7 MVFC Teams Ranked -- Seven MVFC teams are ranked this week in both the Stats Perform and AFCA Coaches polls. North Dakota State remains No. 1 in both polls this week. Including this week, six or more MVFC teams have been ranked in the same top-25 poll 92 times, including a record 12-straight weeks in 2014 (and 10 times in 2024). A minimum of six MVFC teams have been ranked in the Top 25 for 10-straight weeks this season (each week except the preseason polls).
NDSU’s 13-game win streak (dating back to last season) is the second-longest in the FCS -- trailing only Tennessee Tech (14).
STATS PERFORM (Craig Haley) -- The “C” in FCS football stood for “chaos” during Week 10 of the 2025 regular season. Four of the top eight ranked teams and eight overall in the Stats Perform FCS Top 25 Poll suffered losses, and it’s led to a reshaping of the national media rankings on Monday. Only three rankings remain the same as last week. The obvious one is unanimous No. 1 North Dakota State (9-0), but the defending national champion Bison also faced their closest game of the season in a 38-30 win over Youngstown State. Montana (9-0) moved up to No. 2 after Tarleton State suffered its first loss, followed in the Top 5 by Montana State (7-2), Lehigh (9-0) and Tennessee Tech (9-0). Harvard (7-0), also one of five unbeaten FCS teams remaining, is up to its all-time high of No. 9.
The Stats Perform FCS Top 25 Poll is released each Monday during the regular season and one day after the FCS championship game (to be played Jan. 5 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.
| No. Team (Record) |
Points |
Last Week |
| 1. North Dakota State (9-0, 6-0 MVFC) |
1400 |
38-30 win over No. 18 Youngstown St. |
| 2. Montana (9-0, 5-0 Big Sky) |
1336 |
38-17 win over Weber State |
| 3. Montana State (7-2, 5-0 Big Sky) |
1289 |
55-7 win at Northern Colorado |
| 4. Lehigh (9-0, 4-0 Patriot) |
1183 |
41-0 win over Georgetown |
| 5. Tennessee Tech (9-0, 6-0 OVC-Big South) |
1141 |
27-21 win over Gardner-Webb |
| 6. Tarleton State (9-1, 5-1 UAC) |
1118 |
31-28 loss at then-No. 24 ACU |
| 7. Monmouth (8-1, 5-0 CAA) |
1062 |
35-7 win at Bryant |
| 8. South Dakota State (7-2, 3-2 MVFC) |
879 |
24-12 loss vs. Indiana State |
| 9. Harvard (7-0, 4-0 Ivy) |
854 |
31-10 win over Dartmouth |
| 10. Villanova (6-2, 5-1 CAA) |
798 |
No Game |
| 11. UC Davis (6-2, 4-1 Big Sky) |
794 |
38-36 loss to Idaho State |
| 12. Mercer (7-1, 6-0 SoCon) |
759 |
52-28 win at Furman |
| 13. North Dakota (6-3, 4-1 MVFC) |
758 |
26-21 loss at South Dakota |
| 14. Rhode Island (7-2, 5-0 CAA) |
728 |
No Game |
| 15. Southern Illinois (6-3, 3-2 MVFC) |
580 |
27-7 win at Murray State |
| 16. Illinois State (6-3, 3-2 MVFC) |
552 |
31-16 win over Northern Iowa |
| 17. Stephen F. Austin (7-2, 5-0 Southland) |
463 |
42-17 win over UT Rio Grande Valley |
| 18. Abilene Christian (5-4, 4-1 UAC) |
459 |
31-28 win over then-No. 2 Tarleton St. |
| 19. Southeastern Louisiana (7-2, 5-0 Southland) |
441 |
59-14 win over East Texas A&M |
| 20. Lamar (7-2, 4-1 Southland) |
317 |
24-17 loss at UIW |
| 21. Youngstown State (5-4, 2-3 MVFC) |
303 |
38-30 loss at then-No. 1 NDSU |
| 22. South Dakota (6-4, 4-2 MVFC) |
259 |
26-21 win over then-No. 8 UND |
| 23. Jackson State (6-2, 4-1 SWAC) |
212 |
41-16 win at Florida A&M |
| 24. Western Carolina (6-3, 5-0 SoCon) |
174 |
35-28 win at Chattanooga |
| 25. Presbyterian (8-1, 4-1 Pioneer) |
113 |
43-14 win over Valparaiso |
Dropped Out of FCS Top 25: Northern Arizona (19), Austin Peay (22)
Others Receiving Votes (schools listed on two or more ballots): Northern Arizona (5-4, 2-3 Big Sky), 70;
Alabama State (6-2, 4-1 SWAC), 48;
Delaware State (6-3, 2-0 MEAC), 23;
Austin Peay (5-4, 3-3 UAC), 19;
West Georgia (6-3, 3-3 UAC), 18;
Lafayette (6-3, 4-0 Patriot), 15;
Yale (5-2, 3-1 Ivy), 8;
Sacramento State (5-4, 3-2 Big Sky), 7;
New Hampshire (5-4, 3-2 CAA), 6
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: Kendrick Lewis, Patricia Porter-Mayfield.
