The BCS system for rankings combined in equal parts the media poll, coaches poll, and multiple compuer rankings, which provides a good consolidated ranking. For computer rankings this post uses an average of the r/FCS sportsbook computer ratings, Massey ratings, Sagarin ratings, and my Massey/Colley/SRS composite ranking.

Bracketology

These rankings can be used to create bracketology- the projected playoff bracket based on the current landscape of the FCS.

The bracket is available in image form in the comments.

Idaho vs Montana - A traveling trophy rivalry dating back to their PAC-12 (okay, PCC) days.

Unlike the Brawl of the Wild, Montana is on the losing side of this series, but has won most matchups this century. Idaho as a historical program goes into Missoula this weekend with a confident lead of 56-32-2.

Griz are on the downfall after some voodoo dome magic, and the Vandals defeated the Almighty Bobcats just two weeks back.....

Who wins, and by how much?

News and notes from Monday's press conference

Hey r/fcs,

I’ve been looking closely at the Northeast Conference (NEC) lately, and it’s tough to ignore just how far the league’s football reputation has fallen. It feels like the conference is consistently ranked at the bottom of the FCS hierarchy.

How did we actually get here? From what I can tell, it’s a perfect storm of a few major issues:

• The Realignment Bleeding: Every time the NEC builds up a solid, competitive program, they end up leaving. Losing Merrimack and Sacred Heart recently absolutely gutted the top-tier competition in the league.
• The Division II revolving door: To replace the teams that leave, the NEC is constantly poaching Division II schools making the jump to DI (like Mercyhurst). Because of the multi-year reclassification rules, these schools aren't eligible for the playoffs right away, which completely kills the conference's postseason stakes and depth.
• The Northeast talent drain: High school football participation in the Northeast is declining compared to the South and Midwest. The elite local players who do break out instantly get scooped up by FBS programs or high-major FCS schools, leaving NEC rosters to fight over a much smaller talent pool.
• The Financial Chasm: Historically, the NEC operated on tighter scholarship models. Even with the new NCAA v. House settlement rules shaking up roster limits, most of these athletic departments simply don’t have the donor base or budget to match the resources of the MVFC, Big Sky, or CAA.

It feels like the NEC is trapped in a cycle of being a "stepping stone" conference.

What do you guys think? Is there any realistic path for the NEC to gain back respect, or are they destined to permanently sit at the bottom of the FCS barrel alongside the Pioneer League?

While most of us agree the FCS coaches poll isn't the greatest, I still think it's worth posting here.

Others receiving votes: Jackson State 32, West Florida 25, Morgan State 24, SC State 18, Stony Brook 18, Abilene Christian 11, Southern Illinois 11, Cal Poly 7, Charleston Southern 4, Delaware State 4, North Alabama 4, Southeastern 2, Wofford 2, Central Connecticut State 1

Dropped: #21 SC State, #22 Jackson State, #25 Southeastern

Realistically what’s stopping Brungard from getting drafted after this year?? Assuming he becomes a 2x Walter Payton winner, he just set the YSU rushing td record and is a legit duel threat. What makes him any worse of a prospect then someone like Trey lance was? the main difference between lance and brungard is that lance is 6’4” but even then brungard is taller than some current QBs like Bryce young

/r/FCS Sportsbook website at rFCSSportsbook.com

New this week, a Strength of record column for the Sportbook's rankings, and finally got around to adjusting the SOS so that it uses power rating and not the standard rating).

Overall Prediction Record: 1721/2178 (79.0%)

• 1.08 home spread bias
• -0.05 O/U bias
• 292.615 MSE

FCS v FCS Prediction Record: 217/300 (72.3%)

• 0.32 home spread bias
• 0.45 O/U bias
• 254.506 MSE

Against all Vegas Spreads: 330-364-33 (47.7%)

Against all FCS v FCS Vegas Spreads: 132-142-14 (48.3%)

Can someone explain how the stats perform poll has YSU at 6?

Vent here. This is a friendly place.

Credit to u/2Pollaski2Furious for the idea. Same sets of rules from the original FBS series apply here for the FCS teams. This is an award for FCS teams that humiliate themselves, whether it's a choke job, a crushing blow with everything to prove, or they have no business losing the match-up.

