The top 25 teams in the FCS Coaches football poll, with first-place votes in parentheses, 2011 records and previous ranking:
| No. |
Team |
Record |
Points |
Previous |
| 1. |
North Dakota State (25) |
14-1 |
625 |
4 |
| 2. |
Sam Houston State |
14-1 |
600 |
1 |
| 3. |
Georgia Southern |
11-3 |
563 |
2 |
| 4. |
Montana |
11-3 |
555 |
5 |
| 5. |
Northern Iowa |
10-3 |
482 |
7 |
| 6. |
Lehigh |
11-2 |
473 |
6 |
| 7. |
Montana State |
10-3 |
470 |
7 |
| 8. |
Maine |
9-4 |
445 |
13 |
| 9. |
Towson |
9-2 |
380 |
9 |
| 10. |
Old Dominion |
10-3 |
367 |
10 |
| 11. |
Appalachian State |
8-4 |
357 |
8 |
| 12. |
New Hampshire |
8-4 |
336 |
12 |
| 13. |
Wofford |
8-4 |
326 |
11 |
| 14. |
James Madison |
8-5 |
278 |
19 |
| 15. |
Central Arkansas |
9-4 |
273 |
15 |
| 16. |
Stony Brook |
9-4 |
200 |
24 |
| 17. |
Harvard |
9-1 |
199 |
14 |
| 18. |
Norfolk State |
9-3 |
158 |
22 |
| 19. |
Tennessee Tech |
7-4 |
152 |
20 |
| 20. |
Delaware |
7-4 |
143 |
16 |
| 21. |
Eastern Kentucky |
7-5 |
136 |
NR |
| 22. |
Illinois State |
7-4 |
122 |
17 |
| 23. |
Albany |
8-4 |
89 |
NR |
| 24. |
Jackson State |
9-2 |
85 |
18 |
| 25. |
Liberty |
7-4 |
57 |
23 |
Others receiving votes: North Dakota (32); Jacksonville State (20); Indiana State (19); Massachusetts (14); Portland State (14); San Diego (23); South Carolina State (15); Drake (14); South Dakota (12); Furman (10); William & Mary (10); Bethune-Cookman (7); Grambling State (7); Murray State (7); Eastern Washington (6); Alabama State (4); Florida A&M (4); Southern Utah (3); Brown (2); Youngstown State (2).