Missouri Valley Football Conference: Kyle Grooms, Dom Izzo, Randy Reinhardt.
Northeast Conference: Sarah Boissonneault, Brian Cleary.
OVC-Big South Football Association: Mike Bradd, Kyle Schwartz, Mark Simpson.
Patriot League: Eric Malanoski, Ryan Sakamoto.
Pioneer Football League: Cody Bush, Larry Hansgen.
Southern Conference: Scott Keeler, Andrew Miller, Ralan Wardlaw.
Southland Conference: Matthew Bonnette, James Dixon, James Hill.
Southwestern Athletic Conference: Curtis Ford, Ronnie Johnson.
United Athletic Conference: Brian Morgan, Benjamin Ray, Jake Withee.
National Representatives: Sean Anderson, Stan Becton, Zack Carlton, Gene Clemons, Joe DeLeone, Matt Dixon, Steven J. Gaither, Sam Herder, Emory Hunt, Doug Kelly, 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.
Upset Special -- Two unranked MVFC teams beat ranked league teams last week (South Dakota defeated North Dakota, and Indiana State defeated South Dakota State). In league history, an unranked MVFC team has beaten a ranked MVFC team in November just 40 times in 41 seasons (counting this year). Only four times has that occurred on the same date, but Saturday, Nov. 1, 2025, marked the first time two unranked MVFC teams beat two Top-10 MVFC teams on the same date.
In Sagarin, the MVFC has three of the top seven of that ranking metric (among FCS programs), and seven MVFC teams are in the Top 22 of FCS schools in the Sagarin rankings. North Dakota State ranks 35th among all DI programs and tops the FCS; while UND is No. 5 in the FCS-only ranks (87th in DI). SDSU ranks seventh among FCS schools in the Sagarin (98th among all DI programs).
Sagarin FCS Conference Rankings
1. Missouri Valley (also ahead of FBS CUSA & the MAC)
2. Big Sky
3. United Athletic
4. Ivy League
5. Southland
6. Coastal
AFCA FCS Coaches Poll, presented by Hudl
| Rank |
School (1st votes) |
Pts. |
Prev. |
Next Game |
| 1 |
North Dakota St. (25) |
625 |
1 |
Nov. 8 at No. 15 North Dakota |
| 2 |
Montana |
598 |
3 |
Nov. 8 vs. Eastern Washington |
| 3 |
Montana St. |
567 |
4 |
Nov. 8 vs. Weber St. |
| 4 |
Lehigh |
521 |
7 |
Nov. 8 vs. Holy Cross |
| 5 |
Tennessee Tech |
488 |
8 |
Nov. 8 at Eastern Illinois |
| 6 |
Monmouth (N.J.) |
485 |
9 |
Nov. 8 vs. New Hampshire |
| 7 |
Tarleton St. |
474 |
2 |
Nov. 15 vs. North Alabama |
| 8 |
Villanova |
417 |
11 |
Nov. 8 at Towson |
| 9 |
South Dakota St. |
389 |
5 |
Nov. 8 at No. 25 South Dakota |
| 10t. |
Mercer |
378 |
13 |
Nov. 8 at No. 24 W. Carolina |
| 10t. |
Rhode Island |
378 |
12 |
Nov. 8 at Elon |
| 12 |
UC Davis |
367 |
6 |
Nov. 8 at Idaho |
| 13 |
Harvard |
310 |
15 |
Nov. 7 at Columbia |
| 14 |
SE Louisiana |
298 |
16 |
Nov. 8 at No. 18 Lamar |
| 15 |
North Dakota |
263 |
10 |
Nov. 8 vs. No. 1 NDSU |
| 16 |
Southern Illinois |
243 |
17 |
Nov. 8 at No. 22 YSU |
| 17 |
Illinois St. |
240 |
18 |
Nov. 8 at Indiana St. |
| 18 |
Lamar |
173 |
14 |
Nov. 8 vs. No. 14 SE Louisiana |
| 19 |
Jackson St. |
157 |
20 |
Nov. 8 at Mississippi Valley St. |
| 20 |
ACU |
156 |
25 |
Nov. 8 vs. Utah Tech |
| 21 |
Stephen F. Austin |
148 |
23 |
Nov. 8 at HCU |
| 22 |
Youngstown St. |
120 |
19 |
Nov. 8 vs. No. 16 S. Illinois |
| 23 |
Presbyterian |
115 |
22 |
Nov. 8 at Davidson |
| 24 |
Western Carolina |
51 |
NR |
Nov. 8 vs. No. 10t Mercer |
| 25 |
South Dakota |
36 |
NR |
Nov. 8 vs. No. 9 SDSU |
Dropped Out: Northern Arizona (21), Austin Peay (24)
Others Receiving Votes: Lafayette, 29; West Georgia, 27; Alabama St., 12; Sacramento St., 12; Northern Arizona, 10; UT Rio Grande Valley, 10; Dartmouth, 8; Gardner-Webb, 7; North Carolina Central, 4; Austin Peay, 3; South Carolina St., 2; Yale, 2; Central Connecticut St., 1; Delaware St., 1.
