At 7:08 p.m. CT on April 1, we learned (thanks to JMU beat writer Greg Madia) the FCS Championship Committee was going to release its Top 10 rankings in between innings of a college baseball game on ESPNU. A little more than an hour later, the rankings were revealed.
Despite quite literally zero buildup this week or today, the rankings generated plenty of buzz in the FCS community once shown.
We know it’s an impossible job for the championship committee this spring with a 16-team bracket and only five at-large bids to work with. Some quality teams will be left on the wrong side of the bubble. Teams are playing a different number of games and there are very few non-conference games to help gauge the strength of teams. Which makes it important to watch as many games as possible instead of just looking at the teams on paper.
But looking at teams on paper is exactly what we’re going to do here.
Here are the resumes for the Top 10 teams:
RELATED: FCS Spring Bracketology
*Then-ranked wins are victories against ranked teams at the time of the game. Now-ranked wins are against teams in this week’s Stats Perform Top 25
1. James Madison
Record: 4-0
D1 Wins: 4 (Morehead St, RMU, Elon, W&M)
FCS Losses: 0
Then-Ranked wins: 0
Now-Ranked wins: 0
Massey SOS: 70th
2. North Dakota State
Record: 5-1
D1 Wins: 5 (UCA, YSU, Mo State, ISUr, UND)
FCS Losses: 1 (No. 18 SIU)
Then-Ranked wins: 3 (No. 11 fall UCA, No. 22 ISUr, No. 2 UND)
Now-Ranked wins: 3 (No. 11 fall UCA, No. 19 Mo State, No. 6 UND)
Massey SOS: 20th
3. South Dakota State
Record: 4-1
D1 Wins: 4 (UNI, WIU, YSU, UND)
FCS Losses: 1 (No. 6 UND)
Then-Ranked wins: 2 (No. 3 UNI, No. 5 SIU)
Now-Ranked wins: 2 (No. 23 UNI, No. 18 SIU)
Massey SOS: 15th
4. Sam Houston
Record: 3-0
D1 Wins: 3 (SLU, Nicholls, Lamar)
FCS Losses: 0
Then-Ranked wins: 2 (No. 18 SLU, No. 7 Nicholls)
Now-Ranked wins: 2 (No. 25 SLU, No. 13 Nicholls)
Massey SOS: 50th
5. North Dakota
Record: 4-1
D1 Wins: 4 (SIU, SDSU, USD, WIU)
FCS Losses: 1 (No. 2 NDSU)
Then-Ranked wins: 3 (No. 24 SIU, No. 3 SDSU, No. 20 USD)
Now-Ranked wins: 2 (No. 18 SIU, No. 4 SDSU)
Massey SOS: 13th
6. Weber State
Record: 3-0
D1 Wins: 3 (Idaho St, UC Davis, NAU)
FCS Losses: 0
Then-Ranked wins: 1 (No. 23 UC Davis)
Now-Ranked wins: 1 (No. 11 UC Davis)
Massey SOS: 26th
7. Delaware
Record: 3-0
D1 Wins: 3 (Maine, SBU, URI)
FCS Losses: 0
Then-Ranked wins: 1 (No. 18 URI)
Now-Ranked wins: 1 (No. 22 URI)
Massey SOS: 39th
8. VMI
Record: 5-0
D1 Wins: 5 (Furman, WCU, Mercer, Samford, Wofford)
FCS Losses: 0
Then-Ranked wins: 1 (No. 10 Furman)
Now-Ranked wins: 1 (No. 21 Furman)
Massey SOS: 55th
9. UC Davis
Record: 3-1
D1 Wins: 3 (Idaho, CP, Idaho St)
FCS Losses: 1 (No. 3 Weber)
Then-Ranked wins: 1 (No. 19 Idaho)
Now-Ranked wins: 1 (No. 24 Idaho)
Massey SOS: 28th
10. Murray State
Record: 5-0
D1 Wins: 5 (UT Martin, SEMO, Ttech, TN St, EIU)
FCS Losses: 0
Then-Ranked wins: 1 (No. 16 SEMO)
Now-Ranked wins: 0
Massey SOS: 62nd
