At the top of the poll, I didn’t move anyone. But after the top eight “seeding/host” type schools, I tried to be pretty open-minded about that second tier that would need to play the weekend after Thanksgiving.
But all-in-all, this is how I voted after four weeks of action.
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THE PRESTIGIOUS TOP 8
NOTE: These are the schools that would receive a first-round playoff bye and host a second-round game. Also, in parenthesis after the ranked team () is what I had them ranked last week.
NO. 1 – MONTANA STATE (1ST)
LAST WEEK NO. 1 TEAM: Montana State
WHY?: Montana State had a nice warmup for its Big Sky Conference matchup next weekend at Idaho State, knocking off FCS newcomer Mercyhurst by 39 points. The Bobcats have the No. 1 offensive line collective in the FCS, and clearly one of the most dynamic FCS quarterbacks in Tommy Mellott – and let’s face it, that’s just the beginning. MSU is very strong in 2024 – and while there is no guarantee they will knock off the Dakota powers, the ‘Cats certainly are going to be a threat to win the FCS national title as long as everyone stays healthy – a concern that is consistent with this level.
NO. 2 – NORTH DAKOTA STATE (2ND)
LAST WEEK NO. 2 TEAM: North Dakota State
WHY?: NDSU jumped all over the CAA’s Towson in the first half of their matchup this past weekend, leading 27-3 at halftime. The Tigers rallied in the 4th quarter and were within one TD of a tie with 10 minutes left before the Bison turned on the heat. When you couple that with the near loss down in Tennessee at ETSU last weekend, you do have to wonder how strong this team is – not in comparison with about 98 percent of the FCS, but with those typically strong Top 5 teams that get first-round byes and get to host playoff games for multiple weeks. But we’ve also seen the Bison warm up greatly late in the year. The program is 3-1 overall and if it had a few plays go its way against Deion’s Colorado team, it could easily be 4-0.
NO. 3 – SOUTH DAKOTA STATE (3rd)
LAST WEEK NO. 3 TEAM: South Dakota State
WHY?: It wasn’t that long ago that Southeastern Louisiana was a tough out in the FCS playoffs. Maybe that’s not the case this year, and South Dakota State surely made it seem that way this weekend. The Jackrabbits put away the Lions by 41 points on Saturday and that should give you all the evidence you need to know that SDSU is very well in the hunt to win this all again.
NO. 4 – IDAHO (4th)
LAST WEEK NO. 4 TEAM: Idaho
WHY?: Idaho probably had the biggest challenge within the Top Five, as Abilene Christian has gone from an afterthought to an FCS team that you’d better pay attention to (note ACU’s overtime game with P4 Texas Tech). The Vandals found that out and came away from their Texas roadtrip with a 3-point win, but hardly had an easy time doing that. It’s probably more of a message about ACU than Idaho – the Vandals took a long trip and played a rankable team and still came home with the “W”, something good playoff teams do.
NO. 5 –SOUTH DAKOTA (5th)
LAST WEEK NO. 5 TEAM: South Dakota
WHY?: South Dakota is still searching for that big-time win. The Coyotes are clearly very good, but how much do we know about them at this point? Maybe that game at Wisconsin (14-point loss) is the best indicator of who this team is, and I just don’t like budging a team that lost to a P4 by two touchdowns when it easily could be five or more touchdowns. This week’s result with Southern Illinois will help us out.
NO. 6 –VILLANOVA (6th)
LAST WEEK NO. 6 TEAM: Villanova
WHY?: In general? I don’t dump teams that lost to P4 programs. They’re payout games. Villanova lost to P4 Maryland by 18 points but to the Terps’ credit, they had ‘Nova knocked around pretty soundly early in the game before ‘Nova scored 20 points in the second half. Anyway, I’ll continue to stand by Villanova as being the top non-MVFC or non-Big Sky team in the FCS as of right now.
NO. 7 – MONTANA (7th)
LAST WEEK NO. 7 TEAM: Montana
WHY?: It would appear this is the most controversial choice to be above a team it lost to (North Dakota by 3 points). Usually, I’d go with the team that knocked it off, but the Griz have now beaten a very good Western Carolina team (by 11) with a very good QB, and also knocked off a Missouri State team that’s heading to the FBS. The 3-point road loss to North Dakota is noted. Trust me. But at least for now? I’m going with Montana in this spot, and UND just a tad below. And … that can very easily change next week.
NO. 8 – UC DAVIS (8th)
LAST WEEK NO. 8 TEAM: UC Davis
WHY?: UCD has arguably the top running back in the FCS with Lan Larison, and is now 3-0 against Utah Tech, Texas A&M Commerce, and Southern Utah – which has an FBS win vs. UTEP. Still, UCD has a lot to prove – and next weekend hosting Idaho will answer a lot of questions. Do the Aggies belong here? Well, so far, they haven’t done anything to say they don’t – that starts this weekend.
NOTE: In the first line above, the parenthesis indicates where Brian McLaughlin voted that team last week.
FROM NO. 9 TO NO. 16
NOTE: This is the tier that would be seeded (if they participate in the playoffs) but would still have to play in the first round.
9. Central Arkansas
10. Sacramento State
11. North Dakota
12. Illinois State
13. William & Mary
14. Mercer
15. SEMO
16. Tarleton State
WHY?: There’s no question that the biggest win among this FCS second tier came when SEMO knocked off a very good Southern Illinois team, beating the Salukis by 17 points in Carbondale. Mercer knocking off one of The Citadel’s top teams in years was another big win.
FROM NO. 17 TO NO. 25
NOTE: This is the tier that would not be seeded, but would be battling for a spot in the playoffs (if they aren’t conference champions)
17. McNeese
18. Columbia
19. Southern Illinois
20. Stony Brook
21. UAlbany
22. Northern Iowa
23. Abilene Christian
24. Lafayette
25. Monmouth
WHY?: You can argue that McNeese doesn’t deserve to be at the top of this realm, but hey – the Cowboys won one game last year and already have three wins this year, so what have they done wrong so far? The trip to Weber State this week? It’ll tell all of us what McNeese is. Columbia began play this week and beat an impressive Lafayette team, and it’s worth noting that Monmouth picked up its first FBS win in school history when it went down to Miami to play Florida International – but keep in mind, the Hawks have lost to Lafayette and the Big Sky’s Eastern Washington.
OUTSIDE THE TOP 25 AND READY TO MOVE IN
Lamar
Lehigh
New Hampshire
Yale