Previous Winners

Week 0: Villanova Wildcats (against William & Mary, 35-32)

Week 1: Western Carolina Catamounts (against Campbell, 28-19)

Week 2: Maine Black Bears (against Merrimack, 23-14)

Week 3: Rhode Island Rams (against Stony Brook, 56-24)

Week 4: Illinois State Redbirds (against Northern Iowa, 28-21)

Week 5: Montana State Bobcats (against Idaho, 35-34)

LAST WEEK: Now if this were any other week, we have some good candidates, and in particular the loss Prairie View A&M suffered against MVSU was a good one. However, getting this week pretty easily also generated votes in the FBS thread (which I'm not counting towards this one, but it's worth mentioning). Seriously Vigen, there was one second left on the clock and it was down inbounds. There was no time to get a snap off. Why call the timeout? Even as I appreciated this upset over Montana State, that's a baffling decision that made it happen.

And now for a few special mentions:

• The Citadel led 10-0 over ETSU after the first quarter, but then the Bucs reasserted themselves to stay in SoCon pole position.
• Cornell got seriously brunchballed by Harvard in the middle two quarters.
• After experiencing the highs of an upset, Idaho comes crashing back down to earth in Ogden.
• Jackson State is no longer undefeated after trading blows with Grambling.
• Montana becomes the second straight Montana team to lose at a dome. Business is booming at the Montana Drywall Association.
• New Hampshire went from being a playoff team to losing at overtime in a basement showdown with North Carolina A&T.
• Robert Morris had a good showing against Morgan State, but having that final extra point attempt blocked proved the difference here.
• Considering Portland State dominated them, I'd be surprised if Utah Tech wins at all this year.
• In FBS news... holy shit just how bad is Wazzu? Couldn't hold on against Utah State, and their sole win is against a Duquesne that just lost at home to LIU.

ALABAMA STATE HORNETS (against Florida A&M 28-27)

After the third quarter, they have led 24-14 against a pretty bad Florida A&M, and after kicking an extra field goal had a 95% chance of winning. They then allowed two quick touchdown drives, and their attempt to come back with a field goal got blocked.

DRAKE BULLDOGS (against Valparaiso 21-13)

I never would have guessed that a Drake-Valparaiso matchup would not end well for the former. It did not help that they suffered six turnovers, including four picks. One of those led to great field position where Valpo took a 14-13 lead and never gave that up.

ELON PHOENIX (against Wofford 16-0)

Five turnovers and not mustering a single point at home is pretty bad. In the end of the second quarter alone, Elon threw a pick which led to a field goal, then fumbled the ensuing kickoff return that also led to a field goal.

GARDNER-WEBB RUNNIN' BULLDOGS (against Eastern Illinois 21-7)

That was some ugly football being played in rainy conditions, with very little happening in the first half. And then Gardner-Webb suffered a serious fumble that had Eastern Illinois recover it at the 1, leading to a go-ahead touchdown. Gardner-Webb had six turnovers, five of which fumbles.

HOWARD BISON (against Penn 24-20)

Some brunchball was certainly had. For most of the game, Howard looked good over the Quakers, and held an 80% chance of winning after the end of the third quarter. It shot back up to about 76% when Penn's potentially game-tying field goal attempt was no good, but the Bison couldn't capitalize, leading to Penn's winning touchdown drive with less than a minute to go.

IDAHO STATE BENGALS (against Cal Poly 25-24)

I wonder what's up here. Idaho State had some early season momentum and has now dropped two straight at home, this time losing at the last minute after allowing a seven play, 66-yard drive from Cal Poly. And those two interceptions Jordan Cooke suffered did not help.

NORTH DAKOTA FIGHTING HAWKS (against Northern Iowa 24-17)

That wasn't the first time that the UNI-Dome had some serious voodoo. North Dakota now has a blemish on the conference record that isn't helped by the five turnovers they've given up. And it's not like the Panthers outperformed the Hawks on offense (they've only got 144 yards), since one touchdown was a punt return and the other two were off great field position courtesy of turnovers.

RICHMOND SPIDERS (against Fordham 20-14)

Yet another serious conference contender falls, and nobody would have suspected that they would lose against Fordham. Richmond in particular did not have a good second half offense, with the whole team mustering a mere scoop-and-score, albeit one that led 14-7 before they gave up 13 unanswered.

SOUTH CAROLINA STATE BULLDOGS (against Charleston Southern 49-39)

Ever since last week, the Bulldogs have been having a rough time, just as Morgan State is emerging as a serious MEAC challenge. Four turnovers have not helped, neither has allowing a punt return and a kickoff return for a touchdown, both of which turned out critical. Sometimes covering special teams can make a difference.

SOUTHEASTERN LIONS (against UTRGV 13-3)

You do not have two fourth quarter drives end out in an interception, and have one of those be deep in the red zone, and not at least get a mention.

