Six MVFC Teams Ranked This Week; Five Among the Top 13 -- Six league teams are in the Stats Perform poll this week (Oct. 12). The league has had five teams in the Top 15 of a national poll during the same week eight times this year and 55 times in MVFC history. On Sept. 14, the league matched a Conference record by placing five teams in the Top 10 of the Stats Perform top-10 list.
Panthers Crack Top 25; Back-to-Back Top-5 Victories -- UNI, which has claimed victories against top-5 teams in back--to-back games is back in the Top 25 rankings for the first time since Sept. 30, 2024. The Panthers are No. 19 in the Stats Perform poll and No. 25 in the AFCA Coaches rankings. UNI defeated No. 4 North Dakota this past week, 24-17, and beat then-ranked No. 3 Illinois State in its previous game on Sept. 26. The last league team to win back-to-back games against Top-5 teams was North Dakota State in the 2024 playoffs (semis against No. 2 SDSU and championship game against No. 1 Montana State). The last MVFC team to win back-to-back regular-season games against Top-5 opponents was SDSU when it beat No. 5 Southern Illinois and No. 2 North Dakota State in successive games in the Spring 2021 season.
Best in the FCS -- Missouri Valley Football teams have combined for an FCS-best 19-4 record against other FCS opponents in 2026. No other FCS league can match that winning percentage (.826) this season. The MVFC’s overall win percentage (.617) and record (21-13) is also an FCS best.
FCS Leagues, Non-Conference vs. FCS Teams
1. Missouri Valley Football (19-4) .826
2. Ivy (14-6) .700
3. United (16-9) .640
4. Southland (6-4) .600
5. Big Sky (13-10) .565
6. MEAC (14-11) .560
7. Patriot (10-8) .556
8. Coastal (14-14) .500
9. SoCon (12-12) .500
10. OVC (9-14) .391
11. SWAC (5-9) .357
12. PFL (5-19) .208
13. NEC (3-19) .136
Massey Ratings Leaders -- Seven MVFC teams rank among the top 20 in the Massey Ratings. South Dakota State occupies the top spot, while Youngstown State (3) and South Dakota (5) are in the top five in Massey.
FCS Massey Leaders (FCS Sagarin in Parentheses)
1. South Dakota State (1)
2. Montana State (3)
3. Youngstown State (2)
4. Tarleton State (6)
5. South Dakota (4)
6. SF Austin (7)
7. Montana (5)
8. North Dakota (8)
9. Northern Arizona (13)
10. Illinois State (9)
12. UNI (15)
20. Southern Illinois (16)
STATS PERFORM TOP 25 (CRAIG HALEY)
There were a handful of touted HBCU teams to begin the 2026 season – they weren’t shy about telling anyone – yet Morgan State never got into the conversation. Now off to their best start in 17 years, the Bears have powered into the Stats Perform FCS Top 25 Poll at No. 24 – their first-ever appearance in the national media rankings. On Saturday, coach Damon Wilson’s MEAC squad slipped past Robert Morris 28-27 with a last-minute touchdown to improve to 5-1. That surpassed last season’s win total, and the lone loss is to an FBS opponent, Arizona State. The Bears finished 6-6 two years ago but haven’t had a winning season since 2014, when they went 7-6 and made the program’s only FCS playoff appearance. Since 2015, the MEAC champ advances to the Celebration Bowl instead of the playoffs.
Northern Iowa enters the rankings at No. 19 – the Panthers’ first appearance since Sept. 16, 2024. Monmouth (23) and Yale (25) return from earlier this season.
The Stats Perform FCS Top 25 Poll is released each Monday during the regular season and one day after the FCS championship game (Jan. 11 in Nashville, Tennessee). A first-place vote is worth 25 points, a second-place vote 24 points, all the way down to one point for a 25th-place vote.
