One Month Later: 5 Things To Know About The FCS Football Rankings

Preseason contenders have fallen, undefeated teams are surging and huge ranked matchups remain. Here are five things to know about the FCS Top 25.

Sep 29, 2026 by Ajay Shah

One Month Later: 5 Things To Know About The FCS Football Rankings

More than a month into the 2026 FCS football season, the preseason rankings are starting to feel like a distant memory.

Montana State remains planted at No. 1 in the AFCA FCS Coaches Poll, but the picture behind the Bobcats has changed considerably.

Stephen F. Austin, Tennessee Tech and South Carolina State have surged up the rankings, while preseason Top 10 teams such as Villanova and Rhode Island have dropped out entirely.

With undefeated contenders emerging and several ranked matchups still ahead, the Top 25 is nowhere close to settling down.

Here are five things to know about the latest FCS football rankings after Week 4.

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Well, That Preseason Top 25 Didn't Last Long

Five weeks is apparently plenty of time to turn the FCS rankings upside down.

Montana State remains No. 1, but some of the biggest preseason risers and fallers show just how much has changed underneath the Bobcats.

Biggest Risers:

Stephen F. Austin: No. 13 → No. 5
Tennessee Tech: No. 15 → No. 8
Austin Peay: No. 18 → No. 9
South Carolina State: No. 25 → No. 12
Idaho State: Unranked → No. 14

Biggest Fallers:

Illinois State: No. 4 → No. 11
UC Davis: No. 6 → No. 15
Villanova: No. 7 → Unranked
Rhode Island: No. 8 → Unranked

Meanwhile, South Dakota State has moved from No. 3 to No. 2 and Tarleton from No. 5 to No. 3.

The biggest takeaway? Only six teams that opened the season in the preseason Top 10 are still there today.

The Top 25 Is About To Eat Itself

Don't expect the rankings to settle down anytime soon. Several current Top 15 teams still have to play each other, giving the poll plenty of opportunities to change before the postseason.

Here are five matchups to circle:

Oct. 3: No. 2 South Dakota State at No. 11 Illinois State
Illinois State just fell seven spots after a 28-21 loss to Northern Iowa. Its response comes against the No. 2 team in the country.
Oct. 10: No. 3 Tarleton at No. 9 Austin Peay
Two current Top 10 UAC teams meet in one of the biggest conference games remaining on either schedule.
Oct. 17: No. 2 South Dakota State at No. 7 North Dakota
Another Top 10 test for South Dakota State and a major MVFC matchup.
Oct. 31: No. 7 North Dakota at No. 10 Youngstown State
Two more current Top 10 MVFC teams collide as the calendar turns to November.
Nov. 7: No. 5 Stephen F. Austin at No. 13 Lamar
Two of the highest-ranked teams in the Southland meet in Beaumont.

And then there's the one waiting at the end of the regular season.

Nov. 21: No. 4 Montana at No. 1 Montana State

There is a long way to go before the Brawl of the Wild, but if Montana State and Montana stay anywhere near their current rankings, the regular-season finale in Bozeman could carry enormous stakes.

Winning Is A Pretty Good Rankings Strategy

No. 5 Stephen F. Austin is 5-0. No. 6 Lehigh is 5-0. No. 8 Tennessee Tech is 4-0. No. 12 South Carolina State is 5-0, and No. 14 Idaho State is 4-0.

SFA has made one of the biggest climbs, going from No. 13 in the preseason to the top five.

South Carolina State has moved even farther, jumping from the final spot in the preseason poll to No. 12.

And Idaho State might have the best rankings story of the bunch.

The Bengals received just 15 points in the preseason poll and weren't ranked. Now they're undefeated and sitting at No. 14.

At some point, you stop calling these teams early-season surprises.

Illinois State And UC Davis Had Better Weekends In Mind

Two preseason Top 6 teams had very different ideas for how Week 4 was supposed to go.

Illinois State entered the weekend tied for No. 4 before Northern Iowa handed the Redbirds a 28-21 loss. Voters responded by dropping Illinois State seven spots to No. 11.

UC Davis had an even rougher Saturday.

No. 4 Montana rolled into Davis and left with a 62-22 victory behind a school-record 275 rushing yards and four rushing touchdowns from Eli Gillman. The loss sent UC Davis tumbling from No. 9 to No. 15.

Illinois State and UC Davis began the season ranked No. 4 and No. 6, respectively.

They're now No. 11 and No. 15.

And things aren't getting easier for Illinois State with No. 2 South Dakota State coming to town next.

3 New Teams Enter The Chat

Three teams entered the latest Top 25: No. 23 Jackson State, No. 24 Campbell and No. 25 Southern Illinois.

Jackson State and Campbell both began the year outside the Top 25 and have played their way in.

Campbell's arrival comes after a 44-20 win over Hampton moved the Camels to 4-1 overall and 2-0 in CAA play.

Southern Illinois took a different route.

The Salukis actually opened the season at No. 16 before falling completely out of the rankings. Now they're back, grabbing the final spot in the poll at No. 25.

Getting back in is one thing. Staying there is another.

Southern Illinois immediately gets a chance to prove it belongs when No. 10 Youngstown State visits the Salukis on Oct. 3.

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