TEXAS SOUTHERN TIGERS (against MVSU 38-34)

For the second straight week we're in a situation where a SWAC team had a significant lead over MVSU, only to be unable to hold on to it. Texas Southern was unable to stop the Devils' 24-point fourth quarter response after having led 31-14.

And as always, don't forget to mark your vote in brackets for visibility, <like so>. I also appreciate entries I might have passed over, so feel free to nominate, and I might edit it here.

Another week is done and I get to enjoy the success of some teams, lament the failures of some and roast the ever loving shit out of a few of them. Let's go.

The Good

• Northern Arizona continues the voodoo of the domes in the Big Sky while creating a dog pile of 3-1 teams on top the Big Sky (Dog pile on the Big Sky! Dog pile on the Big Sky!). The Dome Hex is strong here... last week saw Montana State get stunned by the Fighting Potatoes and now this. The best part here? Northern Arizona has the inside track now as they have a win over Montana and they play the other two teams in the 3-1 dog pile down the road: Cal Poly and Weber State.

• The Dome Hex isn't just a Big Sky thing. Northern Iowa stunned another ranked team this week as they defeated North Dakota, the second ranked victim for the Panthers. Now they get themselves into the title race for the Missouri Valley... but there is a very BIG threat above them: South Dakota State... But, the Panthers get them at the UNI-Dome on November 7th. Do we see that voodoo it do once again?

• Brunch Ball! Harvard continues to prove to the nation that they're legitimate after defeating Cornell and don't look now, but Princeton is 3-1 and they go to Harvard in a few weeks. Could we see a changing of the guard in the Ivy League?

In other 'Good' News: Mississippi Valley State pulls another rabbit out of their ass; Lamar keeps winning, has eyes on Stephen F. Austin; East Tennessee State wins and takes control of the SoCon.

The Bad

• Yeah, the Montana Drywall people are back. They had their fun with the Bozeman Bozos last week, now they get to feast on the Misery of those in Missoula. You know, why don't they pick on the NAIA schools in Montana?

• The Pioneer League is a crapshoot again. Right now, Butler and Marist are currently 2-0 with four teams (Presbyterian, Valparaiso, St. Thomas and Drake) at 2-1. The Bulldogs and Red Foxes meet later down the road, but you have to wonder what kind of insanity the conference has up their sleeve, considering that Drake lost to Valpo yesterday.

• Time for the Chuck Norris Award for Biggest Ass Kicking and it goes to Norfolk State. Apparently it was homecoming and they decided to bring in everyone's favorite homecoming opponent in Virginia-Lynchburg, a member of the NCCAA and a lone wolf when it comes to football. The Spartans decided to treat them to the type of ass kicking type you see in 300 with a 62-0 rout. This had everything: Two McPick Sixes, a punt return for a touchdown and a blocked punt for a touchdown. Clearly, the Dragons were over-matched. Runner ups this week include Alcorn State (56 point beating of NAIA patsy Arkansas Baptist) and St. Thomas (43 point romp over hapless Stetson).

In other 'Bad' News: Spiders choke against Fordham; Idaho State falters late, loses chance to continue the Dome Hex; All the teams on bye this week.

The South Carolina State

• Where do I begin with you, South Carolina State? You were 5-0 to start the season. You massacred two Division II schools in between taking down Florida A&M... you had a win over Furman. The week before, you got caught with your pants down against The Citadel. This week? You lose to Charleston Southern, a team that is at the bottom of the Ohio Valley standings right now. The worst part? You were trailing the entire game. I just wonder what went wrong here.

• The Mushu Treatment this week goes to Southeastern Louisiana. The Lions have crawled back out of their 0-2 hole by winning three in a row, the last two wins coming against two absolute bottom feeders in UL-Monroe and Northwestern State. This week saw them visit UT Rio Grande Valley. The game was a slog, with both teams trading field goals until late in the 4th when the Vaqueros scored the only touchdown in the game. The Lions had the advantage on offense, but turnovers did them in. For that, you're getting the Mushu Treatment... Dishonor on you, dishonor on your team, dishonor on your school and dishonor on the fact that you want to be called Southeastern. I didn't realize that UL-Lafayette's ego extended to the other side of the state.

In other 'Ugly' News: Elon gets blanked, complains about free speech; Dartmouth delivers the Brunch Ball Biff of the Week on two counts - losing to Yale and wearing those godawful helmets; Sacred Heart loses to Stonehill, questions choice to join the Coastal Clusterfuck; FloSports - The second choice for those who want football.

With that, the floor is open.

Beau Brungard has rushed for 56 TDs. I suppose if they go far enough in the playoffs he has an outside chance at the FCS career rushing TDs record by a QB (70) but seems unlikely.

