After a disappointing loss to the North Dakota State University Bison in the FCS semifinals, the Georgia Southern University Eagles were rewarded the No. 3 spot in the Coaches Poll Monday afternoon.

This is the third straight year that the Eagles have made it to the semifinals. This year it paid off as they were not only voted to a third place ranking in the FCS Coaches Poll, but also in

the Sports Network FCS Poll. GSU was previously ranked sixth and seventh, respectively, in the previous poll, released before the start of the playoffs.

The Eagles were ranked behind the two finalists in the FCS playoffs, North Dakota State and Sam Houston State. North Dakota State finished the 2012 season with its fourth-consecutive No. 1 ranking in this week’s FCS Coaches Poll after a 39-13 victory in Saturday’s national championship game. The Bison finished the season at 14-1 and received 26 first-place votes (650 total points). This is the eleventh time this season NDSU has been ranked No.1 in the Coaches Poll.

Sam Houston State moved up three spots to No. 2 after advancing to the FCS final. The Bearkats finished the season at 11-4 and received a total of 618 points in the final voting.

GSU was one of three Southern Conference teams selected to the two polls. Wofford finished seventh in both polls, while Appalachian State fell to eighth in the FCS Coaches Poll and ninth in the Sports Network Poll. Wofford (9-4) rose two spots to No. 7 and Appalachian State (8-4) fell two spots to No. 8.

This season the Eagles reached as high as No. 1 in the FCS Coaches Poll and opened the season ranked third. GSU finished the 2012 season with a 10-4 record and a 6-2 mark in the SoCon and secured a share of their second-straight SoCon Championship.

2012 FCS Coaches Final Poll (January 7, 2013)

Team (No. 1 Votes) Record Points Last Week

1. North Dakota State (26) 14-1 650 1

2. Sam Houston State 11-4 618 5

3. Georgia Southern 12-4 579 7

4. Eastern Washington 11-3 572 4

5. Montana State 11-2 539 2

6. Old Dominion 11-2 527 3

7. Wofford 9-4 496 9

8. Appalachian State 8-4 434 6

9. Illinois State 9-4 408 15

10. Central Arkansas 9-3 401 8

11. Cal Poly 9-3 378 12

12. Stony Brook 10-3 366 11

13. New Hampshire 8-4 334 13

14. Lehigh 10-1 295 10

15. Towson 7-4 235 14

16. Villanova 8-4 227 18

17. South Dakota State 9-4 222 21

18. Richmond 8-3 188 17

19. Eastern Kentucky 8-3 163 16

20. Northern Arizona 8-2 142 19

21. James Madison 7-4 111 20

22. Wagner 9-4 103 NR

23. Bethune-Cookman 9-3 89 22

24. Coastal Carolina 8-5 88 NR

25. Eastern Illinois 7-5 75 NR

Others Receiving Votes: Colgate (66), Harvard (60), Indiana State (32), Tennessee State (11), UT Martin (11), Youngstown State (9), Pennsylvania (7), The Citadel (5), Arkansas Pine-Bluff (3), Albany (3), San Diego (1), Chattanooga (1), Samford (1).