This is what happens when you tak a week off from the rankings in late October - things change ... a lot.

While the top seven teams do what is expected of them and don't move, there's movement elsewhere. Illinois State put in another dominant performance, and we're believers now. UW-Milwaukee beat the well-regarded Northern Michigan and move up 8 spots. Winona State also gets a boost.

Oakland moves up significantly thanks to a loss, which can happen, if you lose to the right team. A 24-12 loss to Grand Valley State says you're right in the mix, so Oakland moves up 23 to #25. Pitt State, with a close win over UMS&T, takes a similar leap.

At the bottom, we dropped a couple of NSCRO teams just to be less confusing, and in come Southern Connecticut, Tulane, and Montana State. We ended up, then, with 51 teams. So we tied Providence and Roger Williams. Providence beat RWU, but by a small margin, and it seems churlish to put Roger Williams out when they seem to be playing better. The way we see it, any of the bottom nine could drop themselves out with a poor showing. At the top, as many as 12 teams might actually be the best in the country.