| Rank | Team | Comments | Prior | |
| 1 |  | James Madison | JMU (14-1) won the FCS National Championship, ending with a 12 game win streak. Now work begins to repeat. Congrats! | 5 |
| 2 |  | Youngstown State | YSU (12-4) won four games en route to the title game, but fell short in the end. Still, the Penguins are back to prominence. | 9 |
| 3 |  | North Dakota State | NDSU's (12-2) roll toward a sixth championship was stopped by JMU. Don't think they won't be a major player in 2017. | 3 |
| 4 |  | Eastern Washington | EWU (12-2) looked invincible when they shutout Richmond in the quarters, but Youngstown State had different plans in semis. | 4 |
| 5 |  | South Dakota State | SDSU (9-4) won a war against Villanova before falling to MVFC nemesis, NDSU. Watch out for these guys next year. | 8 |
| 6 |  | Richmond | Richmond (10-4) beat NC A&T then won a roadie at North Dakota. But the roadie to EWU was too much. | 17 |
| 7 |  | Sam Houston State | SHSU (12-1) was able to dispatch of Chattanooga before a blowout loss to JMU in the quarters. | 2 |
| 8 |  | Wofford | Wofford (10-4) became kings of South Carolina, beating Charleston South and The Citadel before losing to Youngstown State. | 15 |
| 9 |  | Jacksonville State | JSU (10-2) were given the #3 seed and lost out immediately to Youngstown State. | 1 |
| 10 |  | Coastal Carolina | Coastal (10-2) didn't participate in the playoffs because they're going to the FBS Sun Belt Conference. Good luck! | 10 |
| 11 |  | North Dakota | UND (9-3) shared the Big Sky title and took a #7 seed into the playoffs, but were edged by Richmond in Round 2. | 6 |
| 12 |  | Citadel | The Citadel (10-2) were undefeated, but lost their finale, still earning a #6 seed. But they couldn't beat Wofford when it counted. | 7 |
| 13 |  | Central Arkansas | UCA (10-3) roared back to beat Illinois State, but were slowed down condierably by EWU in Round 2. | 11 |
| 14 |  | Villanova | Nova (9-4) got by St. Francis in Round 1, but lost a Round 2 war at SDSU, 10-7. Enjoy retirement coach Talley! | 12 |
| 15 |  | Chattanooga | The Mocs (9-4) annihilated Weber State then lost a close one at SHSU. Would they have faired better against JMU? | 16 |
| 16 |  | New Hampshire | UNH (8-5) crushed Lehigh, then got crushed in a rematch with James Madison. Still, 13-year playoff streak remains intact. | 19 |
| 17 |  | Charleston Southern | CSU (7-4) lost a dogfight to Wofford in Round 1, 15-14. How far would they have gone had they pulled that one out? | 14 |
| 18 |  | Lehigh | Lehigh (9-3) ends their season getting throttled by UNH, 64-21 in Round 1...ouch! | 13 |
| 19 |  | San Diego | USD (10-2) beat Cal Poly in Round 1 before losing to NDSU. That win was the Pioneer's first ever in the FCS Playoffs. | NR |
| 20 |  | Samford | Samford (7-5) lost in Round 1 to Youngstown State, but made it a fight. | 24 |
| 21 |  | Cal Poly | CP (7-5) was shocked in Round 1 by non-scholarship San Diego. They beat the Toreros in Week 2, but not when it counted. | 21 |
| 22 |  | Weber State | WSU (7-5) was blitzed by Chattanooga in Round 1, 45-14. It was a tough game, but still a bad showing. | 22 |
| 23 |  | Grambling State | Grambling (12-1) rolled through the SWAC, then squeaked out a 10-9 Celebrations Bowl win over NC Central. | NR |
| 24 |  | Fordham | Fordham (8-3) did not participate in the playoffs despite winning 6 of their last 7. The Committee thought differently. | 20 |
| 25 |  | North Carolina A&T | NC A&T (9-3) lost to rival NC Central, ironically putting them in the playoffs. But the Richmond buzzsaw chewed them up. | 23 |
Final FCS Football Power Rankings
