The top 25 teams in the FCS Coaches football poll, with first-place votes in parentheses, 2009 records and previous ranking:
| No. |
Team |
Record |
Points |
Previous |
| 1. |
Villanova (28) |
14-1 |
700 |
3 |
| 2. |
Montana |
14-1 |
672 |
1 |
| T3. |
Appalachian State |
11-3 |
629 |
5 |
| T3. |
William & Mary |
11-3 |
629 |
6 |
| 5. |
Richmond |
11-2 |
579 |
4 |
| 6. |
Southern Illinois |
11-2 |
541 |
2 |
| 7. |
New Hampshire |
10-3 |
515 |
10 |
| 8. |
South Carolina State |
10-2 |
477 |
7 |
| 9. |
Stephen F. Austin |
10-3 |
450 |
12 |
| 10. |
Elon |
9-3 |
439 |
9 |
| 11. |
South Dakota State |
8-4 |
413 |
11 |
| 12. |
McNeese State |
9-3 |
375 |
8 |
| 13. |
Eastern Washington |
8-4 |
345 |
14 |
| 14. |
Holy Cross |
9-3 |
317 |
19 |
| 15. |
Eastern Illinois |
8-4 |
272 |
17 |
| 16. |
Jacksonville State |
8-3 |
258 |
13 |
| 17. |
Weber State |
7-5 |
252 |
18 |
| 18. |
Northern Iowa |
7-4 |
246 |
15 |
| 19. |
Prairie View A&M |
9-1 |
223 |
16 |
| 20. |
Colgate |
9-2 |
165 |
20 |
| 21. |
Liberty |
8-3 |
155 |
22 |
| 22. |
Florida A&M |
8-3 |
127 |
21 |
| 23. |
Penn |
8-2 |
97 |
23 |
| 24. |
Texas State |
7-4 |
59 |
T25 |
| 25. |
Lafayette |
8-3 |
56 |
24 |
Others receiving votes: Montana State (38), Delaware (18), James Madison (14), Butler (6), Harvard (6), Grambling State (5), Northern Arizona (5), Alabama A&M (4), Illinois State (4), Central Connecticut State (2), Dayton (2), Tennessee Tech (2), Central Arkansas (1), Massachusetts (1), UC Davis (1).