What We Learned About FCS Football In Week 4: Scores, Highlights & More

Things early in the season for the FCS have been pretty even keel, though we have seen a few shocking outcomes and incredible performances. That’s football.

Sep 29, 2026 by Matt Cannizzaro

This Has NEVER Happened In College Football...2:51

Each week of the college football season is full of surprises, upsets, triumphs and hard lessons. And that’s just for the teams involved.

The rest of us are entertained, excited and sometimes disappointed.

The important thing is that we’re having fun, right? And that we learn something each week, win or lose.

Things early in the season for the Football Championship Subdivision have been pretty even keel, though we have seen a few shocking outcomes and incredible performances. That’s football.

Beyond the entertainment of it all, what do these things tell us? How do they shape our feelings and outlook for the rest of the season?

Here are a few topics of discussion in the FCS this week. We’re going to dissect a few of them and talk about what they mean for the bigger picture:

Montana State is hanging on at the top of the FCS polls.
North Carolina A&T stunned two-time defending Coastal Athletic Association champion Rhode Island.
Cornell created early chaos in the Ivy League by defeating preseason favorite Yale.
Montana is making a push to be the top dog in Big Sky Country.
Stephen F. Austin is putting the Southland Conference on the map.
Campbell is one victory away from matching its combined win total from 2024 and 2025.
Unranked Northern Iowa edged 2025 FCS runner-up Illinois State to snap the squad’s 11-game road winning streak and send the Redbirds tumbling down the rankings.

Let’s take a look at some of the key storylines from Week 4 and what they told us:

Campbell Football Still Trending Upward

This is going to continue being a storyline – until it isn’t.

It’s impossible not to take note of the turnaround the Campbell football team is experiencing this year, though the tests so far have been more like the PSATs, with the real tough stuff still down the road.

The Camels have one more week to get themselves situated – a nonconference meeting with North Carolina Central – before a slate of six consecutive conference games puts their preparation and progress through the ringer.

Each week will get progressively harder and mean more if they remain on their current trajectory. Then, the campaign will conclude with showdowns against Elon and Monmouth, the other two teams that already have two wins in CAA action.

Obviously, there are endless possibilities for what can happen within the 13-team conference during October, kickstarted by Sacred Heart's breakthrough win over New Hampshire last weekend. It was the first victory of the year for the Pioneers and their first win as the newest member of the CAA.

Campbell understands the learning curve, and the Camels’ debut season in 2023 was their best at 4-4 in conference games. After that, 1-7 and 2-6.

Again, their 2-0 start to the conference schedule this year has come against North Carolina A&T and Hampton, the teams chosen to finish 12th and 13th in the CAA this year, respectively, but Campbell’s efforts and output have been impressive, nonetheless.

Quarterback Kamden Sixkiller led the Camels to 537 yards of total offense against Hampton on Saturday. He was 24 of 31 for 308 yards and five touchdowns.

The five touchdown tosses was a season-best, topping the four he had against N.C. A&T the week before, while he cleared 300 passing yards for the fourth time in five games this year.

Sixkiller leads the CAA in total offense (325.4 yards per game), completions (121), passing yards (1,449), passing yards per game (289.8) and touchdowns (13).

Campbell is No. 1 in total offense (472 ypg), passing yards per contest (302.6), second in scoring (33.2 ppg) and second in passing efficiency (157.2).

The Campbell defense has set the pace in the conference in rushing yards allowed per game at just 93.8 yards per game. However, they’re No. 13 in passing defense, giving up 307.8 yards per game. So, there's something that must be addressed before it can be exploited.

Now 4-1 overall, the Camels finally have broken into the top 25 of the American Football Coaches Association FCS Coaches Poll (No. 24), while climbing from No. 22 to No. 18 in the latest Stats Perform FCS Top 25.

Through Week 4, and Rhode Island's shocking loss to N.C. A&T on Saturday, Campbell now is the pride of the CAA and the only program ranked in either poll.

URI is the two-time reigning CAA champion and the preseason favorite for 2026, but the Rams have dropped consecutive conference games to Stony Brook and N.C. A&T, so the likelihood of a three-peat is in serious jeopardy, if not already out of the question.

Is Campbell going to be the squad that steps up?

Stephen F. Austin No Longer A Quiet Threat

The Southland Conference might not be the most talked about collection of teams in college football, but one of the 10 programs is guaranteed to make the FCS Championship bracket.

And, while many of the SLC teams come from sleepy little cities and towns in Texas and Louisiana, they’ve been making way too much noise to go unnoticed any longer.

Three of the teams made the postseason last year – Stephen F. Austin, Southeastern Louisiana and Lamar. It was the first three-bid playoff year since 2019.

