Oct. 20—GRAND FORKS — The UND football team received a No. 6 ranking from the FCS Playoff Committee's initial release Tuesday afternoon of the committee's Top 10 for the playoff bracket.
Montana State, the defending national champion, is No. 1, followed by Tarleton State, Youngstown State, Stephen F. Austin, South Dakota State and UND. Northern Arizona, South Dakota, Austin Peay and Harvard round out the Top 10.
The three other teams also receiving votes are Illinois State, Lehigh and Tennessee Tech.
The Fighting Hawks, 6-2 overall and coming off a win over then-No. 1 South Dakota State, are also ranked No. 6 in the Stats Perform FCS Top 25 media poll. UND still has to play South Dakota, Youngstown State and Illinois State this season, as well as Southern Illinois.
The official bracket release will be announced Nov. 22.
This year's FCS National championship will be played Jan. 11, 2027, at FirstBank Stadium in Nashville, Tennessee.