The Madness FCS Power Rankings
The Madness FCS Power Rankings is a relatively basic power rating system when compared to the highly complex systems involving comparative scoring formulas. This system uses no comparative scoring, so any parallel between this and other ranking systems is purely coincidental. There is also no momentum involved in these rankings, so “What have you done for me lately?” does not apply. Everything is valued as a whole. The objective remains the same though; to create an unbiased mechanism to sort the general strength of the 125 teams within the Football Championship Subdivision.
Teams are awarded for Wins and Points Scored, then penalized for Losses and Points Allowed. Teams also receive a ‘Stature Constant.’ The strongest FCS conferences get a higher value than the weaker conferences. This is done to lessen the effects of a superior team in a weak conference from building huge point margins and manipulating the system. This constant has been tweaked since last season also, to include each individual conference’s overall success in FCS vs. FCS games.
Teams will also gain bonuses for beating FBS teams. This has also been tweaked, giving a little more weight to those who beat Power Five teams as opposed to Group of Five teams. Also, a team will be penalized for losing to a school from a class below FCS (Division II, Division III, NAIA, NCCAA). The final piece of the puzzle is an RPI-style Strength of Schedule multiplier, where teams get bonuses and demerits just for playing teams listed previously in this paragraph.
The first rankings will appear after Week 5, September 29th. These will be available on the Madness no later than Monday every week from then on. There will also be a final edition released after the FCS Championship game in January. Like most ranking systems, a very strong or weak schedule or huge upsets, one way or the other, can have a drastic impact early on. As the season progresses the numbers, and teams, will sort themselves out and be much truer towards the end.
| RANK | TEAM | RATING | Won | Lost | Prev | RANK | CONFERENCE | RATING | |
| 1 | North Dakota State | 52.88 | 9 | 0 | 1 | 1 | COLONIAL | 30.24 | |
| 2 | Princeton | 46.13 | 8 | 0 | 3 | 2 | MISSOURI VALLEY | 29.98 | |
| 3 | Dartmouth | 44.41 | 7 | 1 | 4 | 3 | IVY LEAGUE | 28.37 | |
| 4 | South Dakota State | 43.97 | 6 | 2 | 7 | 4 | SOUTHERN | 27.83 | |
| 5 | UC Davis | 43.39 | 8 | 1 | 5 | 5 | BIG SKY | 26.04 | |
| 6 | James Madison | 39.72 | 6 | 3 | 2 | 6 | BIG SOUTH | 25.43 | |
| 7 | Elon | 39.35 | 6 | 2 | 8 | 7 | SOUTHLAND | 25.03 | |
| 8 | Delaware | 38.63 | 7 | 2 | 6 | 8 | OHIO VALLEY | 23.72 | |
| 9 | Northern Iowa | 38.38 | 5 | 4 | 12 | 9 | PATRIOT | 21.82 | |
| 10 | Colgate | 37.93 | 8 | 0 | 9 | 10 | NORTHEAST | 16.01 | |