| Stats Perform Top-25 Poll (Oct. 12) |
|
| Rank. |
Team (First-Place Votes) |
Pts. |
Prev. |
| 1 |
South Dakota State (52) |
1420 |
1 |
| 2 |
Tarleton State (5) |
1371 |
3 |
| 3 |
Stephen F. Austin |
1202 |
7 |
| 4 |
Lehigh |
1201 |
5 |
| 5 |
Montana State |
1195 |
6 |
| 6 |
Youngstown State |
1178 |
8 |
| 7 |
Montana |
1052 |
2 |
| 8 |
Northern Arizona |
1026 |
13 |
| 9 |
South Dakota |
986 |
10 |
| 10 |
Lamar |
890 |
11 |
| 11 |
North Dakota |
800 |
4 |
| 12 |
Austin Peay |
755 |
9 |
| 13 |
Illinois State |
722 |
12 |
| 14 |
UC Davis |
670 |
14 |
| 15 |
Tennessee Tech |
644 |
15 |
| 16 |
Campbell |
596 |
17 |
| 17 |
Harvard |
529 |
18 |
| 18 |
Mercer |
402 |
20 |
| 19 |
Northern Iowa |
380 |
24 |
| 20 |
ETSU |
312 |
24 |
| 21 |
Idaho State |
253 |
16 |
| 22 |
Colgate |
251 |
23 |
| 23 |
Monmouth |
121 |
NR |
| 24 |
Morgan State |
116 |
NR |
| 25 |
Yale |
104 |
NR |
Others Receiving Points (schools listed on two or more ballots): Stony Brook (4-2, 2-0 CAA): 102; Richmond (5-2, 3-1 Patriot): 68; Jackson State (5-1, 2-1 SWAC): 39; South Carolina State (5-2): 24; West Florida (3-2, 1-2 UAC): 24; Cal Poly (4-3, 3-1 Big Sky): 22; Southern Illinois (3-4, 1-2 MVFC): 17; Abilene Christian (3-4, 2-0 UAC): 14; North Alabama (4-2, 1-0 UAC): 10; Grambling State (4-2, 2-1 SWAC): 8; Southeastern Louisiana (3-3, 1-2 Southland): 6; Weber State (4-3, 3-1 Big Sky): 6; Princeton (3-1, 1-0 Ivy): 2
Stats Perform FCS Top 25 Poll Voting Panel – Stats Perform: Craig Haley. Big Sky Conference: Riley Corcoran, Tyson Rodgers, Larry Weir. CAA Football: Roger Brown, Matt Harmon, Rob Washburn. Ivy League: JJ Klein, Craig Larson. Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference: Isaiah Green, Kendrick Lewis. Missouri Valley Football Conference: Kyle Grooms, Tom Miller, Randy Reinhardt. Northeast Conference: Sarah Boissonneault, Brian Cleary. Ohio Valley Conference: Mike Bradd, Kyle Schwartz, Mark Simpson. Patriot League: Bob Black, Eric Malanoski, Ryan Sakamoto. Pioneer Football League: Cody Bush, Larry Hansgen. Southern Conference: Scott Keeler, Andrew Miller, Ralan Wardlaw. Southland Conference: Anthony Goss, Matthew Bonnette, James Dixon. Southwestern Athletic Conference: Curtis Ford, Ronnie Johnson. United Athletic Conference: Claire Johnson, Benjamin Ray, Jake Withee. National Representatives: Sean Anderson, Stan Becton, Taylor Blue, Zack Carlton, Gene Clemons, Joe DeLeone, Matt Dixon, Steven J. Gaither, Sam Herder, Emory Hunt, Kyle Kensing, Brandon Lawrence, Zach McKinnell, Jon Passman, Omar Rashon Borja, Ryan Roberts, Timothy Rosario, Kent Schmidt, Phil Sokol, Reggie Thomas, Ralph Ventre, Jamie Williams.
AFCA COACHES TOP 25 (VINCE THOMPSON)
WACO, TEX.– Behind six touchdowns from quarterback Ty Pennington, Northern Arizona held Montana scoreless in the third quarter to take an 11-point lead and survived a shootout, 49-44. It was the Lumberjacks first win over a top five opponent since 2015 and the most points they have ever scored against Montana. The win moved NAU up to No. 10 in this week’s AFCA FCS Coaches Poll while Montana dropped to No. 7. South Dakota State was idle and remains in the top spot, followed by No. 2 Tarleton State, who went on the road and beat then-No. 8 Austin Peay, 40-32. The Governors dropped to No. 11. Stephen F. Austin, Lehigh and Montana State were all idle this past weekend, but each move up one place to round out the top five.
