r/fcs • u/damnyoutuesday Montana State • Minnesota • Sep 14 '26
Discussion Stats Perform FCS Top 25 Poll - September 14, 2026
https://theanalyst.com/articles/fcs-top-25-poll-stats-perform-following-week-2-2026-football-season24
u/drdomnamichi UC Davis Aggies • Causeway Classic Sep 14 '26
Dropped 4 spots for losing to a ranked P4 team? I know it wasn’t close but losing to a really good SMU team on the road in 110 degree weather shouldn’t hurt our rankings that much
16
u/CipherAC0 Iowa Central CC • Sacramento … Sep 14 '26
First 3 weeks are the worst part of the FCS season aside from upsets. Then again rankings in the first 3 weeks are practically meaningless.
6
u/Nj3Fate Rutgers Scarlet Knights • Colgate Raiders Sep 14 '26
yeah thats bogus. Thats a SMU team that will probably make a playoff run and has an outside chance to win it all. Crazy.
6
u/DeerSwimming2336 North Dakota Fighting Hawks Sep 14 '26
The Portland State game now looks worse though
14
u/ForgottenGeno Idaho State Bengals Sep 14 '26
Idaho State should be ranked way higher. That win against Utah State looks even better after Utah State almost beat #19 ranked Washington on the road. But hey, look at those wins by Montana all at home against 1-2 Southern Utah, 0-3 Utah Tech, and 0-2 Drake. Montana may be a powerhouse but they haven’t shown us anything dominant yet.
3
u/knook Montana State Bobcats • Big Sky Sep 15 '26
Yeah, whatever the opposite of recency bias is is what these polls have, but that ok, just keep winning.
12
u/damnyoutuesday Montana State • Minnesota Sep 14 '26
| Rank | Team | LW (change) | Points (FP votes) | Record (Conf) | Conference |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Montana State | 1 (0) | 1,425 (57) | 3-0 (1-0) | Big Sky |
| 2 | South Dakota State | 2 (0) | 1,324 | 2-1 (0-0) | Missouri Valley |
| 3 | Montana | 3 (0) | 1,277 | 3-0 (1-0) | Big Sky |
| 4 | Tarleton State | 4 (0) | 1,253 | 3-0 (0-0) | United Athletic |
| 5 | Illinois State | 5 (0) | 1,244 | 3-0 (0-0) | Missouri Valley |
| 6 | North Dakota | 6 (0) | 1,067 | 3-0 (0-0) | Missouri Valley |
| 7 | Lehigh | 9 (+2) | 1,010 | 3-0 (3-0) | Patriot |
| 8 | Rhode Island | 8 (0) | 970 | 2-1 (1-0) | Coastal Athletic |
| 9 | Youngstown State | 10 (+1) | 929 | 2-1 (0-0) | Missouri Valley |
| 10 | South Dakota | 11 (+1) | 900 | 3-0 (0-0) | Missouri Valley |
| 11 | UC Davis | 7 (-4) | 890 | 2-1 (1-0) | Big Sky |
| 12 | Stephen F. Austin | 13 (+1) | 853 | 3-0 (2-0) | Southland |
| 13 | Tennessee Tech | 12 (-1) | 834 | 3-0 (1-0) | Southern |
| 14 (tie) | Austin Peay | 15 (+0.5) | 618 | 2-1 (0-0) | United Athletic |
| 14 (tie) | Lamar | 14 (-0.5) | 618 | 2-1 (0-0) | Southland |
| 16 | Idaho State | 17 (+1) | 614 | 3-0 (0-0) | Big Sky |
| 17 | West Florida | 20 (+3) | 405 | 2-0 (1-0) | United Athletic |
| 18 | South Carolina State | 22 (+4) | 381 | 3-0 (0-0) | Mid-Eastern Athletic |
| 19 | Yale | 19 (0) | 371 | 0-0 (0-0) | Ivy |
| 20 | Northern Arizona | 24 (+4) | 310 | 2-1 (1-0) | Big Sky |
| 21 | William & Mary | 16 (-5) | 274 | 2-1 (1-1) | Patriot |
| 22 | Villanova | 21 (-1) | 175 | 1-2 (1-1) | Patriot |
| 23 | Mercer | 18 (-5) | 135 | 2-1 (0-1) | Southern |
| 24 | Southern Illinois | NR | 121 | 2-1 (0-0) | Missouri Valley |
| 25 | Harvard | 25 (0) | 75 | 0-0 (0-0) | Ivy |
Dropped from rankings: Abilene Christian (24)
16
u/I_like_race_cars Tarleton State Texans Sep 14 '26
Dropped from rankings: Abilene Christian (24)
Nightmare start for them. Snaps a 31 week streak of being ranked.
