Resumes For The Top 10 Teams In The FCS Playoff Committee's Rankings (Oct. 15)

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During the College Football Live show on ESPN2, the FCS playoff committee released its first Top 10 ranking on Wednesday. Rankings were based on the current resumes of each team and did not project any future results.
The next edition of the rankings will be released on November 5. It will be the final look at the committee's rankings until the official FCS Selection Show on ESPNU on Nov. 23.
We wanted to take a look at the current resumes of every team in the committee's Top 10 rankings. This will offer some insight on what the committee is valuing at this time.
One note, "Top 40 Wins" is not something the committee may use, but it's something I feel offers more context than ranked wins. If we use ranked wins, why isn't a team getting rewarded for a quality win over a team that may be ranked No. 26 or No. 30? Top 40 isn't perfect, but it offers much more context on quality wins than a subjective Top 25. We utilized the established Sagarin rating system to determine Top 40 wins for each team.
Below are the resumes of the Top 10 teams in the first edition of the FCS playoff committee's rankings.
1. North Dakota State
Overall Record: 6-0
FCS Record: 6-0
SOS (Massey): No. 51
Top 40 Wins (Sagarin): 3 (Southern Illinois, South Dakota, Illinois State)
Advanced Metric Ranking (Sagarin): 1st
Past Opponents' Record (vs Other Teams): 18-13
2. South Dakota State
Overall Record: 6-0
FCS Record: 6-0
SOS (Massey): No. 30
Top 40 Wins (Sagarin): 3 (Montana State, Sacramento State, Youngstown State)
Advanced Metric Ranking (Sagarin): 2nd
Past Opponents' Record (vs Other Teams): 19-12
3. Tarleton State
Overall Record: 7-0
FCS Record: 6-0
FBS Wins: 1 (Army)
SOS (Massey): No. 37
Top 40 Wins (Sagarin): 1 (Southern Utah)
*Note: Sagarin would have Army ranked as the No. 6 team in the FCS
Advanced Metric Ranking (Sagarin): 4th
Past Opponents' Record (vs Other Teams): 10-26
4. Montana State
Overall Record: 5-2
FCS Record: 5-1
SOS (Massey): No. 2
Top 40 Wins (Sagarin): 1 (Northern Arizona)
Advanced Metric Ranking (Sagarin): 3rd
Past Opponents' Record (vs Other Teams): 23-16
5. Montana
Overall Record: 6-0
FCS Record: 5-0
SOS (Massey): No. 43
Top 40 Wins (Sagarin): 2 (North Dakota, Idaho)
Advanced Metric Ranking (Sagarin): 6th
Past Opponents' Record (vs Other Teams): 18-14
6. UC Davis
Overall Record: 5-1
FCS Record: 5-0
SOS (Massey): No. 15
Top 40 Wins (Sagarin): 2 (Northern Arizona, Southern Utah)
Advanced Metric Ranking (Sagarin): 8th
Past Opponents' Record (vs Other Teams): 15-18
7. Lehigh
Overall Record: 7-0
FCS Record: 7-0
SOS (Massey): No. 86
Top 40 Wins (Sagarin): 2 (Yale, Penn)
Advanced Metric Ranking (Sagarin): 14th
Past Opponents' Record (vs Other Teams): 23-10
8. North Dakota
Overall Record: 4-2
FCS Record: 4-1
SOS (Massey): No. 9
Top 40 Wins (Sagarin): 1 (Youngstown State)
Advanced Metric Ranking (Sagarin): 5th
Past Opponents' Record (vs Other Teams): 13-18
9. Monmouth
Overall Record: 5-1
FCS Record: 5-0
SOS (Massey): No. 58
Top 40 Wins (Sagarin): 0
Advanced Metric Ranking (Sagarin): 21st
Past Opponents' Record (vs Other Teams): 14-16
10. Tennessee Tech
Overall Record: 6-0
FCS Record: 5-0
SOS (Massey): No. 117
Top 40 Wins (Sagarin): 0
Advanced Metric Ranking (Sagarin): 10th
Past Opponents' Record (vs Other Teams): 6-21
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Timothy Rosario is a national contributor for FCS Football Central on SI. He previously served as an assistant coach at Sparks High School and North Valleys High School, focusing on linebackers and defensive backs. Timothy graduated from the University of Nevada, Reno in 2019.
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