| Rank | Team | Comments | Prior | |
| 1 |  | Northern Iowa | Northern Iowa claims the top spot and will look to hold on to it with a tough game against Indiana State. | 2 |
| 2 |  | Georgia Southern | Georgia Southern took care of business at Elon and has a tougher contest this week against Chattanooga. | 3 |
| 3 |  | Wofford | Wofford got a huge win last week against Appalachian State and should have little trouble at The Citadel. | 5 |
| 4 |  | Montana State | Montana State beat a quality Sac. State squad last week and should keep winning against Portland State. | 4 |
| 5 |  | Appalachian State | Appalachian State gets a week off to retool after their tough loss to Wofford. | 1 |
| 6 |  | James Madison | Maine just beat Delaware last week, so James Madison better not look past the Black Bears. | 8 |
| 7 |  | New Hampshire | New Hampshire took care of business last week and now have a slightly tougher home game against Villanova. | 6 |
| 8 |  | William & Mary | William & Mary narrowly slipped by Villanova and a trip to Delaware will be a huge game for the Tribe. | 7 |
| 9 |  | Montana | Montana hits the road again to face off against Idaho State. Both the Grizzlies losses have come on the road. | 10 |
| 10 |  | Jacksonville State | Jacksonville State proved they are the best of the bunch in the OVC after knocking off Murray State last week. | 14 |
| 11 |  | Sam Houston State | Sam Houston State keeps slowly moving up the rankings and face rival SFA in Houston this week. | 12 |
| 12 |  | Lehigh | Lehigh keeps rolling along, but conference play begins with a very tough road trip to Bucknell. | 15 |
| 13 |  | North Dakota State | North Dakota State can solidify a spot in the top ten if they can win in Carbondale against SIU. | 18 |
| 14 |  | South Dakota | South Dakota had an easy game last week. Hosting Southern Utah will be much more difficult. | 20 |
| 15 |  | Chattanooga | Chattanooga will have to refocus after falling apart against The Citadel with a trip to GSU up next. | 9 |
| 16 |  | Delaware | Maine knocked off Delaware last week and the Blue Hens need to regroup quickly with W&M coming to town. | 11 |
| 17 |  | Southern Illinois | No road game is easy in the MVC, and SIU learned that last week. They get to host NDSU this week. | 13 |
| 18 |  | McNeese State | McNeese State snuck out a win on the road last week and get to go back home to battle with Texas State. | 19 |
| 19 |  | North Dakota | North Dakota won a huge road game against a good SUU team last week and have NAIA Montana Western next. | 25 |
| 20 |  | Indiana State | ISU is trying to make some noise in the MVC and they will never have a better opportunity than at Northern Iowa. | 22 |
| 21 |  | Richmond | Richmond keeps sliding down the Top 25 and need to beat Towson on the road this week to stay in the Top 25. | 17 |
| 22 |  | Liberty | Beating Kentucky Wesleyan is not impressinging anybody, but Liberty is still the best in the Big South…for now. | 23 |
| 23 |  | South Carolina State | South Carolina State needs to string together some wins if they hope to remain the favorites in the MEAC. | 16 |
| 24 |  | Massachusetts | There is no shame in losing at ODU, but Umass better beat CCSU if they want to remain in playoff contention. | 21 |
| 25 |  | Tennessee Tech | Tennessee Tech is emerging as a solid team in the OVC, but their toughest challenges lie ahead. | NR |
Week 5 FCS Football Top 25
Fri, 09/30/2011