6
u/Soccerfun101 Yale Bulldogs • Indiana Hoosiers Sep 14 '26
They should get a win next week @Idaho but won’t be easy. If they don’t, the future looks bleak: Mercer then west Florida.
8
u/damnyoutuesday Montana State • Minnesota Sep 14 '26
Idaho might not win a game this year tbf
7
u/Zloggt :chicagostate: Southern Illinois • Chicago S… Sep 14 '26
It truly seems as if all the fight in them left to Albuquerque with Eck...very unfortunate, alas...
7
u/damnyoutuesday Montana State • Minnesota Sep 14 '26
It's honestly an embarrassment. Zero reason the Vandals can't be annually making the playoffs
3
u/wildjackalope Idaho Vandals Sep 15 '26
It’s already harder to do what Eck did just two seasons later given NIL and the transfer portal but, yes, this is looking like a shit show.
2
u/bakonydraco /r/FCS • FCS Championship Sep 14 '26
Abilene Christian (0-3): 15
Getting any votes at 0-3 is certifiably insane. Dayton is 2-0 and didn't get a single vote!!
6
u/damnyoutuesday Montana State • Minnesota Sep 14 '26
Others receiving votes:
- Alabama State, 64
- Furman, 60
- Campbell, 59
- Cal Poly, 56
- UAlbany, 38
- Houston Christian, 38
- Southern Utah, 37
- Jackson State, 30
- Wofford, 19
- Abilene Christian, 15
- Richmond, 11
- Elon, 10
- Prairie View A&M, 6
- Colgate, 3
6
u/PositiveElection2141 Lehigh Mountain Hawks • Marching Band Sep 14 '26
Really thought Colgate would’ve received more than that. I know Central Michigan isn’t a great FBS team but they’re good for G6 level and it took them until 7 minutes left in the fourth quarter to lead the game and they only won by 3 points
4
u/Nj3Fate Rutgers Scarlet Knights • Colgate Raiders Sep 14 '26
I dont mind flying under the radar - our conference doesnt get a ton of exposure or respect usually.
Just gotta keep winning.
3
5
u/tdpdcpa Lehigh Mountain Hawks • Patriot Sep 14 '26
Looking at it on just a week over week change in points and average rank (which really helps spell out the tiers in the voters eyes):
Rank Team CW LW Change Avg. Rank 1 Montana State 1,425 1,425 0 1.0 2 South Dakota State 1,324 1,303 +21 2.8 3 Montana 1,277 1,292 -15 3.5 4 Tarleton State 1,253 1,272 -19 4.0 5 Illinois State 1,244 1,209 +35 4.2 6 North Dakota 1,067 1,037 +30 7.3 7 Lehigh 1,010 941 +69 8.3 8 Rhode Island 970 994 -24 9.0 9 Youngstown State 929 939 -10 9.7 10 South Dakota 900 901 -1 10.2 11 UC Davis 890 1,003 -113 10.4 12 Stephen F. Austin 853 806 +47 11.0 13 Tennessee Tech 834 836 -2 11.4 T14 Austin Peay 618 540 +78 15.2 T14 Lamar 618 545 +73 15.2 16 Idaho State 614 478 +136 15.2 17 West Florida 405 317 +88 18.9 18 South Carolina State 381 270 +121 19.3 19 Yale 371 383 -16 19.5 20 Northern Arizona 310 160 +150 20.6 21 William & Mary 274 506 -232 21.2 22 Villanova 175 275 -100 22.9 23 Mercer 135 417 -282 23.6 24 Southern Illinois 121 30 +91 23.9 25 Harvard 75 64 +11 24.7
13
11
u/ripdoublewide Montana Grizzlies Sep 14 '26
Redbirds need to jump Tarleton and Montana to be honest. Neither school looking like a top 5 team right now
8
16
u/noahpaz88 Youngstown State Penguins Sep 14 '26
Illinois St beats FBS and Tarleton struggled against non ranked yet they still don’t flip?