| 11 | Nicholls | 36.66 | 6 | 3 | 10 | 11 | PIONEER | 15.97 | |
| 12 | Kennesaw State | 36.04 | 8 | 1 | 24 | 12 | MID-EASTERN | 15.44 | |
| 13 | Jacksonville State | 35.78 | 7 | 2 | 11 | 13 | SOUTHWESTERN | 12.98 | |
| 14 | Wofford | 34.82 | 6 | 3 | 14 | ||||
| 15 | Eastern Washington | 34.70 | 7 | 2 | 16 | ||||
| 16 | Weber State | 33.39 | 7 | 2 | 13 | ||||
| 17 | Furman | 33.30 | 4 | 4 | 23 | ||||
| 18 | Monmouth | 33.25 | 7 | 2 | 20 | ||||
| 19 | Towson | 32.68 | 6 | 3 | 18 | ||||
| 20 | Stony Brook | 32.62 | 6 | 3 | 15 | ||||
| 21 | Illinois State | 32.61 | 5 | 4 | 17 | ||||
| 22 | Southeast Missouri State | 31.57 | 7 | 2 | 27 | ||||
| 23 | Samford | 31.09 | 5 | 4 | 32 | ||||
| 24 | North Dakota | 31.05 | 5 | 4 | 19 | ||||
| 25 | Montana State | 30.99 | 5 | 4 | 25 | ||||
| 26 | Idaho State | 30.72 | 6 | 3 | 21 | ||||
| 27 | New Hampshire | 30.17 | 3 | 6 | 40 | ||||
| 28 | Incarnate Word | 30.10 | 5 | 4 | 36 | ||||
| 29 | Western Illinois | 30.09 | 5 | 4 | 22 | ||||
| 30 | Montana | 29.68 | 5 | 4 | 26 | ||||
| 31 | Rhode Island | 29.22 | 5 | 4 | 31 | ||||
| 32 | Chattanooga | 29.04 | 6 | 3 | 30 | ||||
| 33 | Villanova | 28.23 | 4 | 5 | 37 | ||||
| 34 | North Carolina A&T | 27.77 | 7 | 2 | 39 | ||||
| 35 | Maine | 27.75 | 6 | 3 | 50 | ||||
| 36 | Harvard | 27.53 | 4 | 4 | 41 | ||||
| 37 | East Tennessee State | 27.50 | 8 | 2 | 44 | ||||
| 38 | Sam Houston State | 27.30 | 5 | 4 | 29 | ||||
| 39 | Yale | 27.05 | 5 | 3 | 35 | ||||
| 40 | McNeese | 26.78 | 6 | 3 | 33 | ||||
| 41 | Austin Peay | 26.66 | 4 | 5 | 38 | ||||
| 42 | Southeastern Louisiana | 26.25 | 4 | 6 | 53 | ||||
| 43 | Central Arkansas | 26.21 | 5 | 4 | 34 | ||||
| 44 | The Citadel | 26.07 | 3 | 5 | 42 | ||||
| 45 | Holy Cross | 25.67 | 3 | 6 | 60 | ||||
| 46 | Columbia | 25.48 | 4 | 4 | 28 | ||||
| 47 | Penn | 25.38 | 6 | 2 | 47 | ||||
| 48 | Mercer | 24.87 | 4 | 5 | 69 | ||||
| 49 | Sacred Heart | 24.81 | 6 | 3 | 43 | ||||
| 50 | Idaho | 24.65 | 4 | 5 | 63 | ||||
| 51 | Youngstown State | 24.26 | 3 | 6 | 65 | ||||
| 52 | Lamar | 24.25 | 5 | 4 | 66 | ||||
| 53 | Charleston Southern | 24.17 | 3 | 5 | 49 | ||||
| 54 | Abilene Christian | 24.00 | 5 | 4 | 61 | ||||
| 55 | Eastern Kentucky | 23.59 | 5 | 4 | 59 | ||||
| 56 | San Diego | 23.56 | 7 | 2 | 72 | ||||
| 57 | Campbell | 23.34 | 5 | 4 | 57 | ||||
| 58 | Georgetown | 23.26 | 4 | 5 | 52 | ||||
| 59 | Tennessee State | 22.76 | 3 | 4 | 71 | ||||
| 60 | Cal Poly | 22.75 | 3 | 6 | 56 | ||||
| 61 | Northern Arizona | 22.68 | 3 | 6 | 76 | ||||
| 62 | William & Mary | 22.59 | 3 | 5 | 51 | ||||
| 63 | South Dakota | 22.46 | 3 | 6 | 55 | ||||
| 64 | Dayton | 22.27 | 4 | 5 | 62 | ||||
| 65 | Richmond | 22.05 | 3 | 6 | 48 | ||||
| 66 | Florida A&M | 22.04 | 6 | 3 | 46 | ||||
| 67 | Stetson | 21.93 | 7 | 1 | 77 | ||||
| 68 | Southern Illinois | 21.78 | 2 | 7 | 54 | ||||
