. Southeastern Louisiana, 41-0 | Oct. 5 at No. 19 Northern Iowa |
| 2 | North Dakota St. (1) | 3-1 | 612 | 2 | D. Towson, 41-24 | Sept. 28 at No. 15 Illinois St. |
| 3 | Montana St. (2) | 4-0 | 598 | 3 | D. Mercyhurst, 52-13 | Sept. 28 at Idaho St. |
| 4 | Idaho (1) | 3-1 | 578 | 4 | D. No. 23 ACU, 27-24 | Sept. 28 at No. 11 UC Davis |
| 5 | South Dakota | 2-1 | 515 | 6 | D. Drake, 42-3 | Sept. 28 vs. No. 17 Southern Illinois |
| 6 | Villanova | 3-1 | 475 | 5 | Lost to Maryland, 38-20 | Sept. 28 vs. LIU |
| 7 | Central Arkansas | 3-1 | 467 | 8 | D. Arkansas-Pine Bluff, 56-17 | Sept. 28 vs. No. 25 Lamar |
| 8 | North Dakota | 3-1 | 457 | 9 | D. San Diego, 41-24 | Sept. 28 vs. Murray St. |
| 9 | Montana | 3-1 | 453 | 10 | D. Western Carolina, 46-35 | Sept. 28 at Eastern Washington |
| 10 | Sacramento St. | 2-2 | 408 | 11 | D. Texas A&M-Commerce, 34-0 | Sept. 28 at Northern Arizona |
| 11 | UC Davis | 3-1 | 366 | 12 | D. Utah Tech, 32-14 | Sept. 28 vs. No. 4 Idaho |
| 12 | William & Mary | 3-1 | 355 | 13 | D. Furman, 34-24 | Sept. 28 vs. Hampton |
| 13 | Mercer | 4-0 | 286 | 16 | D. The Citadel, 38-21 | Sept. 28 at Wofford |
| 14 | Southeast Missouri St. | 3-1 | 277 | 21 | D. No. 7 Southern Illinois, 38-21 | Sept. 28 vs. Northwestern St. |
| 15 | Illinois St. | 3-1 | 276 | 15 | D. Eastern Illinois, 31-7 | Sept. 28 vs. No. 2 North Dakota St. |
| 16 | Tarleton St. | 3-1 | 263 | 17 | D. North Alabama, 28-14 | Sept. 28 vs. Southeastern Louisiana |
| 17 | Southern Illinois | 2-2 | 248 | 7 | Lost to No. 21 Southeast Missouri St., 38-21 | Sept. 28 at No. 5 South Dakota |
| 18 | UIW | 2-2 | 194 | 18 | D. Northern Arizona, 38-14 | Oct. 5 vs. Prairie View A&M |
| 19 | Northern Iowa | 2-2 | 105 | 19 | Lost to Hawaii, 36-7 | Oct. 5 vs. No. 1 South Dakota St. |
| 20 | New Hampshire | 3-1 | 98 | NR | D. Bryant, 38-17 | Oct. 4 at Harvard |
| 21 | Florida A&M | 2-2 | 85 | 20 | Lost to Troy, 34-12 | Sept. 28 vs. Alabama A&M |
| 22 | ACU | 2-2 | 78 | 23 | Lost to No. 4 Idaho, 27-24 | Sept. 28 at Utah Tech |
| 23t. | UAlbany | 1-2 | 73 | 22 | Idle | Sept. 28 vs. Maine |
| 23t. | Richmond | 2-2 | 73 | NR | D. Delaware St., 38-24 | Sept. 28 at Elon |
| 25 | Lamar | 3-1 | 68 | NR | D. Texas Southern, 20-17 | Sept. 28 at No. 7 Central Arkansas |
Dropped Out: Lafayette (14), Chattanooga (24), Youngstown St. (25)
Others Receiving Votes: Rhode Island, 54; Lafayette, 49; Chattanooga, 46; Weber St., 28; McNeese, 23; Eastern Illinois, 20; Missouri St., 20; Harvard, 19; Lehigh, 19; Stony Brook, 16; Wofford, 14; Monmouth (N.J.), 10; Youngstown St., 10; Duquesne, 9; North Carolina Central, 9; Stephen F. Austin, 9; Nicholls, 7; Butler, 6; East Tennessee St., 6; Indiana St., 5; Northern Arizona, 4; Southern, 4; Dartmouth, 3; Yale, 3; Central Connecticut St., 2; Jackson St., 1; Murray St., 1; Western Carolina, 1.
