Final FCS Football Top 25 Rankings

RankTeamCommentsPrior
1North Dakota State Logo North Dakota StateNDSU (14-1) waited an entire season to exact revenge for the breaking of the title reign. But 6 of 7 is unprecented in FCS. Congrats Bison!3
2James Madison LogoJames MadisonJMU (14-1) almost pulled the double dip, but the Bison had other ideas. Still a great season and they should still be upper echelon.1
3South Dakota State LogoSouth Dakota StateSDSU (11-3) was on a roll after losing in Mid-October, then had to travel to JMU in the semifinals. That run was stopped - hard.6
4Sam Houston State LogoSam Houston StateSHSU (12-2) reached the semifinals yet again. And again they were beaten badly. Still, most teams rarely get their once.5
5 Weber State FCS Football Top 25Weber StateWSU (11-3) beat Western Illinois and Southern Utah before losing heartbreaker to JMU in playoffs. Great season ending.10
6Kennesaw State LogoKennesaw StateKSU (12-2) avenged a season opener loss to Samford in the first round. Upset Jax State before falling at Sam Houston State.11
7Wofford LogoWoffordWofford (10-3) was king of the SoCon in 2017 and made it clear, beating Furman in the second round. NDSU was a different story.8
8New Hampshire LogoNew HampshireUNH (9-5) shutout Central Connecticut State, then won at Central Arkansas. Unfortunately, SDSU wasn't centrally located too.18
9Southern Utah LogoSouthern UtahSUU (9-3) was red hot to finish regular season, but Weber State got them when it counted in the second round.7
10Central Arkansas LogoCentral ArkansasUCA (10-2) dominated the Southland but couldn't handle New Hampshire in the playoffs. Disappointing finish.2
11Jacksonville State LogoJacksonville StateJSU (10-2) went undefeated through the OVC for a fourth straight season, but lost first playoff game to Kennesaw State.4
12Stony Brook FCS Football Top 25Stony BrookSB (10-3) obliterated Lehigh in the first round before dropping their second rounder at James Madison. Still a great year.9
13North Carolina A&T FCS Football Top 25North Carolina A&TNC A&T (12-0) completed their perfect season by beating Grambling in the Celebration Bowl.14
14Western Illinois LogoWestern IllinoisWIU (8-4) got a tough draw in the first round and came up just short of beating a very good Weber State.12
15Northern Iowa FCS Football Top 25Northern IowaUNI (8-5) crushed Monmouth in the first round. In the end, they couldn't pull a second upset at South Dakota State.17
16South Dakota LogoSouth DakotaUSD (8-5) limped into the playoffs losing 4 of 5, but won a thriller at Nicholls before bowing out in another thriller to SHSU.22
17Samford FCS Football Top 25SamfordSamford (8-4) beat Kennesaw State at home to start the season, but lost when venues were switched in the first round.13
18San Diego FCS Football Top 25San DiegoUSD (10-3) did it again. Another Pioneer title and first round win over a Big Sky opponent. Can they take the next step?NR
19Furman LogoFurmanFurman (8-5) won a nailbiter at Elon in the first round. Their season ended like it began, with a loss to Wofford.23
20Elon FCS Football Top 25ElonElon (8-4) had won eight straight before losing their last two regular season games. Momentum followed with home loss to Furman.19
21McNeese FCS Football Top 25McNeeseMcNeese (9-2) was probably the most deserving team that didn't make the playoffs, especially after seeing some who did.16
22Austin Peay FCS Football Top 25Austin PeayAustin Peay (8-4) didn't get the benefit of the doubt for an at-large. Remarkable turnaround for the Governors in 2017.20
23Eastern Washington FCS Football Top 25Eastern WashingtonPlayoffs? Playoffs?! EWU (7-4) should have been selected instead of Northern Arizona from the Big Sky.21
24Monmouth FCS Football Top 25MonmouthMonmouth (9-3) had a great year overall. But lost finale vs. Kennesaw State for Big South, then were destroyed by UNI in playoffs.15
25Montana FCS Football Top 25MontanaMontana (7-4) deserved a bid over Northern Arizona also, whom they beat head-to-head. 24

 

 Final FCS Football Power Rankings