The top 25 teams in the Sports Network Division I Championship Subdivision football poll, with first-place votes in parentheses, 2012 records and previous ranking:
| No. |
Team |
Record |
Points |
Previous |
| 1. |
North Dakota State (126) |
10-1 |
3,653 |
1 |
| 2. |
Montana State (12) |
10-1 |
3,461 |
2 |
| 3. |
Old Dominion (6) |
10-1 |
3,310 |
4 |
| 4. |
Eastern Washington |
9-2 |
3,176 |
5 |
| 5. |
Sam Houston State (3) |
8-3 |
3,141 |
3 |
| 6. |
Georgia Southern |
8-3 |
2,779 |
6 |
| 7. |
Appalachian State |
8-3 |
2,688 |
8 |
| 8. |
Central Arkansas |
9-2 |
2,510 |
10 |
| 9. |
Wofford |
8-3 |
2,318 |
9 |
| 10. |
Stony Brook |
9-2 |
1,953 |
12 |
| 11. |
New Hampshire |
8-3 |
1,910 |
7 |
| 12. |
Cal Poly |
9-2 |
1,817 |
17 |
| 13. |
Lehigh |
10-1 |
1,802 |
14 |
| 14. |
Villanova |
8-3 |
1,627 |
16 |
| 15. |
Towson |
7-4 |
1,626 |
19 |
| 16. |
Illinois State |
8-3 |
1,611 |
11 |
| 17. |
James Madison |
7-4 |
1,290 |
13 |
| 18. |
Richmond |
8-3 |
1,244 |
20 |
| 19. |
South Dakota State |
8-3 |
1,178 |
21 |
| 20. |
Northern Arizona |
8-3 |
1,073 |
15 |
| 21. |
Eastern Kentucky |
8-3 |
803 |
22 |
| 22. |
Bethune-Cookman |
9-2 |
612 |
24 |
| 23. |
Indiana State |
7-4 |
442 |
18 |
| 24. |
Colgate |
8-3 |
336 |
NR |
| 25. |
Eastern Illinois |
7-4 |
258 |
24 |
Others receiving votes: UT Martin 244, Albany 204, Youngstown State 167, Samford 99, Harvard 91, Tennessee State 71, Arkansas-Pine Bluff 70, Wagner 49, The Citadel 29, McNeese State 22, Penn 21, Sacramento State 21, Southern Illinois 17, Coastal Carolina 15, Northern Iowa 10, Drake 8, North Dakota 8, Delaware 4, Howard 3, Chattanooga 2, North Carolina A&T 1, Liberty 1.