What We Learned About FCS Football In Week 6: Scores, Highlights & More

Many of the top teams in the FCS were off during Week 6, but there still were statement wins and shakeups. Here's what we learned.

Oct 13, 2026 by Matt Cannizzaro

Replay: Small School Saturday - 1010 - 2026 Small School Saturday at North Central | Oct 10 @ 9 AM2:04:12

Like an old-school game of Mike Tyson’s Punch-Out, the teams of the Big Sky Conference are figuring out the weaknesses of the previously dominant teams from Montana and have been delivering knee-wobbling blows throughout the month of October.

Now, for the first time since 2023, there will not be an undefeated champion in the BSC.

Last week, it was top-ranked Montana State getting knocked to the canvas by winless Idaho after Central Connecticut State and Northern Arizona landed some energy-draining punches on the reigning national champions.

In Week 6, No. 14 NAU went the distance with No. 3 Montana and came away with a 49-44 victory to create a four-way tie atop the Big Sky standings.

Montana, Northern Arizona, Cal Poly and Weber State all are 3-1, while another three teams are 2-1, setting the scene for potential chaos as the conference slate really gets going.

And that’s just one of the 13 conferences in the Football Championship Subdivision.

Let’s look a little deeper at the Northern Arizona victory, as well as some of the other key storylines from Week 6 and what they told us:

What Happened At The Top Of The FCS Rankings?

Four of the top six teams in last week’s rankings were idle, but the results from the two that played certainly turned heads.

We already mentioned No. 3 Montana losing to conference foe Northern Arizona, and that resulted in the Grizzlies sliding to No. 7 in the new American Football Coaches Association FCS Coaches Poll.

Tarleton State stayed in the No. 2 spot with a 40-32 statement win over No. 8 Austin Peay that helped the Texans improve to 6-0 overall and 1-0 in the United Athletic Conference.

TSU is one of four undefeated teams in the newest rankings. The Texans are joined by No. 3 Stephen F. Austin (6-0), No. 4 Lehigh (6-0) and No. 17 Harvard (4-0).

SFA and Lehigh didn’t play in Week 6, but they’ll both be back on the gridiron Saturday. Stephen F. Austin will have a Southland Conference meeting with struggling Nicholls, and Lehigh will make a visit to Cornell for a nonconference matchup.

But what did we learn from all this?

The results between the ranked teams in Week 6 said a lot about the leading contenders and those who have some work to do in the second half of the season to keep their playoff hopes alive.

Tarleton State is a legitimate contender once again after just missing a spot in the national semifinals last season. The Texans lost to Villanova in the quarterfinals.

Montana probably doesn’t have much to worry about when it comes to a spot in the playoffs, and another Big Sky title isn’t even out of the question. However, the Griz and their upcoming visit from underrated Idaho will say a lot.

The Vandals already upset the No. 1 team in the FCS and shouldn’t be underestimated, even if they followed the historic win with a loss to Weber State and now are 1-5 overall and 1-2 in Big Sky play.

The Ivy League also shouldn’t be ignored, with the proof being Harvard’s slow climb up the rankings and Yale jumping back into the top 25 with a league win over Dartmouth.

FCS Top 25 Results For Week 6

Among the FCS front-runners enjoying a week off was new No. 1 South Dakota State.

The Jackrabbits have the championship pedigree, proven by national titles in 2022 and 2023, but they now have to prove they’re worthy of top billing in 2026.

That opportunity will come quickly, as SDSU might have the biggest test in Week 7 – a trip to face No. 15 North Dakota.

It also is an important Missouri Valley Football Conference clash. Oh, and at the same time, ND will be looking for a rebound win after falling to Northern Iowa, 24-17, and dropping eight spots in the poll.

There’s no doubt the rest of the top teams will have an eye on that one, as the race for the No. 1 spot is as tight as it has been in a long time.

