Five Teams Ranked in the Top 10 -- Five Missouri Valley Football teams are in both the Stats Perform poll and AFCA Coaches poll this week (Oct. 26). Including this week, the MVFC has had five teams in the Top 15 of a national poll during the same week 10 times this year and 57 times in MVFC history. For the third time this season, the league matched a Conference record by placing five teams in the Top 10 of the Stats Perform top-10 list (Sept. 14 and Oct. 19 also had five MVFC teams among the Top 10 in the Stats Perform rankings).
MVFC: 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 (17-7) .708
3. United (16-11) .593
4. Southland (7-5) .583
5. Big Sky (13-10) .565
6. MEAC (14-12) .538
7. SoCon (13-12) .520
8. Coastal (16-15) .516
9. Patriot (10-10) .500
10. OVC (11-14) .440
11. SWAC (6-9) .400
12. PFL (5-19) .208
13. NEC (3-21) .125
Ratings Leaders (Massey/Sagarin) -- Seven MVFC teams rank among the top 18 in the Massey Ratings. South Dakota State leads the MVFC at No. 2. SDSU is the top-rated FCS program in Sagarin, while YSU (2), USD (4), UND (6) and Illinois State (8) are in the Top 10.
FCS Massey Leaders (FCS Sagarin in Parentheses)
1. Montana State (3)
2. South Dakota State (1)
3. SF Austin (5)
4. Tarleton State (7)
5. South Dakota (4)
6. Youngstown State (2)
7. North Dakota (6)
8. Illinois State (8)
9. Northern Arizona (12)
10. Montana (10)
15. Northern Iowa (15)
18. Southern Illinois (20)
Toughest Schedules -- According to Massey’s Strength of Schedule ratings, all nine MVFC programs rank in the top 28 nationally. The top 15 teams for SOS include eight in the MVFC and five from the Big Sky Conference.
FCS Leaders -- Strength of Schedule (Massey)
1. UNI (MVFC)
2. Idaho (Big Sky)
3. Youngstown St. (MVFC)
4. E. Washington (Big Sky)
5. Portland St. (Big Sky)
6. N. Arizona (Big Sky)
7. S. Dakota St. (MVFC)
8. Utah Tech (Big Sky)
9. North Dakota (MVFC)
10. S. Illinois (MVFC)
11. Abilene Christian (UAC)
12. South Dakota (MVFC)
13. Indiana State (MVFC)
14. The Citadel (SoCon)
15. Murray State (MVFC)
28. Illinois State (MVFC)
Youngstown State Tops MVFC -- For the first time since the season-ending FCS poll of 2016, Youngstown State is the highest-rated MVFC team (Oct. 19 poll). The Penguins lead five MVFC ranked teams this week as YSU is No. 4 in both the Stats Perform and AFCA Coaches polls. Before last Monday, the last regular-season poll that featured YSU as the league’s top-rated team was on Sept. 3, 2007.
Four in MVFC in Top 10 Reveal -- The Division I Football Championship Committee released its FCS Top 10 rankings on Tuesday, Oct. 20. The second release, following week 10, will be Nov. 5.
FCS Top 10 -- Ranking #1
1. Montana State (Big Sky)
2. Tarleton State (UAC)
3. Youngstown State (MVFC)
4. SFA (Southland)
5. South Dakota State (MVFC)
6. North Dakota (MVFC)
7. Northern Arizona (Big Sky)
8. South Dakota (MVFC)
9. Austin Peay (UAC)
10. Harvard (Ivy League)
Receiving Top-10 Votes: Illinois State
| Stats Perform Top 25 Poll (Oct. 26) |
| No. |
Team |
Points |
Prev. |
| 1 |
Tarleton State (47) |
1414 |
1 |
| 2 |
Stephen F. Austin (5) |
1338 |
2 |
| 3 |
Montana State (3) |
1297 |
3 |
| 4 |
Youngstown State (2) |
1245 |
4 |
| 5 |
South Dakota State |
1204 |
5 |
| 6 |
South Dakota |
1136 |
8 |
| 7 |
Northern Arizona |
1078 |
7 |
| 8 |
Austin Peay |
962 |
9 |
| 9 |
North Dakota |
