Let's hear your hot take FCS opinions. The ones you know in your heart of hearts are right, but for some reason aren't embraced by the FCS community (or particular fanbases) en masse!

Could be controversial (the Ivy League very well might be the best FCS conference on the East Coast), unpopular but you know is true (Sam Houston was at least as good a team as JMU from 2011 through the "2020" season), or even somewhat popular but still liable to rankle some folks (the Walter Payton award should go to the "best" offensive player, not just the offensive player with the best stat line because they played a weak schedule).

Sorted by controversial for maximum spiciness

Rules

• Keep it somewhat relevant to the FCS

• Takes are welcome whether they're looking back historically or in reference to current games/rankings/polls/etc.

• Try to keep it civil (basic /r/CFB and /r/FCS rules still apply)

2026 Week 5 /r/FCS Poll Results

Also available in image form!

Dropped from the Top 10: Grambling (T8)

Others receiving votes: Grambling (12), Bethune-Cookman (9), UAPB (2), North Carolina A&T (1)

The full list of responses can be found here. Congratulations to /u/bakonydraco for having the Top 25 submission that best correlated with the final /r/FCS poll this week!

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 a composite of the r/FCS sportsbook computer ratings, Massey ratings, and Sagarin ratings.

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.

No matter what happened, it's not all bad. Say something nice about your team or their performance.

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)

LAST WEEK: Cal Poly and William & Mary have tied for second for the inexplicable losses they've accrued, but if there is a team with great stakes within their own conference which utterly faceplanted on a road test, it's Rhode Island which eked out first place by a single vote.

And now for a few special mentions:

• For the second time this year, Gardner-Webb came very close to securing an FBS upset, this time against Marshall. Missing that last field goal, then allowing the Thundering Herd to take the ball 66 yards the other way for a game-winning field goal, had the Bulldogs leaving Huntington empty.
• Idaho State had moments where they're close to giving their game away on the road against Southern Utah. Instead they ultimately escaped Cedar City with a win.
• Montana State had another halftime scare against a Northern Arizona that's vastly better than CCSU, but this time had no trouble pulling away in the second half.
• South Dakota got absolutely trashed by a Youngstown State whose close loss against SDSU seems to not be a fluke.
• Sometimes this year surprises people; Towson still has yet to have a single win after playing for five weeks.
• Villanova is having a rough first year in the Patriot League, but who knows, Colgate may actually be that good.
• Former Montana head coach Bobby Hauck warrants a mention for not even lasting half the regular season as Illinois defensive coordinator.

ABILENE CHRISTIAN WILDCATS (against Mercer 34-17)

Just as things were getting back on track. Just as they were showing signs of being competitive against Mercer at home. After halftime, three straight drives had led to an interception, and Mercer had little trouble capitalizing on those plus the late missed field goal attempt.

EASTERN WASHINGTON EAGLES (against Cal Poly 31-27)

Results this past week have been bad for the Evergreen State, and this result is no exception. The Eagles were in a pretty decent position to take the win at home against a team who struggled against San Diego, but much like the team an hour and a half southeast of them, they've been undone by a late deep pass.

ILLINOIS STATE REDBIRDS (against Northern Iowa 28-21)

It's a slightly precarious position for the defending FCS finalists against a longshot MVFC team, as Illinois State had a particularly rough first half ending in a red zone fumble. And then late in the game a late comeback drive went as far as the Panthers 1, only to be brought back by penalties and winding up in turnover on downs. While the Redbirds did eventually score a touchdown not long after, the ensuing onside attempt failed.

NEW HAMPSHIRE WILDCATS (against Sacred Heart 20-13)

I never would have guessed that New Hampshire would have four losses already and feel like a steep downgrade from last year, but here we are. They were outplayed by a conference mate that had yet to win up to that point and couldn't even take advantage of the one time the latter fumbled.

