| Rank | Team | Comments | Prior | |
| 1 |  | James Madison | The defending National Champions start their defense on the road against FBS East Carolina. | 1 |
| 2 |  | North Dakota State | The Bison will surely be unkind hosts on the field when they play Mississippi Valley State. | 3 |
| 3 |  | South Dakota State | The Jacks might have to get more offensive than they bargained for when Duquesne visits. | 5 |
| 4 |  | Sam Houston State | The Bearkats really bolstered the schedule this time around, although the Richmond game is delayed due to Hurricane Harvey. | 7 |
| 5 |  | North Dakota | Heavy pressure on the Fighting Hawks in 2017. And playing in SLC against Utah shouldn't be easy either. | 11 |
| 6 |  | Jacksonville State | The Gamecocks play a Week 0 game against neighbor, Chattanooga. They take the next weekend off before the grind. | 9 |
| 7 |  | Eastern Washington | At Texas Tech. Win or lose, the scoreboard operater better be awake for this high-scoring affair. Over/Under 80+? | 4 |
| 8 |  | Villanova | The post Coach Talley era begins with a huge CAA/Patriot match-up at Lehigh. | 14 |
| 9 |  | Lehigh | Lehigh gets a chance to make good on a Top Ten preseason ranking against a tough Villanova team at home. | 18 |
| 10 |  | Richmond | Richmond's huge FCS intersectional game against Sam Houston State will not be played this weekend. | 9 |
| 11 |  | Chattanooga | A Week 0 match-up with Jacksonville State earns the Mocs the right to take the traditional weekend off. | 15 |
| 12 |  | Central Arkansas | A very talented Bears squad goes to Kansas State. They might be an underdog but they expect to win. | 13 |
| 13 |  | Youngstown State | 2017 starts across the border with a tilt at FBS Pittsburgh. The Penguins will be confident, upset special? | 2 |
| 14 |  | Samford | Playoff hopefuls meet in a Big South/SoCon match-up when Samford hosts Kennesaw State. | 20 |
| 15 |  | New Hampshire | The Wildcats start the season in a border war against fellow CAA brother, Maine. Almost always an interesting contest. | 16 |
| 16 |  | Charleston Southern | The Buccos get right after it, traveling to FBS Mississippi State to begin 2017. | 17 |
| 17 |  | Wofford | The Terriers travel to Furman, getting their 2017 campaign going in SoCon action early on. | 8 |
| 18 |  | Fordham | The Rams travel upstate to play Army. They've upset Army before and this year's team may be better than those were. | 24 |
| 19 |  | Liberty | The final year in the Big South and FCS for Liberty. They get a taste of the future in Waco, TX, when they play Baylor. | NR |
| 20 |  | Northern Iowa | The Panthers won at Iowa State last year, then slumped to a rare losing season. | NR |
| 21 |  | Western Illinois | A trip to Tennessee Tech looks like WIU's easiest non-conference game this year. They need to make it count. | NR |
| 22 |  | McNeese State | Going to Nicholls. The winner could have the inside track to, at least, third place in the Southland in 2017. | NR |
| 23 |  | Citadel | A rough ending last season shouldn't be an issue here when D-II Newberry travels to The Citadel. | 12 |
| 24 |  | Cal Poly | Mustangs get a jump on the season hosting Colgate. Then they travel to FBS San Jose State for the traditional weekend opener. | 21 |
| 25 |  | Northern Arizona | The Lumberjacks stay in state to play FBS Arizona. It's one of the few times they travel south. | NR |
