Week 3 of the 2025 FCS season is here. While it only features one ranked matchup in a lighter slate, there are several intriguing games.
Let’s predict some scores. Our weekly predictions are for FCS vs. FCS games only.
Predictions Record:
2025 Record: 20-9
2024 Record: 126-40
FCS Week 3 Predictions
No. 16 North Dakota at No. 5 Montana Prediction
A good barometer for two teams that have moved up in the national rankings.
UND drew headlines when it nearly beat FBS No. 17 Kansas State, losing 38-35 in the final minute. The Fighting Hawks then thrashed Portland State 50-20, with PSU’s two touchdowns coming in garbage time.
After a Week 1 bye, Montana is 1-0, defeating D2 Central Washington 42-17. The Grizzlies led 21-17 at halftime before dominating the second half and pulling away.
Montana’s offense has a chance to be very good and exciting. Keali’i Ah Yat has the reins at quarterback, and while he made some inexperienced errors last week, he showed good command of the offense. Coupled with an experienced offensive line, the elite Eli Gillman at running back, and all-purpose king Michael Wortham giving defensive coordinators headaches, the Griz look like an exciting unit.
My concern with Montana in this one is run defense.
It’s what cost the Griz last year, blowing a 24-7 lead at UND and losing 27-24. Montana couldn’t get off the field as the Fighting Hawks chipped away on the ground to the tune of 253 rushing yards. Montana has certainly upgraded at linebacker this year. Its d-line is still uncertain. Last week, Central Washington ran for 221 yards, averaging 5.0 yards per carry.
UND’s offensive line is one year better than last season, returning most of its unit. The Hawks are just as good at running back, going three deep with Xavier Leigh, Gaven Ziebarth, and Sawyer Seidl. UND is also upgraded at quarterback. Jerry Kaminski is just a sophomore, but he hasn’t looked like one in his first two starts. He has thrown for 395 yards and five touchdowns (no interceptions) while rushing for 74 yards and three scores.
Going into Missoula is no easy feat. Things can avalanche quickly in the best home environment in the FCS. Montana’s defense especially feeds off of it. So you combine the crowd noise and the pressure-heavy Griz defense, and opposing offenses can struggle to tread water.
I was leaning toward Montana for most of this week. But similar to my gut feel last week in calling West Georgia to beat No. 22 Nicholls, I have a feeling the Hawks pull off the upset this week. UND’s ground game is the perfect antidote to the crowd noise, slowing the game down and controlling time of possession. The Hawks have already performed well in a hostile road environment this year. Montana, meanwhile, has had some slow starts and upset losses in previous seasons. With so many new players, the same may happen this year.
Prediction: UND 28-24
ETSU at No. 25 West Georgia Prediction
West Georgia made me look smart for once, grabbing a win over Nicholls last week to make my upset pick hit. The Wolves are now 2-0, also featuring a dominating win over Samford.
Now I wonder if UWG is on upset alert.
ETSU is real close to being ranked, and arguably should be. Plus, the SoCon as a whole desperately needs a perception-boosting result to go its way in the non-conference. The Bucs are 1-1, beating Murray State 45-17 and losing 72-17 at Tennessee, two expected results. They appear to be the top team in the SoCon. Cade McNamara has looked solid in two starts — 23/35 for 231 yards, two touchdowns, one interception. But the best gauge so far is this weekend.
West Georgia looks like the real deal, especially defensively. Against two FCS opponents, the Wolves are allowing 6.5 points per game, including 45.0 rushing yards allowed per game. Linebacker Jay Carter, last year’s leading tackler, already has 19 stops, two TFLs, and two quarterback hurries. Latrelle Murrell is nearing 300 yards rushing. Turnovers are a concern, though. After throwing for 1,718 yards, nine touchdowns, and only one interception last year, Davin Wydner has passed for 272 yards, two TDs, and four interceptions so far this season.
