Fear The FCS 2026 Week 1 Media Ballot

In 2025, I was invited to vote in the Stats Perform FCS Top 25 for the first time. I was beyond thrilled to accept the invitation, and like many others, I take the opportunity seriously. I am a returning voter in 2026 and, as part of the weekly process, I will provide some thoughts, reasoning, and transparency for my top 25 ballot. Below is the Stats Perform Top 25 poll submitted after the Week 0 games.

General Thoughts

The first week of FCS games brought plenty of excitement and disappointing efforts. 15 of the top 17 teams from my preseason ballot won (Villanova lost and Yale was idle), but that doesn’t mean there won’t be changes. In the bottom 8 spots, four teams lost, including some rather surprising results. I don’t anchor my thoughts to what my preseason poll showed, which means there will be some noticeable changes after one week. While there may have been some opening week jitters, or teams not playing up to their potential, I can’t decipher that from the one data point we have. The current top 25 may not be representative of how the season unfolds, but I can only compare the teams relative to each other after one week.

Starting at the top, my #1 and #2 teams didn’t change. Montana State and South Dakota State looked like the top two teams. Illinois State and Rhode Island both moved up one spot to third and fourth, respectively. It’s hard to know how good either team is yet. ISU crushed the NAIA’s Saint Francis (IL) 76-0, but running back Victor Dawson suffered an upper body injury. For URI, I was impressed by their showing against Merrimack in a 34-7 win because it came without quarterback Devin Farrell and linebacker AJ Pena.

In the preseason poll, I had Montana 3rd and UC Davis 6th. After the opening week, both have been dropped to 9th and 15th, respectively. Let’s start with Montana. The Grizzlies’ offense scored midway through the 3rd quarter to build a 21-9 lead and then disappeared until the final five minutes of the game. It felt a lot like the 2025 squad that had the same issue. Sure, Southern Utah controlled the ball for 75% of the game, and the offense showed up when it mattered most, but the two drives between the second half touchdowns went for 9 plays and -3 yards. Montana was unimpressive in the win.

UC Davis trailed Portland State 21-0 at halftime. It was a completely listless team. The Aggies rallied in the second half to win 31-24, with both sides coming out of their first half slumber. But I cannot ignore the first 30 minutes in the same way I cannot ignore Montana’s offense going Houdini for much of the second half. Compared to how other FCS teams played, they didn’t deserve to keep their high rankings.

Youngstown State, South Dakota, and North Dakota are ranked 5th, 6th, and 7th. All three played NEC opponents and dismantled them for comfortable wins. Tarleton State remains 8th, which may seem unfair because they defeated a good Prairie View A&M squad. The offense looked really good with a new QB, but the defense has a lot of question marks in what appears to be a deep UAC. Lamar held on for a 21-14 win over Abilene Christian to vault from 17th to 9th. We’ll see how good Lamar is the next three games with road trips to Louisiana, Idaho, and Nicholls. Montana rounds out the top 10.

There was minimal change in the next four spots, with Stephen F. Austin, Lehigh, Tennessee Tech, and Austin Peay ranked 11th through 14th this week. All four had solid wins and did little to make me reconsider their position inside the top 15. UC Davis is 15th after the struggles against Portland State, while Yale didn’t play and remains 16th.

In 17th, we have South Carolina State. The Bulldogs walloped D-II Savannah State 87-0, averaging over 9 yards per carry in the win. This game wasn’t a great measuring stick, but I was higher on them than most, considering SC State was 20th in my preseason poll. Checking in at #18 is William & Mary, which stunned Villanova 35-32. The Tribe trailed 32-22 with 50 seconds left, but a comedy of errors by Villanova allowed them back into the game. Villanova couldn’t corral the onside kick, the secondary let Kai Austin burn them, and Pat McQuaide threw the interception that set up the game-winning field goal.

In 19th, we have Alabama State, which is up three spots this week. The Hornets had some first half trouble with Southern, trailing 14-3, but dominated the second half to win 30-17. The defense played very well in the second half to keep Southern off the board. Abilene Christian drops two spots to 20th this week after the loss at Lamar. While Lamar’s defense is good, there are questions about the offense, which saw a spark when John David Black took over at quarterback.

Idaho State enters the poll at #21. The Bengals only led 10-0 at halftime versus VMI, but really separated themselves in the second half, going on to win 38-10. Villanova drops from 7th to 22nd after its collapse against William & Mary. It was a shocking defensive performance at the end from a team that is usually stout. Northern Arizona moves up 2 spots to #23 after coming back from a 24-3 deficit to defeat Eastern Washington 34-27. NAU’s the annual wildcard because I don’t really know what to think of them. They’re usually a step below the top Big Sky teams, but it’s also a new season and only one game. We’ll see how they look in two weeks against Incarnate Word.

Cal Poly and Western Carolina both enter the poll at #24 and #25, respectively. Cal Poly won 38-34 over Idaho in a wild game that saw the Mustangs hold a 7-3 lead at halftime. It was a huge game for Anthony Grigsby, who threw for 319 yards and 4 TDs, while adding another 62 yards and a score on the ground. Western Carolina had a bit of a shootout with Eastern Kentucky, but the Catamounts scored 35 second half points to win 45-21. Lex Thomas had 320 yards and 3 TDs passing, along with 69 yards and 1 TD rushing.

Teams That Dropped Out and Other Notables

Four teams dropped out of the preseason poll: #19 Southeastern Louisiana, #21 UT Martin, #23 Mercer, and #24 Southern Illinois. SE Louisiana lost 34-28 at home to Houston Christian. The Huskies held a 34-14 lead early in the fourth quarter before a furious rally by the Lions. I would have dropped SELA from the top 25 if they had won because it was a very sloppy performance. UT Martin had a good first half against Central Arkansas, trailing 19-17 at the break, and 29-24 midway through the fourth quarter. Unfortunately, the offense struggled for the final two drives, and UCA won 36-24.

While Mercer defeated East Texas A&M 23-15 in the opener, it couldn’t have looked any worse in the final 30 minutes. Mercer led 23-0 at halftime and then struggled on both sides of the ball in the second half. The defense made two big plays in the second half: the interception on the first drive and the goal-line stand on the last drive, but they gave up five drives of 50 or more yards in the second half. The offense had one long drive in the final 30 minutes, which was a missed field goal. If I thought Montana’s second half woes were bad, Mercer’s ended up being several magnitudes worse.

Southern Illinois lost its opener at FCS newcomer West Florida 34-31, as DJ Williams left early with an injury. Still, the Huskies nearly rallied for the win, but too many miscues on both sides of the ball cost them the game. I think SIU probably wins that game with DJ Williams. We don’t know how long he will be out, and I still have questions about the defense.

While there was plenty of talk about the FCS teams that lost to non-D-I opponents, I thought one of the most under-the-radar losses was New Hampshire‘s 28-14 loss to Albany. The Wildcats couldn’t stop the run, giving up nearly 400 yards on the ground, and also couldn’t establish the run themselves. UNH had 62 yards on 24 carries. It was a surprisingly dull game from a team that is usually expected to be in the upper tier of the CAA.

I typically include additional teams that received consideration for the poll. This week, a lot of teams either lost or looked unimpressive, making for an unusually short list after the opening games. I considered Central Arkansas, Delaware State, Incarnate Word, Richmond, Southeast Missouri State, and UTRGV.

Photo Credit to Lamar University Athletics