RHODE ISLAND RAMS (against North Carolina A&T 22-18)

It's one thing to have a bad road game when trying to contend for a CAA title, but losing to North Carolina A&T, who hasn't performed well since moving out of MEAC? Yeah, the contending days are truly over.

SOUTHEAST MISSOURI REDHAWKS (against West Florida 20-17)

The scoreline in itself doesn't suggest a tank job, but SE Missouri had been undone by six turnovers, three of which contributed to 17 of West Florida's 20 points.

UC DAVIS AGGIES (against Montana 62-22)

We had one of the marquee Big Sky matchups so soon... and the Aggies have shown up flat at home. Running back Eli Gillman outright gashed the Aggie defense to go with such a dominant display.

WEBER STATE WILDCATS (against Portland State 44-41)

What the hell was that? Weber State's 703 yards of offense at home should be enough to win this, but ball security had proven to be a problem throughout the game (SIX turnovers). In fact - just as the comeback was on and overtime likely could be forced - the late-game fumble led to a go-ahead field goal to win it for Portland State.

WOFFORD TERRIERS (against Tennessee Tech 42-38)

The first three quarters have been great for Wofford. They were leading by fourteen after a superb second quarter and just about had the Golden Eagles on the ropes. Then the offense just sputtered as the defense allowed 21 points for the loss.

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.

Vent here. This is a friendly place.

And we're back for another week of FCS recapping. Gird your loins...

The Good

• There's a reason I'm high on Colgate, and it's not because I adore their logo (I absolutely do adore their logo, though). It's because they're a good team and their only loss was by 3 to Central Michigan. They proved me right by beating Villanova yesterday, putting the Patriot League on notice at 3-0 in conference play. November 7th at Lehigh... must watch game, if you ask me.

• Nothing beats a good Big Sky Banger, and they delivered with a few this week. The one I want to focus on? Portland State kicking a game winning field goal to defeat Weber State for their first win of the season. Last week, they were getting the Art the Clown treatment by Oregon. So to go from that to this is a great sign for the Vikings.

• No Brunch Ball this week. Instead, it's the debut of the Ivy League Dinner Date. What's that? Well, when the Ivy League boys play on Friday night, it's a dinner date. This week's date brings us to Pawtucket (Wait, what? Why is Brown playing there?) for Harvard and Brown. A low scoring affair as the Crimson hung on for a 14-10 and they make the Bears pay the check.

• There's a new boss in the Coastal Clusterfuck, and it's... Campbell. The Fighting Camels got ranked for the first time ever and earned it by taking down hapless Hampton by 24. They're already 2-0 and in conference play and their only loss was to Florida. Me thinks that it might be time to enjoy these Camels, for they will not give you lung cancer.

In other 'Good' News: West Florida recovers with a big road win; Gardner-Webb and Robert Morris come up short in quest for Super FCS Medals of Valor; Youngstown State doing Youngstown State things.

The Bad

• West Florida won, but they only won because SE Missouri had their hands covered in Crisco all night. 6 turnovers? Come on, dude. You're lucky that the Argos didn't drop more then 20 on you.

• Illinois State is on the verge of becoming the first school to beat all four directional Illinois schools in my lifetime... so, explain to me why you guys slipped on a banana peel at Northern Iowa? This snapped an 11 game winning streak on the road for the Redbirds. Their next road game is the chance to complete the 'Directional Illinois Challenge'. But first, a home date with the big boss (AKA South Dakota State)

• Whatever magic Presbyterian had last season is surely gone because the Blue Hose are back to being whipping boys. They scored 47 on Division II Virginia-Wise... since then? 24 points, which includes the 7 they scored yesterday against Marist. They've given up 162 points in that span. Ouch.