Eight top 25 teams lost this past weekend, with only two of those coming to ranked opponents, but only three teams dropped out of the poll. South Carolina State, Jackson State and Southeastern Louisiana fell out making room for Yale, East Tennessee State, and Northern Iowa. No. 23 Yale is returning after being in the top 25 earlier this year, but the No. 24 Buccaneers and No. 25 Panthers are making their first appearance this season. ETSU is 5-2 on the season and get a week off before traveling to VMI on October 24 while UNI is 3-2 after upsetting then-No. 7 North Dakota, 24-17, and travels to No. 6 Youngstown State next.
| AFCA Top-25 Poll (Oct. 12) |
|
|
| Rank. |
Team (First-Place Votes) |
Pts. |
Prev. |
| 1 |
South Dakota St. (23) |
647 |
1 |
| 2 |
Tarleton St. (3) |
626 |
2 |
| 3 |
Stephen F. Austin |
588 |
4 |
| 4 |
Lehigh |
558 |
5 |
| 5 |
Montana St. |
539 |
6 |
| 6 |
Youngstown St. |
517 |
9 |
| 7 |
Montana |
461 |
3 |
| 8 |
Lamar |
458 |
10 |
| 9 |
South Dakota |
407 |
12 |
| 10 |
Northern Arizona |
398 |
14 |
| 11 |
Austin Peay |
397 |
8 |
| 12 |
UC Davis |
396 |
11 |
| 13 |
Illinois St. |
333 |
13 |
| 14 |
Tennessee Tech |
319 |
16 |
| 15 |
North Dakota |
293 |
7 |
| 16 |
Mercer |
253 |
18 |
| 17 |
Harvard |
242 |
19 |
| 18 |
Campbell |
227 |
20 |
| 19 |
Colgate |
153 |
23 |
| 20 |
Monmouth (N.J.) |
125 |
24 |
| 21 |
Idaho St. |
106 |
17 |
| 22 |
Richmond |
96 |
15 |
| 23 |
Yale |
61 |
NR |
| 24 |
East Tennessee St. |
49 |
NR |
| 25 |
Northern Iowa |
38 |
NR |
Others Receiving Votes: Jackson St., 32; West Florida, 25; Morgan St., 24; South Carolina St., 18; Stony Brook, 18; ACU, 11; Southern Illinois, 11; Cal Poly, 7; Charleston Southern, 4; Delaware St., 4; North Alabama, 4; Southeastern Louisiana, 2; Wofford, 2; Central Connecticut St., 1.
| AGS Top-25 Poll (Oct. 12) |
|
|
| Rank |
Team: |
Total |
1st Place |
| 1 |
South Dakota State Jackrabbits |
974 |
38 |
| 2 |
Tarleton State Texans |
927 |
1 |
| 3 |
Stephen F. Austin Lumberjacks |
862 |
|
| 4 |
Youngstown State Penguins |
841 |
|
| 5 |
Lehigh Mountain Hawks |
800 |
|
| 6 |
Montana State Bobcats |
789 |
|
| 7 |
Northern Arizona Lumberjacks |
706 |
|
| 8 |
Montana Grizzlies |
703 |
|
| 9 |
South Dakota Coyotes |
684 |
|
| 10 |
Lamar Cardinals |
617 |
|
| 11 |
Austin Peay Governors |
556 |
|
| 12 |
Illinois State Redbirds |
485 |
|
| 13 |
North Dakota Fighting Hawks |
467 |
|
| 14 |
Campbell Fighting Camels |
409 |
|
| 15 |
Tennessee Tech Golden Eagles |
392 |
|
| 16 |
Harvard Crimson |
389 |
|
| 17 |
UC Davis Aggies |
378 |
|
| 18 |
Mercer Bears |
308 |
|
| 19 |
Northern Iowa Panthers |
275 |
|
| 20 |
East Tennessee State |
253 |
|
| 21 |
Colgate Raiders |
234 |
|
| 22 |
Idaho State Bengals |
179 |
|
| 23 |
Monmouth Hawks |
123 |
|
| 24 |
Yale Bulldogs |
87 |
|
| 25 |
Stony Brook Seawolves |
48 |
|