10
6
u/imperfectPK Stephen F. Austin • Michigan Te… Sep 14 '26
The slow climb to be atleast 10. My goodness.
3
u/I_like_race_cars Tarleton State Texans Sep 14 '26
Unfortunately just a case of no-one currently in that top 10 having slipped up enough to drop out.
I would have you at 11 ahead of Davis, though.
3
4
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u/damnyoutuesday Montana State • Minnesota Sep 14 '26
I'm a hater, so my opinion could mean nothing...
But what has Montana done that Illinois State and Tarleton haven't?
15
u/Adamscottd South Dakota State • Minnesota Sep 14 '26
Well for one thing, the name on Montana’s jerseys is “Montana” while Illinois State and Tarleton’s names are not
Though also Tarleton playing such a close game against McNeese doesn’t help their case
4
u/I_like_race_cars Tarleton State Texans Sep 14 '26
Yes, but shouldn't the VALLEY patch on Illinois state's jersey mean more?!?
15
u/tdpdcpa Lehigh Mountain Hawks • Patriot Sep 14 '26
No, you're not hating. Montana's resume is suspect.
8
u/Zloggt :chicagostate: Southern Illinois • Chicago S… Sep 14 '26
I could always go with the reliable "voters are
enslavedcommitted to the concept of poll inertia" explanation...but if I wanted to say something more deeper, maybe it's just a matter of either people basing their ballots on the perceived potential of the Grizz over strictly focusing on resume (i.e. we know they'll be good in December so we're keeping them here for now?), or maybe even a touch of "that one Montana/Big Sky school is good, so surely the other Montana/Big Sky school isn't too far behind!" reasoning too. There could also be confidence for players/coaching, but I'm obviously not too keen on how the offseason has gone in Missoula.Regardless...the Grizz got Oregon State coming up...so if they want to earn that upset cred...they better get to work lol
3
u/I_like_race_cars Tarleton State Texans Sep 14 '26
I think the big reason we didn't jump this week is because we had to squeak it out against McNeese. If we had won by even 10 points instead of 3 we probably would have moved up.
14
u/damnyoutuesday Montana State • Minnesota Sep 14 '26
And the Griz couldn't fully pull away from one of the worst teams in FCS in their own crib
4
u/tdpdcpa Lehigh Mountain Hawks • Patriot Sep 14 '26
Illinois State also took some votes away from you, I think.
3
u/Zloggt :chicagostate: Southern Illinois • Chicago S… Sep 14 '26
Fascinating to see us get ranked again after that...not terribly impressive win on Saturday.
...hey, can't say I'm upset though, hahaha!
7
u/I_like_race_cars Tarleton State Texans Sep 14 '26
By the time we roll into October, I fully expect us or Illinois state to jump the griz for 3rd. Probably even both considering they have Oregon state and then UC Davis.
7
u/Wutsurname Iowa Hawkeyes • Montana State Bobcats Sep 14 '26
Right or wrong, a loss to Oregon St this week could drop the griz a spot or two
3
u/MTRunner Sep 14 '26
I think it happens this week. Look at the actual vote tally, all 3 are really close. The griz will lose this week and the other two should win. Even though the loss will be to an FBS team, I’d imagine it’ll be enough to lose a few votes and have some movement in the 3,4,5 spots.
