The top 25 teams in the FCS Coaches football poll, with first-place votes in parentheses, 2008 records and previous ranking:
| No. |
Team |
Record |
Points |
Previous |
| 1. |
Richmond (24) |
13-3 |
600 |
6 |
| 2. |
Montana |
14-2 |
559 |
5 |
| 3. |
James Madison |
12-2 |
540 |
1 |
| 4. |
Northern Iowa |
12-3 |
538 |
4 |
| 5. |
Appalachian State |
11-3 |
507 |
2 |
| 6. |
Villanova |
10-3 |
465 |
7 |
| 7. |
New Hampshire |
10-3 |
434 |
10 |
| 8. |
Cal Poly |
8-3 |
419 |
3 |
| 9. |
Weber State |
10-4 |
398 |
T12 |
| 10. |
Southern Illinois |
9-3 |
389 |
8 |
| 11. |
Wofford |
9-3 |
386 |
9 |
| 12. |
Central Arkansas |
10-2 |
313 |
11 |
| 13. |
South Carolina State |
10-3 |
298 |
T12 |
| 14. |
Harvard |
9-1 |
237 |
14 |
| 15. |
Liberty |
10-2 |
231 |
15 |
| 16. |
Maine |
8-5 |
181 |
21 |
| 17. |
Colgate |
9-3 |
176 |
16 |
| 18. |
Eastern Kentucky |
8-4 |
160 |
22 |
| 19. |
Elon |
8-4 |
154 |
19 |
| 20. |
William & Mary |
7-4 |
147 |
18 |
| 21. |
McNeese State |
7-4 |
138 |
17 |
| 22. |
Jacksonville State |
8-3 |
112 |
20 |
| 23. |
Texas State |
8-5 |
107 |
NR |
| 24. |
Grambling State |
11-2 |
92 |
25 |
| 25. |
Prairie View A&M |
9-1 |
69 |
23 |
Others receiving votes: Tennessee-Martin (40), Florida A&M (33), Massachusetts (24), Furman (17), South Dakota State (15), Albany (10), Tennessee State (8), Holy Cross (2), Northwestern State (1).