The team turning the most heads resides in the heart of East Texas and a historic city with a name most people from outside of the Lone Star State have trouble pronouncing – Nacogdoches.

The SFA Lumberjacks rolled through SLC play in 2025, taking the conference title and automatic playoff bid to the playoffs with a perfect performance (8-0), plus a first-round bye.

They opened with a win against Abilene Christian and then got bounced by eventual FCS national champion Montana State, but Stephen F. Austin did enough damage to be recognized simply as SFA.

As football fans across the country have been working on their pronunciation of Nacogdoches: (“Nac” sounds like knack; “co” sounds like uh; “do” sounds like doh; “ches” sounds like chiz), the Jacks have been climbing up the FCS rankings.

The momentum from 2025 has continued into the new campaign, and the Jacks now are 5-0 overall and 2-0 in conference play. They have gone from No. 13 in the American Football Coaches Association Preseason Coaches Poll to No. 11 to No. 9 to No. 8 to No. 6 to No. 5 in the latest edition of the rankings.

This is the 14th consecutive week SFA has earned a national ranking, and it’s the Jacks’ first appearance in the top 5 since 2010. They reached No. 2 in the coaches poll that year.

Can SFA get there again in 2026?

Through Week 4, the Lumberjacks are one of nine undefeated teams in the top 25 and one of four to open the season at 5-0.

Across the five wins, SFA is outscoring its opponents 202-65, including a 63-14 nonconference decimation of Northeastern State on Sept. 26.

Now, it’s time for the real stretch – seven consecutive SLC games to close out the regular season.

Do the Lumberjacks have what it takes to dominate the conference again in 2026?

Montana State Is Doing Just Enough In 2026

Montana State is the reigning FCS national champion and has won a program-record 19 consecutive games. It’s the second-longest active streak in Division I football behind FBS Indiana’s 20.

The Bobcats also have maintained their spot atop the polls, but the margin continues to shrink each time MSU barely squeaks out a win.

Most recently, it was a 28-14 victory over No. 17 Northern Arizona. The contest was tied at 14 at halftime and competitive throughout, but the Bobcats were able to keep their opponents scoreless the rest of the way.

In Week 3, winless and unranked Central Connecticut State pushed Montana State to the brink, before the Bobcats were able to escape with a 35-30 win that included a combined 51 points in the second half.

There’s nothing but conference play ahead for Montana State, and the Bobcats can’t afford to slip up, as the Big Sky Conference is ultra-competitive.

Five of the 13 Big Sky teams are ranked in the AFCA top 25, which is an impressive 20% of the ranked teams – MSU (No. 1), Montana (4), Idaho State (14), UC Davis (15) and Northern Arizona (19).

Quite possibly, the biggest statement in Week 4 came from Montana, a 62-22 winner over then-No. 9 UC Davis. It was a message to both the Big Sky and the rest of the FCS teams fighting for the 24 playoff spots.

Once again this year, the regular season will conclude with a showdown between Montana State and Montana, which could determine the conference champion and the Big Sky’s automatic playoff bid.

In looking at the schedule, Montana State easily could get to 5-0 in conference play before meeting an opponent currently in the top half of the Big Sky standings.

But could one of these underestimated teams be the one that causes things to unravel for the Bobcats?

FCS Top 25 Results For Week 4

As mentioned above, No. 1 Montana State eked out a win, but the teams close behind in the rankings have been on a relentless tear.

Check out how the rest of the top 25 performed in Week 4:

Bold = Upsets

No. 1 Montana State def. No. 17 Northern Arizona, 28-14
No. 2 South Dakota State def. Eastern Illinois, 42-7
No. 3 Tarleton State – Bye
No. t4 Montana def. No. 9 UC Davis, 62-22
Northern Iowa def. No. t4 Illinois State, 28-21
No. 6 Stephen F. Austin def. Northeastern State, 63-14
No. 7 Lehigh def. Penn, 20-7
No. 8 North Dakota def. Indiana State, 42-35
No. 10 Tennessee Tech def. Wofford, 42-38
No. 11 Austin Peay def. UT Martin, 35-12
No. 13 Youngstown State def. No. 12 South Dakota, 47-28
No. 14 South Carolina State def. Bethune-Cookman, 31-21
No. 15 Lamar def. Nicholls, 49-18
No. 16 Idaho State def. Southern Utah, 28-24
Cornell def. No. 18 Yale, 38-25
No. 19 Richmond def. Furman, 13-9
No. 20 West Florida def. Southeast Missouri State, 20-17
N.C. A&T def. No. 21 Rhode Island, 22-18
No. t23 Colgate def. No. 22 Villanova, 28-21
No. t23 Mercer def. Abilene Christian, 34-17
No. 25 Harvard def. Brown, 14-10

