The top 25 teams in the FCS Coaches football poll, with first-place votes in parentheses, 2012 records and previous ranking:
| No. |
Team |
Record |
Points |
Previous |
| 1. |
North Dakota State (24) |
10-1 |
647 |
1 |
| 2. |
Montana State |
10-1 |
619 |
2 |
| 3. |
Old Dominion (1) |
10-1 |
586 |
4 |
| 4. |
Eastern Washington |
9-2 |
556 |
5 |
| 5. |
Sam Houston State (1) |
8-3 |
552 |
3 |
| 6. |
Appalachian State |
8-3 |
503 |
8 |
| 7. |
Georgia Southern |
8-3 |
492 |
6 |
| 8. |
Central Arkansas |
9-2 |
473 |
10 |
| 9. |
Wofford |
8-3 |
430 |
9 |
| 10. |
Lehigh |
10-1 |
355 |
12 |
| 11. |
Stony Brook |
9-2 |
345 |
13 |
| 12. |
Cal Poly |
9-2 |
324 |
18 |
| 13. |
New Hampshire |
8-3 |
322 |
7 |
| 14. |
Towson |
7-4 |
303 |
16 |
| 15. |
Illinois State |
8-3 |
268 |
11 |
| 16. |
Eastern Kentucky |
8-3 |
246 |
17 |
| 17. |
Richmond |
8-3 |
238 |
20 |
| 18. |
Villanova |
8-3 |
226 |
21 |
| 19. |
Northern Arizona |
8-2 |
176 |
15 |
| 20. |
James Madison |
7-4 |
162 |
14 |
| 21. |
South Dakota State |
8-3 |
154 |
23 |
| 22. |
Bethune-Cookman |
9-2 |
148 |
22 |
| 23. |
Harvard |
8-2 |
58 |
24 |
| 24. |
Indiana State |
7-4 |
51 |
19 |
| 25. |
Colgate |
8-3 |
46 |
NR |
Others receiving votes: Eastern Illinois (40), Albany (28), UT Martin (16), The Citadel (14), Samford (12), Youngstown State (10), Wagner (10), Tennessee State (9), Pennsylvania (4), Jackson State (2), Arkansas Pine Bluff (2), Tennessee Tech (1).