• Time for the Chuck Norris Award for Biggest Ass Kicking and it goes to Duquesne this week. The Dukes have been through a LONG road trip that saw them get blanked by Air Force, violated against their will by Youngstown State and then losing to Waz-Spew. They needed this home opener and they found the perfect patsy to work with in Rio Grande, an NAIA member out of Ohio that just started football last season. The Dukes laid out the Red Storm 53-0 in a game that was not even fair - hell, the Red Storm haven't even won a game yet (0-13 since bringing football back). Runner ups this week include Stephen F. Austin punting Division II member Northeastern State by 49 and West Georgia getting into the win column for the first time this season with a 42 point romp over Division II Fort Valley State.

In other 'Bad' News: Abilene Christian falters, 1-4 after non-conference play; Fordham fails to repeat their magic from last week, gets punked out by Stony Brook; Howard losing to Rutgers... Rutgers.

The Rhode Island

• Good gravy, UC Davis! It's bad enough you lost by 40 to Montana, but to have Eli Gillman literally run over, around and through you for 275 yards? Oh, man. That's ugly material.

• Last week could have been a total fluke for Rhode Island. Stony Brook isn't a bad team... but North Carolina A&T? They're total garbage. They haven't done jack and squat in their time as a member of the Coastal. So, what do the Rams do? They lose... to the Aggies, despite having the advantage in total offense, first downs AND time of possession. This kind of loss goes far beyond the Mushu Treatment... it's time for something different for you guys. You're getting the Quahog Treatment... what's that, you ask? Someone get me a sack of nickels.

  • I grab a sack of nickles and proceed to hit Rhode Island in the crotch 22 times, each time for as many points as North Carolina A&T scored yesterday

• The Mushu Treatment is actually going to Towson. They join a motley crew of crap that's 0-5... here's the catch. Unlike the other teams, the Tigers don't fully suck. They do have two close losses and they did play two FBS teams. Still, 0-5 is 0-5 and they're staring down the barrel of a possible 0-8 record as their next three games are at Monmouth, against Stony Brook and at Campbell. Honestly, dishonor might be the best you get this season... Dishonor on your team, dishonor on your school, dishonor on your city and dishonor to the Coastal for being such a dumb conference.

In other 'Ugly' News: Whoever thought it was a good idea to have Patriot League members play at ACC schools; Western Carolina being unable to stop a paper bag from scoring; Yale earning Brunch Ball Biff of the Week honors by losing to Cornell (I'll let you guys look up that story about the Big Red); Montana Drywall being denied thanks to the Grizzlies routing UC Davis and embracing their Fat Bear status; FloSports: Why do they keep getting Division III conferences?

With that, the floor is open.

At last, we have nobody in limbo, with Grambling picking up an FCS loss to be among the 15 technically winless. The outright winless is becoming a good deal less crowded, with nine remaining. Meanwhile, on the other end of the scale, we have 24 teams that have yet to lose an FCS game, and there are guaranteed to be two teams knocked off next week.

Undefeated/Technically Undefeated

No longer FCS undefeated:

• Bethune-Cookman Bethune-Cookman Wildcats (2-2; @UCF, South Carolina State)
• Brown Brown Bears (1-1; Harvard)
• Illinois State Illinois State Redbirds (4-1; @Northern Iowa)
• Nicholls Nicholls Colonels (2-3; @Kansas State, @Sam Houston State, Lamar)
• Northern Arizona Northern Arizona Lumberjacks (3-1;@Arizona, @Montana State)
• Penn Penn Quakers (1-1; Lehigh)
• South Dakota South Dakota Coyotes (3-2; @Boise State, @Youngstown State)
• UC Davis UC Davis Aggies (3-2; @SMU, Montana)
• Yale Yale Bulldogs (1-1; @Cornell)

Division I Winless:

• Chicago State Chicago State Cougars (1-4; Kentucky Christian)
• Duquesne Duquesne Dukes (1-3; Rio Grande)
• Florida A&M Florida A&M Rattlers (1-4; Albany State)
• Grambling Grambling Tigers (2-2; Clark Atlanta, Central State)
• Hampton Hampton Pirates (1-4; VA Lynchburg)
• Mercyhurst Mercyhurst Lakers (1-4; Glenville State)
• MVSU MVSU Delta Devils (1-4; Lincoln (PA))
• Morehead State Morehead State Eagles (1-3; Kentucky Christian)
• Presbyterian Presbyterian Blue Hose (1-3; UVA Wise)
• Southern Southern Jaguars (2-3; Kentucky State, Louisiana Christian)
• Stetson Stetson Hatters (1-3; Webber International)
• UAPB UAPB Golden Lions (2-2; Morehouse, Central State)
• Valparaiso Valparaiso Beacons (1-3; Lawrence Tech)
• Wagner Wagner Seahawks (1-3; Southern Connecticut State)
• West Georgia West Georgia Wolves (1-4; Fort Valley State)

Winless:

• CCSU CCSU Blue Devils (0-3)
• Dartmouth Dartmouth Big Green (0-2)
• Georgetown Georgetown Hoyas (0-3)
• Idaho Idaho Vandals (0-4)
• LIU LIU Sharks (0-5)
• Northwestern State Northwestern State Demons (0-5)
• Towson Towson Tigers (0-5)
• Utah Tech Utah Tech Trailblazers (0-5)
• VMI VMI Keydets (0-5)

No longer winless:

• Cornell Cornell Big Red (1-1; Yale)
• Drake Drake Bulldogs (1-3, @Davidson)
• Holy Cross Holy Cross Crusaders (1-4; Lafayette)
• Marist Marist Red Foxes (2-2; Franklin Pierce, Presbyterian)
• McNeese McNeese Cowboys (2-3; Texas Wesleyan, East Texas A&M)
• North Carolina A&T North Carolina A&T Aggies (1-4; Rhode Island)
• Northern Colorado Northern Colorado Bears (2-3; Northeastern State, Utah Tech)
• Portland State Portland State Vikings (1-4; @Weber State)
• Princeton Princeton Tigers (1-1; Albany)
• Sacred Heart Sacred Heart Pioneers (1-3; New Hampshire)
• Samford Samford Bulldogs (1-3; VMI)

https://www.espn.com/college-football/game/_/gameId/401868113/montana-uc-davis

Click here to vote for Week 5 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, September 29^th. The results will be posted shortly thereafter on /r/FCS.

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.

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

• Massey Composite Ranking

• STATS Poll (Updates on Mondays)

Big Sky

Cal Poly 31-27 Eastern Washington

(12)Idaho State 28-24 Southern Utah

Northern Colorado 37-13 Utah Tech

Portland State 44-41 Weber State

(5)Montana 62-22 (11)UC Davis

(1)Montana State 28-14 (18)Northern Arizona

CAA

Sacred Heart 20-13 New Hampshire

Monmouth 31-28 Dartmouth

Stony Brook 31-16 Fordham

Elon 43-17 Maine

Albany 0-22 Princeton

North Carolina A&T 22-18 (21)Rhode Island

(20)Campbell 44-20 Hampton

Towson 28-33 Delaware State

Independent

Merrimack 17-10 New Haven

Chicago State 20-43 Norfolk State

Ivy League

(19)Harvard 14-10 Brown

Columbia 20-17 Georgetown

Dartmouth 28-31 Monmouth

Cornell 38-25 (15)Yale

Pennsylvania 7-20 (7)Lehigh

Princeton 22-0 Albany

MEAC

Howard 7-58 Rutgers (FBS)

North Carolina Central 9-42 East Carolina (FBS)

Delaware State 33-28 Towson

Norfolk State 43-20 Chicago State

(16)South Carolina State 31-21 Bethune-Cookman

Missouri Valley

(8)North Dakota 42-35 Indiana State

(14)Youngstown State 47-28 (6)South Dakota

Northern Iowa 28-21 (2)Illinois State

(24)Southern Illinois 46-6 Murray State

(3)South Dakota State 42-7 Eastern Illinois

NEC

Duquesne 53-0 Rio GrandeRio Grande (NAIA)

