I'm excited to represent FCS Football Central as one of the voters in the FCS Stats Perform Top 25 again for the 2026 season.
As I have done over the past few years, I will release my weekly ballot and explain my reasoning behind my selections throughout the season. I believe voters should be transparent and justify their rankings every week. It gives fans important insights into how they analyze teams and build their ballots week-to-week.
Below is my Week 7 ballot for the 2026 FCS football season.
25. Colgate
24. Richmond
23. Southeastern Louisiana
22. Weber State
21. Abilene Christian
20. Mercer
19. Monmouth
18. Lehigh
17. Illinois State
16. Northern Iowa
15. Montana
14. ETSU
13. Lamar
12. Tennessee Tech
11. Harvard
10. Campbell
9. Austin Peay
8. South Dakota
7. Northern Arizona
6. North Dakota
5. Stephen F. Austin
4. Youngstown State
3. South Dakota State
2. Montana State
1. Tarleton State
Honorable Mentions: Princeton, Houston Christian, Jackson State, UC Davis, Alabama A&M, Cornell
Analysis:
This may be the most chaotic year of FCS football I've ever covered. Every time we think we know a little bit about these teams, there is pure chaos and everything changes after another series of upsets. It was a very challenging week to be a voter, especially as we try to balance head-to-head wins, overall resumes, the eye test, and strength of schedule.
I had a real debate about whether Montana State or Tarleton State should be at the No. 1 spot this week. The Bobcats are finally starting to get healthy and looked extremely impressive this weekend. Their only loss is a 1-point loss on the road without multiple key starters, plus they have an FBS win over Nevada and a quality win over Northern Arizona.
As for the Texans, they also have an FBS win over Bowling Green and a quality win over Austin Peay on the road. People will point to the SOS, but these two teams really haven't played any real competition outside of their two signature FCS/FBS wins. If you are going to say, "Tarleton hasn't played anyone," then you better say the same thing for Montana State right now.
It's not always perfect, but they've won their FCS games by an average of 17.3 points. Also, the Texans have kept rolling despite battling injuries at nearly every position outside of quarterback, similar to Montana State. Because of that, I gave Tarleton State the edge in my ballot this week, but that will be reevaluated every week moving forward. I feel like these are the two best teams in FCS football after Week 7, but I'm curious to see how the committee evaluates these two teams tomorrow.
North Dakota jumped all the way back to No. 6 after an upset win over the Jackrabbits. It's mid-October, so I think overall resume means more than a single head-to-head win, which is why the Fighting Hawks didn't move into the Top 5. The SDSU win was extremely impressive, but the rest of North Dakota's resume is a step behind the other teams ahead of them. If the Fighting Hawks can string together wins over South Dakota and Youngstown State, then there may be a very strong argument that this team belongs firmly in the Top 2-3, but we'll cross that bridge if that happens.
As for South Dakota State, the Jackrabbits had a tough performance this weekend, but still have one of the best resumes in the country. They might have the best win of any of the Top 10 teams with the head-to-head over Youngstown State, plus they beat Illinois State by 17 on the road. There is an argument to move SDSU down behind YSU, SFA, or UND, but I'm going to lean on the overall body of work right now, rather than a singular data point.
I can hear the complaints from Stephen F. Austin fans already, but I have to judge every team by the same standard. The Lumberjacks have the weakest resume of any of the other Top 5 teams, plus they are the only team in my Top 10 with a non-Division I win. That has to matter, and that hurts them when we are comparing overall resumes. This team has a chance to really elevate into the Top 2-3 with wins over SLU and Lamar in two of the next three weeks.
Montana plummets all the way down to No. 15, and I think there's an argument that they should have been even lower. My biggest issue with the Griz is the lack of a true quality win. The signature win over UC Davis has continued to age poorly, and the Aggies aren't even in my ballot this week after an ugly loss to Southern Utah. This defense is bad... And that's just being professional. The Grizzlies have some winnable games over the next few weeks, but they have a ton of defensive issues to address if they want to prove they are a Top 10 team in the FCS this season.
Lehigh falls outside the Top 15 after a tough loss to Cornell, falling 48-38 on the road. Some people may say I was too harsh on the Mountain Hawks, but with a loss, this resume is atrocious right now. Where's the signature win? Penn? Dartmouth? William & Mary? They have the 96th-ranked SOS in the FCS with no signature wins, plus there is growing concern that Hayden Johnson could miss the rest of the season, which is something that I had to consider when building this week's ballot.
The other Top 10 team that suffered an upset loss was Lamar, which dropped to No. 13 after falling to Southeastern Louisiana on the road. Compared to Lehigh and Montana, I thought the Cardinals not only had the best resume, but the opponent they lost to was the best team of the three. The Cardinals still have wins over Idaho and Abilene Christian, plus another quality win over Incarnate Word. That was enough to keep them in the Top 15 despite the loss this past weekend.
Speaking of Southeastern Louisiana, the Lions move back into the Top 25 after their upset win over Lamar. The Lions have an FBS win over Louisiana-Monroe and just added a Top 10 win, which is a much better resume than most of the teams at the back end of the rankings. The loss to UTRGV and HCU keeps them from being any higher, but they can add to their resume with games against SFA and UIW remaining on the schedule.
I still can't believe that Weber State is currently 4-1 in Big Sky play, but the Wildcats have won three consecutive games and moved to 5-2 against the FCS. Their losses were by a combined 8 points, but they now hold wins over Idaho State, Idaho, and Cal Poly. That was enough to push them into the Top 25, but they will face a brutal test against Montana State on the road in Week 8.
One of the best stories of the FCS season has been the emergence of Campbell, which moved to 6-1 overall and 6-0 against FCS competition. The Camels have two ranked wins over ETSU and Western Carolina, which gives them a very strong resume compared to some of the other teams in the No. 10-20 range. The Camels earned the final spot in the Top 10, but are going to have to prove they belong as they navigate a tough five-game stretch to close out the season.
UC Davis is one of the notable teams that I completely dropped from my ballot this week. I may be in the minority here, but the Aggies are 4-2 against the FCS, with losses to Southern Utah and Montana by 20+ points. Their wins are against Eastern Washington, Stetson, San Diego, and Portland State. If any team outside the Big Sky or MVFC had this resume, voters wouldn't even consider them for the Top 25. Until they prove it on the field, I don't believe the Aggies belong in the Top 25.
I really like what I've seen from Abilene Christian these past few weeks. The Wildcats are 4-3 against the FCS, but all three losses have come against Top 25 teams, plus they've had to navigate a Top 10 SOS over the first two months of the season. They've won three consecutive games, including a ranked win over West Florida and a notable win over North Alabama. The Wildcats also went on the road and beat Idaho, which is notable given the recent results against the Montana schools. I think their resume is better than most of the other teams on the bubble, which gave them the edge for one of the last five spots.
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