The home-opener energy and defensive strength leads UWG to a 3-0 start in its second season as an FCS member.
Prediction: West Georgia 27-24
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No. 3 Tarleton State at Central Arkansas Prediction
Despite it being early in the season and teams are gelling, how a league performs in the non-conference helps your perception from the playoff committee for seeds and the bubble. The UAC, after a couple of impressive showings in the 2024 bracket, is doing itself some favors in the 2025 non-conference:
- Tarleton State is 3-0 with an FBS win over Army, who just beat K-State.
- Southern Utah hammered Idaho State, a Big Sky team with two near FBS wins. (SUU also lost to San Diego.)
- Austin Peay has a 20-point FBS win over Middle Tennessee, and had a respectable 28-6 loss at Georgia.
- West Georgia is 2-0 with two dominating wins over the SoCon’s Samford and the Southland’s Nicholls, who was ranked.
- Abilene Christian has a ranked win over the Southland’s SFA.
- Utah Tech, who went 1-11 last year and was picked to finish last in the 2025 UAC standings, nearly beat two ranked Big Sky teams – UC Davis and NAU.
The conference has done well to earn respect from the playoff committee. Now, if they beat up on each other too much, like we saw last year, the UAC champ may not earn as high a seed.
Tarleton looks good enough to finish this year 12-0 or 11-1. But the UAC is so competitive top to bottom, could an unexpected trip-up happen more than once?
This is a good road test, heading to a Central Arkansas team that, while it hasn’t met expectations in recent years, will always field a talented team. The Bears are 1-1, losing 61-6 at Missouri and then beating Arkansas-Pine Bluff 41-17.
This may not be a splashy matchup on paper. But it’s a big deal to see if Tarleton State can hold on to its high national ranking.
I’ll take Tarleton State in an entertaining back-and-forth. It could shape up to be an entertaining QB duel. UCA’s Luther Richesson is 31/48 passing for 356 yards, four TDs, and two interceptions while rushing for 114 yards and a touchdown. Tarleton’s Victor Gabalis is 50/81 for 599 yards, eight touchdowns, and no interceptions.
Prediction: Tarleton State 38-31
No. 18 Northern Arizona at Southern Utah Prediction
NAU and SUU are teams tough to figure out through two weeks.
SUU throttled Idaho State 46-24 in Week 1, a team that nearly knocked off two Mountain West opponents. But then, the Thunderbirds inexplicably lose 30-27 to non-scholarship San Diego. From unranked to ranked to unranked.
NAU, meanwhile, lost to FBS No. 11 Arizona 38-19 and then narrowly beat Utah Tech 38-31. Utah Tech went 1-11 last year and was picked to finish last in the 2025 UAC standings, although the Trailblazers nearly beat UC Davis in Week 1.
SUU couldn’t stop the run last week, as San Diego rushed for 296 yards (6.0 YPC) while throwing for just 64 yards. The arm of Bronson Barron kept the Thunderbirds in it, throwing for 328 yards, three TDs, and no picks. It may not be a good matchup against an experienced NAU offensive line and standout running back Seth Cromwell, who hasn’t quite gotten going just yet — 75 yards and two TDs in two games.
To me, it’s a toss-up matchup between two tough-to-analyze teams. Considering how well SUU played at home in Week 1 and how well Barron has played in both games, I’ll side with the Thunderbirds.
Prediction: Southern Utah 28-24
More FCS Predictions
No. 17 Southern Illinois at UT Martin
Prediction: SIU 28-24
Northern Colorado at No. 12 South Dakota
Prediction: South Dakota 31-17
No. 6 Rhode Island at Holy Cross
Prediction: Rhody 28-21
Utah Tech at No. 8 Idaho
Prediction: Idaho 35-21
Elon at Western Carolina
Prediction: Elon 35-31
No. 7 Illinois State at Eastern Illinois
Prediction: Illinois State 31-20
Eastern Washington at Northern Iowa
Prediction: UNI 31-21
