STEPHENVILLE, Texas – Despite not playing a game this past Saturday, Tarleton State Football still rose in both national polls.
 
The Texans were ranked No. 8 in both of the prominent FCS national polls on Monday, the Stats Perform FCS Top 25 Poll and the AFCA Coaches Poll.
 
The Texans rose two spots in the Stats Perform FCS Top 25 Poll to No. 8 from No. 10, surpassing Villanova, who lost at Maine, and Mercer, who lost at Samford. Tarleton State has 929 points in the Stats Perform FCS Top 25 Poll, with the next closest, No. 7 North Dakota, at 1,006 points. A national media panel selects the Stats Perform FCS Top 25 Poll. A first-place vote is worth 25 points, a second-place vote 24 points, all the way down to one point for a 25th-place vote.
 
In the AFCA Coaches Poll, the Texans moved up one spot to No. 8 from No. 9, surpassing both Villanova and Mercer. North Dakota jumped ahead of the Texans to No. 7 with 476 points, with Tarleton at 472 points. The AFCA FCS Coaches Poll is voted on by the panel chosen by random draw, conference by conference plus independents, from a pool of coaches who have indicated to the AFCA their willingness to participate. Each coach submits a Top-25 with a first-place vote worth 25 points, second-place 24, and so on down to one point for 25th.
 
These are the highest rankings Tarleton has been slotted in its NCAA Division I era.
 
The Texans are 6-1 overall and 3-0 in conference play. Their 6-1 record through seven games is their best start to a year since beginning 2019 11-0. The Texans have won 10 of their last 11 games, dating back to last season.
 
Tarleton's bye weeks are over with five straight weeks of conference play remaining for the Texans in the regular season. They'll next play at Austin Peay on Saturday at 3 p.m. CT in Clarksville, Tennessee.