Top 25 games abound in FCS Week 9

(AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh)

STATS FCS Senior Editor

(STATS) - There could be seven or eight matchups between teams in the STATS FCS Top 25 to highlight the Week 9 schedule next Saturday.

The new national rankings will be announced Monday, but the games pitting Top 25 teams against each other may include New Hampshire at top-ranked James Madison, Stony Brook at Richmond and Elon at Villanova in CAA Football; Montana at Weber State in the Big Sky; Illinois State at Youngstown State, Northern Iowa (unranked heading into this weekend) at No. 2 North Dakota State and South Dakota State at Western Illinois in the Missouri Valley; and McNeese at Central Arkansas in the Southland.

Also highlighting the schedule is "The Military Classic of the South" - VMI's visit to The Citadel in the Southern Conference. Plus, the largest FCS crowd of the season is expected for the "Magic City Classic" between SWAC rivals Alabama A&M and Alabama State at Birmingham's Legion Field.

Other key games: two-time defending Big South champ Charleston Southern hosting Monmouth; Columbia at Yale in the Ivy League; Furman at Western Carolina in the Southern Conference; and Sam Houston State at Southeastern Louisiana in the Southland.

Also, Austin Peay will face its third FBS opponent of the season, visiting UCF.