STEPHENVILLE, Texas — Tarleton State Football keeps winning, and the Texans' have maintained their No. 3 spot in the national rankings for the seventh straight week.
 
The Texans are only behind North Dakota State and South Dakota State in both the Stats Perform FCS Top 25 Poll and AFCA FCS Coaches Poll, the two major FCS ranking systems, announced on Monday.
 
In the Stats Perform FCS Top 25 Poll, the Texans earned 1,276 points, behind North Dakota State (1,399 points) and South Dakota State (1,339 points). 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 FCS Coaches Poll, Tarleton State earned 578 points, with North Dakota State at 625 points and South Dakota State at 597 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.
 
On Saturday, Tarleton State crushed a No. 23 ranked West Georgia team 45-10 at home in front of a record-setting crowd at Memorial Stadium on Homecoming. The Texans improved to 8-0 overall and 4-0 in conference play, with eight straight wins their longest winning streak in the program's NCAA Division I era. The Texans are also alone at the top of the United Athletic Conference standings now, a game ahead of Abilene Christian (3-1).
 
Last week, Tarleton State Football was named No. 3 by the Division I Football Championship Committee in its initial FCS Top 10 ranking release.
 
The full Stats Perform FCS Top 25 Poll after Week 8:
 
1. North Dakota State (7-0, 4-0 MVFC)
Points: 1,399 (55 of 56 first-place votes); Previous Ranking: 1; Week 8: 38-7 win at Indiana State; Week 9: at No. 2 South Dakota State
 
2. South Dakota State (7-0, 3-0 MVFC)
Points: 1,339 (1 first-place vote); Previous Ranking: 2; Week 8: 35-14 win at Murray State; Week 9: No. 1 North Dakota State
 
3. Tarleton State (8-0, 4-0 UAC)
Points: 1,276; Previous Ranking: 3; Week 8: 45-10 win over West Georgia; Week 9: at Eastern Kentucky
 
4. Montana (7-0, 4-0 Big Sky)
Points: 1,220; Previous Ranking: 4; Week 8: 43-21 win over Sacred Heart; Week 9: at Sacramento State
 
5. Montana State (5-2, 3-0 Big Sky)
Points: 1,198; Previous Ranking: 5; Week 8: No game; Week 9: at Cal Poly
 
6. UC Davis (5-1, 3-0 Big Sky)
Points: 1,078; Previous Ranking: 6; Week 8: No game; Week 9: at Northern Colorado
 
7. Lehigh (7-0, 2-0 Patriot)
Points: 1,035; Previous Ranking: 7; Week 8: No game; Week 9: at Fordham
 
8. North Dakota (5-2, 3-0 MVFC)
Points: 995, Previous Ranking: 9; Week 8: 38-19 win at then-No. 12 Southern Illinois; Week 9: Indiana State
 
9. Tennessee Tech (7-0, 4-0 OVC-Big South)
Points: 987; Previous Ranking: 8; Week 8: 52-28 win at Lindenwood; Week 9: Southeast Missouri
 
10. Monmouth (6-1, 3-0 CAA)
Points: 909; Previous Ranking: 11; Week 8: 49-21 win over Stony Brook; Week 9: at Hampton
 
11. Villanova (5-2, 4-1 CAA)
Points: 683; Previous Ranking: 15; Week 8: 56-14 win over Hampton; Week 9: UAlbany 
 
12. Jackson State (5-1, 3-0 SWAC)
Points: 638; Previous Ranking: 14; Week 8: No game; Week 9: Grambling State in Las Vegas
 
13. Rhode Island (6-2, 4-0 CAA)
Points: 631; Previous Ranking: 16; Week 8: 58-17 win at UAlbany; Week 9: Bryant
 
14. Harvard (5-0, 2-0 Ivy)
Points: 601; Previous Ranking: 18; Week 8: 31-7 win over Merrimack; Week 9: at Princeton 
 
15. Lamar (6-1, 3-0 Southland)
Points: 585; Previous Ranking: 17; Week 8: 23-21 win over UTRGV; Week 9: at Northwestern State
 
16. Southern Illinois (4-3, 1-2 MVFC)
Points: 481; Previous Ranking: 12; Week 8: 38-19 loss to then-No. 9 North Dakota; Week 9: Northern Iowa 
 
17. Mercer (5-1, 4-0 SoCon)
Points: 475; Previous Ranking: 20; Week 8: No game; Week 9: VMI
 
18. Illinois State (4-3, 1-2 MVFC)
Points: 429; Previous Ranking: 10; Week 8: 40-35 loss to Youngstown State; Week 9: at No. 21 South Dakota
 
19. Presbyterian (7-0, 3-0 Pioneer)
Points: 369; Previous Ranking: 21; Week 8: 42-7 win over Stetson; Week 9: at Dayton
 
20. Northern Arizona (4-3, 1-2 Big Sky)
Points: 342; Previous Ranking: 19; Week 8: No game; Week 9: at Idaho State
 
21. South Dakota (5-3, 3-1 MVFC)
Points: 296; Previous Ranking: 22; Week 8: 17-14 win at Northern Iowa; Week 9: No. 18 Illinois State
 
22. Youngstown State (4-3, 1-2 MVFC)
Points: 244; Previous Ranking: NR; Week 8: 40-35 win at then-No. 10 Illinois State; Week 9: Murray State
 
23. Abilene Christian (4-4, 3-1 UAC)
Points: 227; Previous Ranking: 13; Week 8: 31-24 loss at Southern Utah; Week 9: No game
 
24. Stephen F. Austin (5-2, 3-0 Southland)
Points: 226; Previous Ranking: 25; Week 8: 34-7 win over Nicholls; Week 9: at East Texas A&M 
 
25. Austin Peay (4-3, 2-2 UAC)
Points: 182; Previous Ranking: 23; Week 8: No game; Week 9: North Alabama