| Rank | Team | Comments | Prior | |
| 1 |  | North Dakota State | The Bison (15-0) conclude a historic three-year championship run. Can they make it four in a row? | 1 |
| 2 |  | Towson | Rob Ambrose has rebuilt the Tigers' program in a short period, but he'll have several holes to fill next season. | 8 |
| 3 |  | Eastern Washington | EWU has made the Final Four of the FCS playoffs three of the last four years and should be in the hunt in 2014. | 3 |
| 4 |  | Eastern Illinois | Quarterback Jimmy Garappolo gave Panthers' fan a memorable season as he threw for more than 5,000 yards. | 2 |
| 5 |  | Jacksonville State | JSU (11-4) made a statement with a deep playoff run. Who would have thought - two OVC teams in the top five? | NR |
| 6 |  | New Hampshire | The Wildcats finally got over the quarterfinal hump…look out in 2014 because they have several key returnees. | 17 |
| 7 |  | Southeastern Louisiana | The Lions (11-3) earned their first conference championship since 1961. They will be a force next season, too. | 4 |
| 8 |  | Coastal Carolina | The Chanticleers earned respect with its road playoff victory at Montana. Few people outside of Conway expected it. | 16 |
| 9 |  | Maine | The Bears had the misfortune of playing their nemesis, UNH, in the playoffs but it couldn't detract from a banner year. | 6 |
| 10 |  | Fordham | Fordham enjoys memorable year as its playoff run ends against national runner-up Towson. QB Nebrich returns in 2014. | 11 |
| 11 |  | South Dakota State | The Jackrabbits (9-5) would love to have a couple games back from the 2013 season, but they still registered a playoff victory. | 10 |
| 12 |  | Montana | Montana was stunned by Coastal Carolina in the playoffs, but Montana won 7 of its last 8 regular-season games. | 7 |
| 13 |  | McNeese State | The Cowboys (10-3) earned a first-round playoff bye before losing to Jacksonville State. | 9 |
| 14 |  | Sam Houston State | The Bearkats (9-5) lost three of their last four, including a playoff loss to Southeastern Louisiana. | 14 |
| 15 |  | Northern Arizona | The Lumberjacks (9-3) had a banner year, but fell to South Dakota State, 26-7, in the first round of the playoffs. | 5 |
| 16 |  | Bethune-Cookman | Bethune-Cookman (10-3) earned a playoff spot, but fell victim to Coastal Carolina's powerful offense in the first round. | 13 |
| 17 |  | Tennessee State | Tennessee State (10-4) earned a playoff victory over Butler before falling to Eastern Illinois for the second time in 2013. | 19 |
| 18 |  | Youngstown State | A difficult season-ending stretch caught up to the Penguins (8-4) as they failed to earn a playoff berth. | 15 |
| 19 |  | Northern Iowa | This was the best 7-5 team in the country. The Panthers' five losses were by a combined 28 points. | 23 |
| 20 |  | Furman | The Paladins (8-6) won five in a row, including a playoff win over SC State before meeting up with North Dakota State. | NR |
| 21 |  | Samford | Samford (8-5) had wins over Wofford, Ga Southern and App State, but fell to Jacksonville State in first round of playoffs. | 18 |
| 22 |  | South Carolina State | South Carolina State (9-4) earned a playoff berth but fell to Furman in the opening round. | 22 |
| 23 |  | Southern Utah | Southern Utah (8-5) had a banner year before losing to Sam Houston State in the first round of the playoffs. | 21 |
| 24 |  | Charleston Southern | The Buccaneers (10-3) ran out of gas as they played 13 straight weeks without an open date. They did beat Coastal Carolina. | NR |
| 25 |  | Montana State | A disappointing end for a talented club that finishes 7-5 after losing to rival Montana. | 25 |
FCS Football 2013 Final Top 25 Rankings
Sun, 01/12/2014