Check out how the rest of top 25 performed in Week 6:

Bold = Upsets

No. 1 South Dakota State was idle
No. 2 Tarleton State def. No. 8 Austin Peay, 40-32
No. 14 Northern Arizona def. No. 3 Montana, 49-44
No. 4 Stephen F. Austin was idle
No. 5 Lehigh was idle
No. 6 Montana State was idle
Northern Iowa def. No. 7 North Dakota, 24-17
No. 9 Youngstown State def. Indiana State, 57-24
No. 10 Lamar def. UIW, 38-35
No. 11 UC Davis was idle
No. 12 South Dakota def. No. 25 Southern Illinois, 31-10
No. 13 Illinois State was idle
Fordham def. No. 15 Richmond, 20-14
No. 16 Tennessee Tech def. Furman, 20-15
Cal Poly def. No. 17 Idaho State, 25-24
No. 18 Mercer def. Western Carolina, 17-14
No. 19 Harvard def. Cornell, 41-29
No. 20 Campbell was idle
Charleston Southern def. No. 21 South Carolina State, 49-39
Grambling State def. No. 22 Jackson State, 45-38
No. 23 Colgate was idle
No. 24 Monmouth was idle
UT Rio Grande Valley def. No. 25 Southeastern Louisiana, 13-3

AFCA FCS Rankings After Week 6 Of 2026

As of Oct. 10

South Dakota St. (5-1) – 647 – Prev. 1
Tarleton St. (6-0) – 626 – Prev. 2
Stephen F. Austin (6-0) – 588 – Prev. 4
Lehigh (6-0) – 558 – Prev. 5
Montana St. (5-1) – 539 – Prev. 6
Youngstown St. (5-2) – 517 – Prev. 9
Montana (5-2) – 461 – Prev. 3
Lamar (5-1) – 458 – Prev. 10
South Dakota (5-2) – 407 – Prev. 12
Northern Arizona (5-2) – 398 – Prev. 14
Austin Peay (5-2) – 397 – Prev. 8
UC Davis (4-2) – 396 – Prev. 11
Illinois St. (4-2) – 333 – Prev. 13
Tennessee Tech (5-1) – 319 – Prev. 16
North Dakota (5-2) – 293 – Prev. 7
Mercer (5-2) – 253 – Prev. 18
Harvard (4-0) – 242 – Prev. 19
Campbell (5-1) – 227 – Prev. 20
Colgate (4-2) – 153 – Prev. 23
Monmouth (N.J.) (4-2) – 125 – Prev. 24
Idaho St. (4-2) – 106 – Prev. 17
Richmond (5-2) – 96 – Prev. 15
Yale (3-1) – 61 – Prev. NR
East Tennessee St. (5-2) – 49 – Prev. NR
Northern Iowa (3-2) – 38 – Prev. NR

Things Were Quiet In The CAA During Week 6

Only seven of the 13 Coastal Athletic Association were in action during Week 6, but they’ll all be back at it in Week 7.

Monmouth (4-2, 3-0) sits at the top of the standings at 3-0 and will take on struggling New Hampshire (2-5, 1-3).

There’s no doubt the Hawks should be the favorites, and it’s a perfect opportunity to get farther ahead and gain momentum for the second half of the campaign.

Campbell, Bryant and Stony Brook, all having surprise success in 2026, are 2-0 and in position to make the rest of the race pretty interesting.

Campbell gets winless Towson in Week 7, Bryant will meet struggling Maine and Stony Brook will take on middle-of-the-pack UAlbany.

On paper, all four teams should win this week, but there’s a Stony Brook-Bryant showdown on the Week 8 schedule to separate things.

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.

Stony Brook vs. Towson Football Highlights | 2026 CAA Football

Check out the highlights from the CAA showdown between Stony Brook and Towson on Oct. 10.

Stony Brook prevailed 31-24 and improved to 4-2 overall and 2-0 in conference games, while Towson fell to 0-7 and 0-3, respectively.

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