New AFCA FCS Rankings After Week 4 Of 2026

As of Sept. 26

Montana St. (5-0) – 625 – Prev. 1
South Dakota St. (4-1) – 590 – Prev. 2
Tarleton St. (4-0) – 568 – Prev. 3
Montana (4-1) – 550 – Prev. 4
Stephen F. Austin (5-0) – 521 – Prev. 6
Lehigh (5-0) – 484 – Prev. 7
North Dakota (4-1) – 467 – Prev. 8
Tennessee Tech (4-0) – 429 – Prev. 10
Austin Peay (4-1) – 420 – Prev. 11
Youngstown St. (3-2) – 386 – Prev. 13
Illinois St. (4-1) – 370 – Prev. 4t
South Carolina St. (5-0) – 329 – Prev. 14
Lamar (3-1) – 322 – Prev. 15
Idaho St. (4-0) – 311 – Prev. 16
UC Davis (3-2) – 236 – Prev. 9
South Dakota (3-2) – 223 – Prev. 12
Richmond (4-1) – 196 – Prev. 19
West Florida (3-1) – 193 – Prev. 20
Northern Arizona (3-2) – 175 – Prev. 17
Colgate (4-1) – 155 – Prev. 23t
Mercer (3-2) – 117 – Prev. 23t
Harvard (2-0) – 82 – Prev. 25
Jackson St. (4-0) – 72 – Prev. NR
Campbell (4-1) – 71 – Prev. NR
Southern Illinois (3-2) – 57 – Prev. NR

Dropped Out: Yale (18), Rhode Island (21), Villanova (22)

Others Receiving Votes: Elon, 55; Yale, 22; Alabama St., 19; Prairie View A&M, 17; Southeastern Louisiana, 14; UT Rio Grande Valley, 7; Furman, 6; Monmouth (N.J.), 6; Chattanooga, 5; Stony Brook, 5; Cal Poly, 4; Dartmouth, 4; St. Thomas (Minn.), 4; Delaware St., 3; Villanova, 2; Bryant, 1; Northern Iowa, 1; UIW, 1.

Some Things To Know About FCS Football

The FCS (Football Championship Subdivision) is the second tier of NCAA Division I football, with the top tier being the FBS (Football Bowl Subdivision).

While the FBS determines its national champion through a 12-team, committee-selected College Football Playoff, the FCS Championship includes 24 teams.

The FCS conference champions automatically qualify for the playoffs, and the remaining spots are filled via at-large selection.

This season, there will be 128 programs across 13 conferences. The regular season will begin in late August, and the playoffs will get underway at the end of November.

Who Won The Each Football National Championship For The 2025-2026 Season?

Division I FBS – Indiana def. Miami, 27-21
Division I FCS – Montana State def. Illinois State 35-34 (OT)
Division II – Ferris State def. Harding, 42-21
Division III – University of Wisconsin-River Falls def. North Central (Ill.), 24-14

When Do The 2026 NCAA Division I FCS Playoffs Start?

The first round of the 2026 NCAA FCS Playoffs will be Nov. 28.

The format includes 24 teams and five rounds of play – first round, second round, quarterfinals, semifinals and the championship game. Everything through the semifinals will be played at the site of the participating schools.

Round 2 is set for Dec. 5, the quarterfinals will be held Dec. 11 (one game) and Dec. 12 (three games) and the semifinals will take place Dec. 19.

The 2026 FCS national championship will be determined Jan. 11, 2027, at FirstBank Stadium in Nashville, Tennessee. Music City first hosted the title tilt in 2025 after 15 consecutive visits to Frisco, Texas.

Every game will be broadcast live on the ESPN family of networks.

How Do The FCS Playoffs Work?

The 24 FCS teams that advance to the playoffs are situated into a single-elimination bracket.

The top 16 teams are seeded, with the first eight earning byes into the second round. Seeds 9-16 must play in the opening round of action, but they get to play host, as do the higher seeds in each game through the semifinals.

The two semifinal winners then make the trip to Nashville to play for the national championship.

In 2025, Montana State defeated Illinois State 35-34 in overtime to claim the trophy.

Since 2011, North Dakota State had been dominating the FCS landscape, winning 10 national titles, but the Bison have now moved to a bigger pasture – the FBS level as part of the Mountain West Conference.

North Carolina A&T vs. Rhode Island Football Highlights | 2026 CAA Football

Check out the highlights from N.C. A&T’s upset victory over two-time defending CAA champion Rhode Island.

The Aggies won 22-18 and improved to 1-4 overall and 1-1 in CAA games, while URI fell to 2-3 overall and 1-2 in conference play.

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