6
u/I_like_race_cars Tarleton State Texans Sep 14 '26
Also, kinda crazy how the gap from 1st to 5th is only a few points larger than the gap from 5th to 6th.
4
u/Lucky-Hunter-Dude Montana State Bobcats Sep 14 '26
2,3,4,5 are all sharing votes. a consensus 2nd place should have 1368 points. 3rd place should have 1311, 4th 1254. 5th 1911.
5
u/DeZeeuw2 South Dakota State Jackrabbits Sep 14 '26
*5th 1197, not 1911.
Your point is correct though
4
u/Lucky-Hunter-Dude Montana State Bobcats Sep 14 '26
yep, a little missoula math on that last one apparently.
2
u/Dervoo Furman Paladins • UAB Blazers Sep 14 '26
We beat Mercer on the road. The only reason we’re also 2-1 is because we played an SEC school. Mercer being above us is stupid.
3
u/PositiveElection2141 Lehigh Mountain Hawks • Marching Band Sep 14 '26 edited Sep 14 '26
I… sure.
I’d really love to know how the hell we’re still behind North Dakota at the very least. They haven’t played anyone yet and have dogstomped what they have, meanwhile we’ve played teams that actually have a bit about them, especially William and Mary, and have also dogstomped them. The MVFC bias is insane, and they haven’t even played a conference game yet
DISAPPOINTED
Edit: How tf is Montana 3rd in Stats and 2nd in Coaches?!
9
u/Responsible_History5 North Dakota Fighting Hawks • Sickos Sep 14 '26
I think it’s too early to expect Lehigh somehow making it higher in the rankings. I agree the MVFC bias exists but there’s a reason for it.
6
u/tdpdcpa Lehigh Mountain Hawks • Patriot Sep 14 '26
Yeah, this is just the way it is and I can't say it's not warranted.
If Lehigh just keeps winning games, they're going to get a Top 8 seed. If things break their way, they can crack the Top 4. That's about as good as we can hope for.
4
u/PositiveElection2141 Lehigh Mountain Hawks • Marching Band Sep 14 '26
Would you be saying the same thing were the teams reversed? I know there’s a MVFC bias, but even with that, the best opponent you’ve played is Portland State, who you beat with the same points margin that we just beat a team currently just outside the top 20 but was a top 20 team with. Bear in mind that we pulled most of our starters with 2.5 quarters left and W&M never looked competitive, meanwhile it took till the fourth quarter for you to finally put Portland State to bed. We keep our starters on and we would’ve probably put 60 past them. One of us has a top 20 win and the other doesn’t even have a top 40 win.
There comes a time when “better because bias” becomes stupid and this is ridiculous
2
u/Responsible_History5 North Dakota Fighting Hawks • Sickos Sep 14 '26
I’m pretty sure the only reason why we’re ranked as high as we are is because we had 5 one score losses last year, lost in the playoffs to Tarleton all under a brand new coach. I think if you’re gonna complain more maybe you guys should schedule either a top tier valley team or Montana team. Also legitimately it’s just early week rankings, it’s not that deep bro…
4
u/PositiveElection2141 Lehigh Mountain Hawks • Marching Band Sep 14 '26
Oh I’m not upset. Don’t get me wrong, I’m annoyed we’re not higher, but I’m not upset. And yeah, the stat you mentioned does make sense, but I still think we’re better. Also, we have Griz scheduled for the beginning of next season so that’ll be fun
1
u/Lonely-Ad3027 Southern Illinois Salukis Sep 15 '26
Glad to see Southern Illinois back in the polls.
47
u/Tsquared10 Oregon Ducks • Montana State Bobcats Sep 14 '26
Right? Absolutely disrespectful that we beat an FBS and didn't move an inch...