I am grateful to have a vote in the Stats Perform FCS Top 25 media poll for the 2024 season. I’ll publish my ballot every week and provide some reasoning for my order.
Notes at the bottom.
Delaware and Missouri State, FCS-to-FBS transitioning teams, are not eligible to be voted on in the Media Poll.
FCS Top 25
1. North Dakota State
2. Montana State
3. South Dakota State
4. South Dakota
5. UC Davis
6. SEMO
7. Mercer
8. UIW
9. Chattanooga
10. Idaho
11. Tarleton State
12. Montana
13. Richmond
14. Central Arkansas
15. Rhode Island
16. North Dakota
17. ETSU
18. Villanova
19. Abilene Christian
20. Stony Brook
21. UT Martin
22. Western Carolina
23. NC Central
24. Illinois State
25. William & Mary
Leaving: Southeastern Louisiana
Entering: Stony Brook
Entering my ballot this week is Stony Brook. After an 0-10 season, the Seawolves are 6-2 overall and 6-1 vs. the FCS under first-year head coach Billy Cosh. They just knocked off No. 16 William & Mary in a dominating 35-13 victory.
That knocked Southeastern Louisiana out of my ballot from last week’s No. 25 spot. The Lions battled No. 10 UIW tough, losing 34-31. It was a “quality loss” but room needed to be made for Stony Brook. SLU is now 4-5 overall and 4-3 vs. the FCS.
William & Mary dropped from No. 20 to No. 25 after the loss to Stony Brook. W&M is now 5-3 overall and 5-2 vs. the FCS with no ranked wins.
Another upset was Youngstown State beating North Dakota 41-40 in overtime. I had UND ranked No. 12 last week. The Fighting Hawks fall to No. 16 this week at 5-3 overall and 5-2 vs. the FCS with one ranked win. YSU was 2-6 heading into Saturday.
Things mostly stayed the same from there. My Top 12 didn’t change.
No. 3 South Dakota State beat No. 4 South Dakota 20-17 in a wild game. USD had so many reasons to win that one on the road, yet SDSU also had so many reasons to win by two scores. It was a similar feeling to the previous week when NDSU beat SDSU 13-9 in an FCS Top 2 matchup. The Jackrabbits were oh-so-close to winning, yet the Bison could have won by more.
NDSU, SDSU, and USD all look on par with each other. The No. 1-ranked Bison still have to travel to USD in the regular-season finale. I’m a big believer in No. 2 Montana State as well, and the Cats have resume-building games coming. So those are four teams in the top tier of the FCS national championship picture. We’ll learn more about No. 5 UC Davis when it plays both Montana schools and Sac State in November. The Aggies go to Montana and host Montana State.
No. 6 SEMO is 8-1 overall and 8-0 vs. the FCS with a ranked win. No. 7 Mercer is 7-1 overall/vs. the FCS with two currently-ranked wins and three then-ranked wins. No. 8 UIW is 6-2 overall/vs. the FCS with no ranked wins. No. 9 Chattanooga has been absolutely rolling lately and is now 5-3 overall and 5-1 vs. the FCS with one ranked win. The Mocs’ only FCS loss was a one-score game against Mercer while they also had a one-score loss against FBS Georgia State. No. 10 Idaho is 6-3 overall and 5-2 vs. the FCS with an FBS win, three then-ranked wins, and one currently-ranked win.
No. 11 Tarleton State is just outside of the Top 10 at 7-1 overall and 7-0 vs. the FCS with no ranked wins. In a weaker strength of schedule, Tarleton has had a few close games against, on paper, inferior opponents. But two ranked matchups are still to come. No. 12 Montana is also close to potentially moving into the Top 10 with some ranked matchups coming. The Griz are 6-2 overall/vs. the FCS with two ranked wins.