He does have a chance to own all of YSUs rushing and passing records (minus rushing yards) for a career.

Here is my summary of the Four week of Ivy League football

https://pjustafan.substack.com/p/new-stars-and-the-normal-league-mess?r=8ibq7y&utm_campaign=post-expanded-share&utm_medium=web

Big Sky

Weber State 38-27 Idaho

Portland State 30-14 Utah Tech

(13)Northern Arizona 49-44 (2) Montana

Cal Poly 25-24 (15)Idaho State

Eastern Washington 31-22 Northern Colorado

CAA

North Carolina A&T 30-27 New Hampshire

Sacred Heart 7-28 Stonehill

Bryant 13-28 Brown

Elon 0-16 Wofford

Stony Brook 31-24 Towson

Ivy League

Columbia 41-28 Marist

Brown 28-13 Bryant

Yale 28-7 Dartmouth

Princeton 28-13 Wagner

(12)Harvard 41-29 Cornell

Pennsylvania 24-20 Howard

MEAC

Morgan State 28-27 Robert Morris

Delaware State 34-0 Franklin PierceFranklin Pierce (D2)

Howard 20-24 Pennsylvania

North Carolina Central 14-17 William & Mary

(24)South Carolina State 39-49 Charleston Southern

Norfolk State 62-0 Virginia-LynchburgVirginia-Lynchburg (NCCAA)

Missouri Valley

(8)Youngstown State 57-24 Indiana State

(10)South Dakota 31-10 Southern Illinois

Northern Iowa 24-17 (7)North Dakota

NEC

Stonehill 28-7 Sacred Heart

Robert Morris 27-28 Morgan State

Wagner 13-28 Princeton

Central Connecticut State 51-14 American InternationalAmerican International (D2)

Long Island 17-14 Duquesne

Ohio Valley

Charleston Southern 49-39 (24)South Carolina State

Southeast Missouri 38-27 Lindenwood

Eastern Illinois 21-7 Gardner-Webb

UT Martin 42-28 Tennessee State

Patriot

Georgetown 21-14 Bucknell

William & Mary 17-14 North Carolina Central

Fordham 20-14 (19)Richmond

Pioneer

Marist 28-41 Columbia

Presbyterian 38-21 Davidson

Dayton 56-28 Morehead State

Butler 41-10 San Diego

Valparaiso 21-13 Drake

St. Thomas 64-21 Stetson

SoCon

(23)East Tennessee State 34-16 The Citadel

Chattanooga 19-3 Samford

Wofford 16-0 Elon

(20)Mercer 17-14 Western Carolina

(18)Tennessee Tech 20-15 Furman

Southland

(11)Lamar 38-35 Incarnate Word

UTRGV 13-3 (25)Southeastern Louisiana

SWAC

Florida A&M 28-27 Alabama State

Alabama A&M 55-17 Bethune-Cookman

Alcorn State 63-7 Arkansas BaptistArkansas Baptist (NAIA)

Mississippi Valley State 38-34 Texas Southern

Southern 28-14 Prairie View A&M

Grambling 45-38 (22)Jackson State

UAC

Eastern Kentucky 30-20 West Georgia

(3)Tarleton State 40-32 (9)Austin Peay

Abilene Christian 20-14 Central Arkansas

Lotta money to be made there

Expert recap and game analysis of the Northern Iowa Panthers vs. North Dakota Fighting Hawks NCAAF game from October 10, 2026 on ESPN. https://www.espn.com/college-football/recap?gameId=401867877

via @ESPN App http://espn.com/app

Back to back top 10 wins at home? Who are these guys?

Click here to vote for Week 7 in the /r/FCS Poll.

After signing in, click the link that says Current /r/FCS Poll. The poll will remain open until 12 pm (noon) Central Time on Tuesday, October 13^th. The results will be posted later on /r/FCS.

Note: This week, we're trying out a new voting method. You may now select "I have a computerized ranking and would like to vote by copy-and-paste." This will make it faster for voters to vote with those systems compared to the dropdown menus. The team naming convention follows the /r/CFB inline flair system with only the school name, not the mascot (e.g. Abilene Christian, not Abilene Christian Wildcats). Because this method makes it harder to check for duplicates and introduces the possibility of typos or inconsistent names for teams, please only use this voting option if you have a computerized ranking that will automatically avoid those issues.

Second Note: Guess who has jury duty on Tuesday? If I'm not selected (or if I get notified that the case settled), then the release of the results shouldn't be affected. But if I do get picked, then I won't be able to post the results until the evening.