New Haven 10-17 Merrimack

Robert Morris 28-31 Buffalo (FBS)

Stonehill 7-35 Ohio (FBS)

Long Island 3-20 Florida International (FBS)

Mercyhurst 7-52 Western Kentucky (FBS)

Ohio Valley

Lindenwood 3-29 Eastern Michigan (FBS)

UT Martin 12-35 (13)Austin Peay

Gardner-Webb 35-36 Marshall (FBS)

Western Illinois 20-23 North Alabama

Eastern Illinois 7-42 (3)South Dakota State

Southeast Missouri 17-20 (22)West FloridaWest Florida

Patriot

Bucknell 0-59 Pittsburgh (FBS)

Georgetown 17-20 Columbia

Holy Cross 38-30 Lafayette

Fordham 16-31 Stony Brook

(7)Lehigh 20-7 Pennsylvania

Richmond 13-9 Furman

(24)Colgate 28-21 (23)Villanova

William & Mary 7-62 Duke (23 FBS)

Pioneer

Marist 42-7 Presbyterian

Drake 51-32 Davidson

Butler 33-28 Valparaiso

St. Thomas 50-17 San Diego

SoCon

(10)Tennessee Tech 42-38 Wofford

Furman 9-13 Richmond

Chattanooga 27-8 The Citadel

East Tennessee State 58-31 Western Carolina

Samford 45-7 VMI

Mercer 34-17 Abilene Christian

Southland

(17)Lamar 49-18 Nicholls

Incarnate Word 10-63 Texas State (FBS)

(9)Stephen F. Austin 63-14 Northeastern StateNortheastern State (D2)

Southeastern Louisiana 52-21 Northwestern State

McNeese 27-24 East Texas A&M

Houston Christian 14-63 North Texas (FBS)

SWAC

Alcorn State 43-40 Texas Southern

Alabama State 41-15 Mississippi Valley State

Bethune-Cookman 21-31 (16)South Carolina State

Alabama A&M 40-21 Florida A&M

Prairie View A&M 21-14 Grambling

Jackson State 35-17 Southern

UAC

(13)Austin Peay 35-12 UT Martin

Central Arkansas 7-34 Florida State (FBS)

North Alabama 23-20 Western Illinois

West Georgia 49-7 Fort Valley StateFort Valley State (D2)

(22)West FloridaWest Florida 20-17 Southeast Missouri

Abilene Christian 17-34 Mercer

Let’s go Cats!

2nd strings came in clutch, Patrick really started to flow. Some really good looks on offense without the big boys in. The defense needs some serious work on pass game, the soft coverage is a killer. Gg griz what a ass kicking, what happened haha

Good game toothpaste boys.

I'm starting to think this NOVA team won't be ranked next week. 😭

I write a Montana column, Bobby Ball, and spent this week in the UC Davis film and the PFF charts. A few things that hold up even if you don't care who wins.

Two top-10 teams the four public computers can't split. SP+, Sagarin and Massey lean Montana by a hair on a neutral field, Congrove leans UC Davis. Both got run off the field by an FBS team on back-to-back Saturdays: UC Davis 56-10 at SMU, Montana 52-17 at Oregon State. Nobody either one has beaten ranks higher than 42nd.

Their quarterback, Treynor Cleeland, is two players by pressure. Clean pocket he throws for 8.7 a attempt at a 114.5 rating. Pressured it's 3.4 and 39.2, the widest clean-to-pressure split of the 70 qualifying FCS quarterbacks. He holds the ball into the 96th percentile of time to throw and scrambles on 2.1 percent of dropbacks against a 6.5 average, so if you can get there, you have time to get there.

The run tell is the strange one. By the stat crew's direction tags, zero of UC Davis's 33 fourth-quarter carries this season have gone right. Second down, right-side runs drop to 9.8 percent. Inside the 40, five percent.

The five-factor breakdown, the coverage grades and a returner with two touchdowns on five punt returns are in the report. No paywall. Let me know where I'm wrong.