958 |
6 |
| 10 |
Illinois State |
870 |
10 |
| 11 |
Tennessee Tech |
845 |
12 |
| 12 |
Campbell |
785 |
13 |
| 13 |
Harvard |
712 |
15 |
| 14 |
Montana |
702 |
14 |
| 15 |
Lamar |
648 |
16 |
| 16 |
Mercer |
579 |
17 |
| 17 |
ETSU |
508 |
18 |
| 18 |
Monmouth |
421 |
19 |
| 19 |
Lehigh |
383 |
11 |
| 20 |
UC Davis |
348 |
20 |
| 21 |
Richmond |
267 |
25 |
| 22 |
Weber State |
176 |
22 |
| 23 |
Idaho State |
145 |
NR |
| 24 |
Abilene Christian |
136 |
NR |
| 25 |
South Carolina State |
96 |
NR |
Dropped Out: Northern Iowa (21), Southeast Louisiana (23), Jackson State (24)
Others Receiving Points (schools listed on two or more ballots): UAlbany (5-3, 3-1 CAA): 75; Southeastern Louisiana (4-4, 2-3 Southland): 35; Alabama A&M (6-2, 3-1 SWAC): 30; Northern Iowa (3-4, 2-2 MVFC): 30; Chattanooga (5-3, 4-1 Southern): 23; Southeast Missouri (5-3, 3-0 OVC): 15; Wofford (5-3, 3-2 Southern): 15; UIW (4-4, 3-2 Southland): 8; Princeton (4-2, 2-1 Ivy): 7; Jackson State (6-2, 3-2 SWAC): 6; Dayton (6-1, 3-1 Pioneer): 5; Stony Brook (5-3, 3-1 CAA): 3
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 Poll (Oct. 26) |
| No. |
Team |
Points |
Prev. |
| 1 |
Tarleton St. (25) |
649 |
1 |
| 2 |
Stephen F. Austin (1) |
623 |
2 |
| 3 |
Montana St. |
591 |
3 |
| 4 |
Youngstown St. |
567 |
4 |
| 5 |
South Dakota St. |
543 |
5 |
| 6 |
South Dakota |
520 |
6 |
| 7 |
Northern Arizona |
482 |
7 |
| 8 |
Austin Peay |
464 |
9 |
| 9 |
Illinois St. |
418 |
10 |
| 10 |
Tennessee Tech |
406 |
11 |
| 11 |
North Dakota |
374 |
8 |
| 12 |
Mercer |
340 |
13 |
| 13 |
Lamar |
319 |
15 |
| 14 |
Montana |
317 |
14 |
| 15 |
Campbell |
310 |
16 |
| 16 |
Harvard |
276 |
17 |
| 17 |
Monmouth (N.J.) |
231 |
18 |
| 18 |
East Tennessee St. |
194 |
20 |
| 19 |
Richmond |
192 |
19 |
| 20 |
Lehigh |
174 |
12 |
| 21 |
UC Davis |
142 |
21 |
| 22 |
South Carolina St. |
90 |
25 |
| 23 |
Idaho St. |
58 |
NR |
| 24 |
ACU |
34 |
NR |
| 25 |
UAlbany |
32 |
NR |
Dropped Out: Jackson St. (22), West Florida (23), Southeastern Louisiana (24)
Others Receiving Votes: Southeastern Louisiana, 16; Alabama A&M, 13; Southeast Missouri St., 13; Weber St., 12; Wofford, 10; Chattanooga, 8; Stony Brook, 8; Southern Illinois, 5; Bryant, 4; Central Connecticut St., 4; Colgate, 3; Jackson St., 3; Morgan St., 3; Princeton, 2.
| AGS Top 25 Poll (Oct. 26) |
| Rank |
Team: |
Points |
1st-Place |
| 1 |
Tarleton State Texans |
866 |
27 |
| 2 |
Stephen F. Austin Lumberjacks |
820 |
5 |
| 3 |
Montana State Bobcats |
790 |
1 |
| 4 |
Youngstown State Penguins |
783 |
2 |
| 5 |
South Dakota State Jackrabbits |
735 |
|
| 6 |
South Dakota Coyotes |
700 |
|
| 7 |
Northern Arizona Lumberjacks |
675 |
|
| 8 |
Austin Peay Governors |
579 |
|
| 9 |
North Dakota Fighting Hawks |
569 |
|
| 10 |
Tennessee Tech Golden Eagles |
512 |
|
| 11 |
Illinois State Redbirds |
507 |
|
| 12 |
Campbell Fighting Camels |
480 |
|
| 13 |
Harvard Crimson |
463 |
|
| 14 |
Montana Grizzlies |
423 |
|
| 15 |
Lamar Cardinals |
406 |
|
| 16 |
Mercer Bears |
360 |
|
| 17 |
East Tennessee State Buccaneers |
357 |
|
| 18 |
Monmouth Hawks |
273 |
|
| 19 |
Abilene Christian Wildcats |
190 |
|
| 20 |
UC Davis Aggies |
152 |
|
| 21 |
Lehigh Mountain Hawks |
144 |
|
| 22 |
Richmond Spiders |
125 |
|
| 23 |
Idaho State Bengals |
105 |
|
| 24 |
Chattanooga Mocs |
103 |
|
| 25 |
Weber State Wildcats |
78 |
|