Optional D1 HBCU Top Ten Poll

You now have the option to vote just for the HBCU Top 10 if you so choose! At the end of your FCS Top 25 (or Top 10) submission, you'll be given the opportunity to also submit a vote for your ranking of the top 10 HBCUs in the subdivision. This is optional and meant to be an additional fanbase voice within the Black College National Championship conversation.

Note: this does not prevent you from ranking the HBCUs in your standard FCS ranking submission.

As a reminder, the /r/FCS poll is now part of the Massey Ratings Composite. As such, we highly recommend submitting a full top 25 vote if you think you can put one together. But we're leaving the option to submit just a top 10 for those who’d prefer that route.

• Please check that you didn't vote for the same team twice. Ballots with a duplicated team that are not fixed by the due date will be discarded.

• Joke votes will be thrown out at the moderators' discretion. Diversity of opinions is good; trolling is not.

• If you make a mistake on your ballot or would like to change it for any reason, please re-submit a corrected ballot. Your old one will be discarded automatically, and only your newest ballot will count. You can resubmit as many times as necessary until the deadline.

• If you're unsure if you messed up your ballot, please leave a comment and we'll take a look for you and let you know.

Here are some useful links to help you with your submission:

• Massey Composite Ranking

• STATS Poll (Updates on Mondays)

Well, there's quite a lot of upheaval among the "undefeated", since we've got two spooky upsets that took place at a dome; Flagstaff had kept showing themselves to be a tough place for Montana to play in, while North Dakota travelled from the comfort of their own dome to their own undoing against Northern Iowa. As of this writing, only eight FCS undefeated teams remain, and the chart will remain because there is one potential undefeated matchup remaining should Lamar and SFA keep their undefeated runs. Only a few of those that had yet to get a Division I team just did so, so now we have four truly winless and eight that only beat sub-Div I opposition.

Undefeated/Technically Undefeated

No longer FCS undefeated:

• Austin Peay Austin Peay Governors (5-2; @Vanderbilt, Tarleton)
• Bryant Bryant Bulldogs (4-2; @Army, @Brown)
• Jackson State Jackson State Tigers (5-1; @Grambling)
• Montana Montana Grizzlies (5-2; @Oregon State, @Northern Arizona)
• North Dakota North Dakota Fighting Hawks (5-2; @Nebraska, @Northern Iowa)
• Richmond Richmond Spiders (5-2; NC State, @Fordham)
• Robert Morris Robert Morris Colonials (3-3; Akron, Buffalo, @Morgan State)

Division I Winless:

• Chicago State Chicago State Cougars (1-5; Kentucky Christian)
• Duquesne Duquesne Dukes (1-4; Rio Grande)
• Hampton Hampton Pirates (1-5; VA Lynchburg)
• Mercyhurst Mercyhurst Lakers (1-5; Glenville State)
• Morehead State Morehead State Eagles (1-5; Kentucky Christian)
• Stetson Stetson Hatters (1-5; Webber International)
• Wagner Wagner Seahawks (1-5; Southern Connecticut State)
• West Georgia West Georgia Wolves (1-5; Fort Valley State)

Winless:

• Northwestern State Northwestern State Demons (0-6)
• Towson Towson Tigers (0-7)
• Utah Tech Utah Tech Trailblazers (0-7)
• VMI VMI Keydets (0-6)

No longer winless:

• Florida A&M Florida A&M Rattlers (2-4; Albany State, @Alabama State)
• Georgetown Georgetown Hoyas (1-4; Bucknell)
• Southern Southern Jaguars (3-4; Kentucky State, Louisiana Christian, @Prairie View A&M)

These computer ratings come from a system I developed independently. Results only include FCS vs FCS games.

SOR = Strength of Record; Measure of how hard it would be for an average top 25 team to achieve that team's record or better vs the same schedule.

Power = Team strength (predictive)

Grambling stuns JSU, Valley’s QB catches fire, FAMU spoils Homecoming, and AAMU bounces back fiercely. All six finals, highlights and standings!

NEVER JUMP INTO A PILE OF LEAVES WITH A WET SUCKER

GRAB YOUR FAVORITE YEAST WATER*, AND LET'S WATCH SOME FOOTBALL!

*OR BEAN WATER, OR FRUIT WATER, OR WATER WATER. IDC, I'M NOT YOUR MOM

Today's Pick 'Em games (all times listed in Central, the heavily disputed best time zone for football) (rankings from the /r/FCS Poll)

You can find the full Week 6 schedule with up-to-the-minute results over at the r/CFB Scoreboard.

Also seriously do not ask for "alternate" streams, because we don't want to deal with takedown notices. Most games have radio broadcasts available for free if you're really desperate.