FCS Football Top 25: Zach McKinnell's 2026 Week 5 Ballot

I'm excited to represent FCS Football Central as one of the voters in the FCS Stats Perform Top 25 again for the 2026 season.

As I have done over the past few years, I will release my weekly ballot and explain my reasoning behind my selections throughout the season. I believe voters should be transparent and justify their rankings every week. It gives fans important insights into how they analyze teams and build their ballots week-to-week.

Below is my Week 5 ballot for the 2026 FCS football season.

25. Jackson State

24. Morgan State

23. Monmouth

22. Richmond

21. Stony Brook

20. Colgate

19. Illinois State

18. Tennessee Tech

17. ETSU

16. Harvard

15. UC Davis

14. Campbell

13. Idaho State

12. Northern Arizona

11. Lamar

10. South Dakota

9. Austin Peay

8. Lehigh

7. Tarleton State

6. Montana State

5. North Dakota

4. Stephen F. Austin

3. Youngstown State

2. Montana

1. South Dakota State

Honorable Mentions: Mercer, South Carolina State, Yale, Southeastern Louisiana

Analysis:

South Dakota State is the new No. 1 team following another impressive win. The Jackrabbits have two ranked wins over Illinois State and Youngstown State, both without their starting quarterback. Even if Montana State would have survived against Idaho, I still think that SDSU has shown enough to be the top team in FCS football right now. We'll see if the Jacks can get fully healthy before a massive matchup against North Dakota in two weeks.

As for Montana State, the Bobcats suffered a disappointing loss to Idaho in the Kibbie Dome. We all know the injuries that this team is dealing with, but this was still an unacceptable loss, especially with the subpar performance from this defense. We've seen this team underperform in two of their last three games, but the ranked win over Northern Arizona looks really good after this past weekend.

I really debated where to put the Bobcats, but I do think the win over NAU and their FBS win over Nevada keep them somewhere in the Top 8. Plus, some of the things that teams behind them put on film helped keep them at No. 6. Let's see what this team looks like after the bye week, especially with three winnable games against Eastern Washington, Weber State, and Cal Poly on the horizon. These are games the Bobcats should win convincingly, but if they still look sluggish, I think we can have a different conversation about where they should be ranked.

Some people may be shocked to see Youngstown State at No. 3, but the Penguins have one of the best resumes in the country. Their only FCS loss was a 7-point loss on the road against South Dakota State, but they also have two ranked wins over Southern Illinois and South Dakota. The Penguins won both of those games by 12 or more points, which is enough to convince me they belong firmly in the Top 3 for now.

North Dakota is easily one of the toughest teams to analyze right now. The Fighting Hawks are 5-0 against the FCS, winning all but one of those games by at least 21 points. They found themselves down by 21 this weekend, mostly due to some weird turnovers, but scored 55 unanswered points and completely ran away with the game. The Fighting Hawks should be getting Lance Rucker back soon, which only raises the ceiling of this team. We are going to find out exactly what this team is on Oct. 17 when they host South Dakota State.

I know some people are going to hate Tarleton State at No. 7, and I really had a tough time figuring out the chaos between No. 6-10. The Texans are 5-0 with an FBS win over Bowling Green, but I don't think this team has played up to its potential in a single FCS game this season. There are some notable injuries, but the Texans consistently playing down to their opponents is concerning, especially with a road trip to Austin Peay coming up this weekend. If the Texans handle business in Clarksville, they will jump right back into the Top 5, but I need to see this team play a complete game.

I was not very high on Northern Arizona last week, but the Lumberjacks proved me wrong with a solid road win over Idaho State. They are currently 4-1 against the FCS, with quality wins over Incarnate Word and Idaho State, which is one of the better resumes among this middle tier of teams. They'll have another big test with Montana traveling to Flagstaff this weekend. As for Idaho State, I still think the Bengals are a Top 15 team, especially at 4-1 with an FBS win over Utah State.

Harvard elevated into the Top 20 after an impressive win over Colgate. The Crimson won in remarkable fashion on a hail mary, but we finally saw some life from this passing attack, and the defense continues to look really good. They now sit at 3-0 with a ranked win, giving them an advantage over some of the teams behind them. I feel even better about what I saw from Colgate in the loss, especially with how the offense responded with the game on the line. At 4-1 vs. the FCS, the Raiders still have a Top 25 resume, which is why they remain in the back end of my ballot.

Tennessee Tech drops all the way to No. 18 after an upset loss to Western Carolina on the road. A lot of the concerns that I had, despite the 4-0 start, were exposed in this loss on Saturday. They can't run the ball, which puts pressure on the defense to play a ton of snaps, which led to some defensive breakdowns in this loss. At 4-1 against the FCS, including wins over Monmouth, Chattanooga, and Wofford, the Golden Eagles are still a Top 25 team, but have not looked like a real national contender like we thought entering the year.

Sticking with the SoCon race, ETSU makes a massive jump into the Top 20 after a win over Chattanooga. The Bucs are 3-1 against the FCS, with their only loss coming against Campbell in Week 0, which has emerged as a Top 15 team. They also have wins over Chattanooga and Western Carolina, which gives them an advantage over Tennessee Tech. ETSU is currently the only remaining undefeated team in SoCon play, controlling their destiny for an auto bid.

Morgan State might feel like a wild-card pick to some FCS fans, but the Bears have earned this spot. They are 3-0 against the FCS, holding wins over North Carolina A&T, Villanova, and Towson, all of those coming on the road. There are a ton of unproven teams on the bubble of the Top 25, but I've been more impressed with the film I've seen from Morgan State than some of the teams who I have listed as honorable mentions.

Jackson State takes the final spot in my rankings this week after spending all season just outside of my Top 25. The Tigers are 5-0, 3-0 against the FCS, but just picked up a solid win over Alabama A&M in Mobile. They have a tough road trip to navigate against Grambling State this weekend, but the Tigers look like the most complete team in the SWAC right now.

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