I am grateful to have a vote in the Stats Perform FCS Top 25 poll. I will publish my Top 25 every week for everyone to see and discuss.
Some notes at the bottom.
Top 25
RELATED: FCS Week 9 Resumes
25. Eastern Kentucky
24. Princeton
23. Jackson State
22. Chattanooga
21. UT Martin
20. UIW
19. South Dakota
18. ETSU
17. VMI
16. Weber State
15. Northern Iowa
14. Montana
13. Kennesaw State
12. Missouri State
11. Sacramento State
10. UC Davis
9. Southeastern Louisiana University
8. South Dakota State
7. Eastern Washington
6. Montana State
5. James Madison
4. Villanova
3. Southern Illinois
2. North Dakota State
1. Sam Houston
Notes
I still believe the Top 8 teams in the FCS are clearly defined, so even with some losses this weekend, I kept those Top 8 and just did some rearranging. SHSU stayed No. 1 because I think the Bearkats are the most balanced team in the FCS and have the least amount of question marks, compared to other teams having questions on offense/defense/QB/injuries/discipline/etc. NDSU stays at No. 2 after a scare against Missouri State. The game at SDSU in a couple of weeks will tell us a lot about the Bison, who have looked good but not great this year.
Really, no FCS team has looked “great” this season. Everyone has vulnerabilities (which makes this season fun).
EWU went from No. 3 to No. 7 after losing to Weber. The Eagles host No. 6 Montana State following this week’s bye, so they can rise back up if they get a win. MSU beat Weber on the road before Weber beat EWU. MSU has a similar style to Weber, so the Bobcats can show that formula works against EWU as they continue to rise in the polls. Or the Eagles can show it was just one game, and they are better than the No. 7-ranked team in the country by beating MSU.
SDSU went from No. 6 to No. 8 after losing to UNI. The Jacks play NDSU in early November, and that result may determine if SDSU is a Top 8 seed or is playing on Thanksgiving weekend.
SIU, Nova, JMU, and Montana State moved up ahead of EWU and SDSU.
SLU remains undefeated against FCS opponents. By the end of the regular season, it may be in that Top 8 depending on other results. I’m not sold on the Lions’ style of play having success deep in the playoffs, but that offense is going to be an issue for a lot of teams.
UC Davis remains No. 10, and I moved Sac State from No. 14 to No. 11 after the Hornets throttled NAU, a convincing win after an emotional victory at Montana.
UNI went from No. 23 to No. 15 with its SDSU win. Weber re-entered the Top 25 and came in at No. 16. Throw out the overall records, I think the Wildcats would beat the teams I have ranked behind them.
Teams 17-25 are pretty much the same as last week, other than a couple of changes.
UIW dropped from No. 16 to No. 20 after losing to McNeese.
And Rhode Island dropped out of my Top 25 after being ranked No. 20. The Rams have lost two straight games with ugly performances.
