North Carolina A&T continues to win and continues to distance itself from the other teams in both the BOXTOROW Coaches and Media Polls.
In the coaches poll, the Aggies received 18 of the 20 first place votes, with the other two votes going to No. 2 Grambling. It was the most first place votes any team has received so far this season. No. 3 North Carolina Central and No. 5 Howard both won last week – the Eagles defeating South Carolina State 33-28 and the Bison defeating Bethune-Cookman 26-24.
Tennessee State was the only top five team from last week that lost, falling to OVC rival UT-Martin 31-16 and dropped two spots to No. 4 in this week’s poll.
Meanwhile in the media poll, A&T received all of the first place votes. Just like in the coaches poll, A&T was followed by Grambling, North Carolina Central and Tennessee State. Bowie State maintained its No. 5 position. Of note, Florida A&M entered the top 10 for the first time in recent memory after evening its record at 2-2 after a 20-14 victory over Savannah State.
The BOXTOROW HBCU FCS coaches poll and the media poll are administered by FROM THE PRESS BOX TO PRESS ROW. The coaches poll is voted on by the HBCU Football Championship Subdivision coaches and the media poll is voted on by media members around the country who cover HBCU football.
2017 BOXTOROW HBCU FCS Football Coaches Top 10 Poll
Week 4
(Records through September 23, 2017)
| No. | Team | W-L | Pts | Last Week |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | North Carolina A&T (18) | 4-0 | 198 | 1 |
| 2 | Grambling (2) | 3-1 | 178 | 3 |
| 3 | North Carolina Central | 2-1 | 142 | 2 |
| 4 | Tennessee State | 3-1 | 135 | 2 |
| 5 | Howard | 2-2 | 112 | 8 |
| 6 | Alcorn State | 2-2 | 109 | 9 |
| 7 | Prairie View A&M | 1-2 | 42 | NR |
| 8 | Hampton | 2-2 | 41 | 10 |
| 9 | South Carolina State | 1-2 | 39 | 6 |
| 10 | Bethune-Cookman | 1-3 | 36 | 5 |
Other receiving votes: Florida A&M (2-2) 31, Southern (1-3) 20, Arkansas-Pine Bluff (2-2) 7.
(1st place votes in parentheses)
2017 BOXTOROW HBCU Media Top 10 Poll
Week 4
(Records through September 23, 2017)
| No. | Team | W-L | Pts. | Last Week |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | North Carolina A&T (16) | 4-0 | 160 | 1 |
| 2 | Grambling | 3-1 | 136 | 3 |
| 3 | North Carolina Central | 2-1 | 121 | 4 |
| 4 | Tennessee State | 3-1 | 110 | 2 |
| 5 | Bowie State | 4-0 | 91 | 5 |
| 6 | Alcorn State | 2-2 | 86 | 8 |
| 7 | Virginia State | 3-0 | 58 | 9 |
| 8 | Howard | 2-2 | 54 | 7 |
| 9 | Southern | 1-3 | 20 | 6 |
| 10 | Florida A&M | 2-2 | 13 | NR |
Other receiving votes: Clark Atlanta (3-1) 11, Hampton (2-2) 7, Elizabeth City State (3-1) 6, Tuskegee (2-2) 4, Langston (3-0) 3, Arkansas-Pine Bluff (2-2) 3, Bethune-Cookman (1-3) 3, Winston-Salem State (2-2) 3, South Carolina State (1-2) 2, Prairie View A&M (1-2) 2, Albany State (2-2) 1, Miles (2-2) 1.
(1st place votes in parentheses)
Dr. Cavil’s 2017 HBCU Major Division Poll Rankings – Week 4
| Rank | Team & Mascot | Record | FPV | Points | PWR |
| 1 | North Carolina A&T Aggies | (4-0, 1-0) | 9 | 112 | 1 |
| 2 | @-Grambling State Tigers | (3-1, 1-0) | 2 | 93 | 3 |
| 3 | North Carolina Central Eagles | (2-1, 1-0) | 1 | 85 | 4 |
| 4 | Tennessee State Tigers | (3-1, 1-0) | 1 | 100 | 2 |
| 5 | Hampton Pirates | (2-2, 1-0) | 72 | 5 | |
| 6 | Alcorn State Braves | (2-2, 1-0) | 69 | 6 | |
| 7 | Howard Bison | (2-2, 1-0) | 51 | 7 | |
| 8 | Prairie View A&M Panthers | (1-2, 1-0) | 38 | 10 | |
| 9 | Florida A&M Rattlers | (2-2, 1-0) | 21 | NR | |
| 10 | Arkansas-Pine Bluff Golden Lions | (2-2, 1-0) | 19 | NR |
Dr. Cavil’s 2017 HBCU Mid-Major Division Poll Rankings – Week 4
| Rank | Team & Mascot | Record | FPV | Points | PWR |
| 1 | Bowie State Bulldogs | (4-0, 1-0) | 6 | 104 | 1 |
| 2 | Virginia State Trojans | (3-0, 1-0) | 3 | 99 | 2 |
| 3 | Langston Lions | (3-0, 2-0) | 1 | 92 | 3 |
| 4 | Elizabeth City State Vikings | (3-1, 1-0) | 78 | 7 | |
| 5 | Clark-Atlanta Panthers | (3-1, 1-0) | 66 | 8 | |
| 6 | @-Winston-Salem State Rams | (2-2, 1-1) | 53 | 4 | |
| 7 | Albany State Golden Rams | (2-1, 1-0) | 42 | 5 | |
| 8 | Tuskegee Golden Tigers | (2-2, 1-0) | 37 | 6 | |
| 9 | Virginia Union Panthers | (2-2, 0-1) | 20 | NR | |
| 10 | Miles Golden Bears | (2-2, 0-0) | 15 | NR |