| 69 | Cornell | 21.64 | 3 | 5 | 73 | ||||
| 70 | Tennessee-Martin | 21.64 | 1 | 8 | 78 | ||||
| 71 | Drake | 21.56 | 5 | 3 | 75 | ||||
| 72 | Northwestern State | 21.46 | 3 | 6 | 67 | ||||
| 73 | Murray State | 21.29 | 4 | 5 | 45 | ||||
| 74 | Lafayette | 21.27 | 3 | 6 | 58 | ||||
| 75 | Portland State | 21.19 | 4 | 5 | 81 | ||||
| 76 | Stephen F. Austin | 20.99 | 2 | 6 | 74 | ||||
| 77 | Indiana State | 20.89 | 5 | 4 | 79 | ||||
| 78 | Alcorn State | 20.72 | 7 | 3 | 64 | ||||
| 79 | Albany | 20.26 | 2 | 7 | 82 | ||||
| 80 | Missouri State | 19.79 | 4 | 5 | 68 | ||||
| 81 | Marist | 19.64 | 5 | 4 | 80 | ||||
| 82 | Northern Colorado | 19.48 | 2 | 7 | 70 | ||||
| 83 | Gardner-Webb | 19.31 | 3 | 6 | 88 | ||||
| 84 | Alabama A&M | 19.31 | 5 | 4 | 86 | ||||
| 85 | Southern | 18.74 | 5 | 3 | 84 | ||||
| 86 | Duquesne | 18.14 | 6 | 3 | 87 | ||||
| 87 | Bucknell | 17.77 | 1 | 8 | 83 | ||||
| 88 | Central Connecticut State | 17.70 | 5 | 4 | 85 | ||||
| 89 | Western Carolina | 17.43 | 3 | 6 | 90 | ||||
| 90 | Fordham | 17.07 | 1 | 8 | 91 | ||||
| 91 | South Carolina State | 17.04 | 3 | 5 | 89 | ||||
| 92 | St. Francis | 16.70 | 4 | 5 | 98 | ||||
| 93 | Sacramento State | 16.40 | 2 | 7 | 93 | ||||
| 94 | Howard | 16.21 | 4 | 4 | 101 | ||||
| 95 | Eastern Illinois | 15.30 | 2 | 7 | 94 | ||||
| 96 | Presbyterian | 14.71 | 2 | 6 | 96 | ||||
| 97 | Bryant | 14.59 | 5 | 4 | 92 | ||||
| 98 | Tennessee Tech | 14.52 | 1 | 8 | 110 | ||||
| 99 | Jackson State | 14.37 | 4 | 4 | 104 | ||||
| 100 | Prairie View A&M | 14.05 | 3 | 6 | 95 | ||||
| 101 | Norfolk State | 13.46 | 3 | 5 | 97 | ||||
| 102 | Virginia Military | 13.40 | 1 | 8 | 100 | ||||
| 103 | Jacksonville | 13.39 | 2 | 6 | 109 | ||||
| 104 | Southern Utah | 13.39 | 1 | 8 | 102 | ||||
| 105 | Grambling State | 13.30 | 5 | 4 | 99 | ||||
| 106 | North Carolina Central | 13.06 | 4 | 4 | 105 | ||||
| 107 | Lehigh | 13.01 | 2 | 7 | 117 | ||||
| 108 | Houston Baptist | 12.85 | 1 | 8 | 111 | ||||
| 109 | Morgan State | 12.72 | 2 | 7 | 103 | ||||
| 110 | Bethune-Cookman | 12.50 | 5 | 5 | 108 | ||||
| 111 | Brown | 12.21 | 1 | 7 | 106 | ||||
| 112 | Davidson | 11.97 | 5 | 4 | 114 | ||||
| 113 | Morehead State | 11.93 | 3 | 6 | 113 | ||||
| 114 | Hampton | 11.54 | 5 | 3 | 116 | ||||
| 115 | Wagner | 11.03 | 2 | 7 | 118 | ||||
| 116 | Butler | 10.80 | 3 | 6 | 112 | ||||
| 117 | Savannah State | 10.79 | 2 | 6 | 107 | ||||
| 118 | Texas Southern | 10.68 | 2 | 7 | 115 | ||||
| 119 | North Alabama | 10.00 | 6 | 3 | 119 | ||||
| 120 | Alabama State | 9.38 | 3 | 5 | 121 | ||||
| 121 | Delaware State | 8.49 | 2 | 7 | 123 | ||||
| 122 | Robert Morris | 8.46 | 2 | 7 | 120 | ||||
| 123 | Valparaiso | 6.85 | 1 | 8 | 122 | ||||
| 124 | Mississippi Valley State | 6.53 | 1 | 7 | 124 | ||||
| 125 | Arkansas-Pine Bluff | 3.63 | 1 | 8 | 125 |
