I am grateful to have a vote in the Stats Perform FCS Top 25 media poll for the 2025 season. I’ll publish my ballot every week and provide some reasoning for my order.
Notes at the bottom.
FCS Top 25
1. North Dakota State
2. Montana State
3. Montana
4. Tarleton State
5. Lehigh
6. Harvard
7. Mercer
8. Tennessee Tech
9. UC Davis
10. North Dakota
11. Youngstown State
12. Monmouth
13. Illinois State
14. Villanova
15. Abilene Christian
16. SFA
17. Rhode Island
18. South Dakota
19. South Dakota State
20. Southern Illinois
21. Lamar
22. Jackson State
23. Western Carolina
24. Southeastern Louisiana University
25. Northern Arizona
Leaving: Austin Peay
Entering: Lamar
Lamar re-enters my ballot after beating ranked Southeastern Louisiana 14-12. The Cardinals are now 8-2 overall and 8-1 vs. the FCS with two currently-ranked wins (USD, Southeastern). Austin Peay (6-4) ended up leaving my ballot to make room for Lamar. It was between Austin Peay and Northern Arizona having to exit for Lamar, and NAU had a more dominant win over Northern Colorado (49-10) compared to APSU’s 41-38 win over Central Arkansas.
I flipped Montana State and Montana at No. 2 and 3. MSU looks like a more complete team lately and is playing more complete games, dominating common opponents that the Grizzlies have struggled to put away. I still lean Montana getting the No. 2 seed with it hosting MSU in the Brawl of the Wild, where the home squad has been a decided favorite. But on a neutral field, the Cats look like a better outfit, and that’s how I’ll rank it. The only rankings that matter, of course, are the playoff committee’s. And they are higher on MSU as well.
Mercer climbs from No. 9 to No. 7 after a 49-47 road win at ranked WCU. The Bears are 8-1 with a ranked win and eight straight victories.
North Dakota falls a few spots after a 15-10 loss to No. 1 NDSU, a game UND led most of the way. UND is now 6-4 overall and 6-3 vs. the FCS. But it remains in the Top 10 with two currently-ranked wins (YSU, SIU) while its four losses (K-State, Montana, USD, NDSU) were one-score games.
Monmouth drops a spot after losing 34-13 to unranked New Hampshire. The Hawks have been without All-American QB Derek Robertson in recent games, but they are still 8-2 overall and 8-1 vs. the FCS with one currently-ranked win (Villanova).
Youngstown State climbs two spots after a ranked win over SIU. The Penguins are 6-4 overall and 6-3 vs. the FCS with two currently-ranked wins (Illinois State, SIU).
Another riser is South Dakota. USD has beaten two straight ranked opponents (UND, SDSU) and is now 7-4 overall and 7-3 vs. the FCS. South Dakota State continues to fall in the rankings, losing three straight after starting 7-0. SDSU still has two currently-ranked wins over Montana State and YSU, and the Jackrabbits could turn things around when QB Chase Mason returns from injury. But weekly rankings are also about where teams are trending.
