FCS Football Top 25: Zach McKinnell's 2025 Week 5 Ballot

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I'm honored to represent FCS Football Central on SI as one of the voters in the FCS Stats Perform Top 25 again for the 2025 season. I also submit this ballot for the Redshirt Sports Top 25 poll.

As I have over the past few years, I will release my weekly ballot and explain my reasoning behind my selections throughout the season. I believe it's important to be transparent as a voter, giving fans insight into how I analyze teams and build my ballot week-to-week.

Below is my Week 5 ballot for the 2025 FCS football season.

25. Stephen F. Austin

24. Mercer

23. Presbyterian

22. Incarnate Word

21. Youngstown State

20. Harvard

19. Austin Peay

18. Abilene Christian

17. Idaho

16. Jackson State

15. Illinois State

14. Lehigh

13. West Georgia

12. Monmouth

11. Northern Arizona

10. UC Davis

9. Tennessee Tech

8. North Dakota

7. Rhode Island

6. Southern Illinois

5. Montana State

4. Tarleton State

3. Montana

2. South Dakota State

1. North Dakota State

Honorable Mentions: Lamar, Yale, North Carolina Central, Dartmouth, Southeastern Louisiana

Analysis:

Montana jumps to No. 3 after a win over Idaho, giving the Grizzlies two ranked wins in the past three games. It was also a dominant win, in which the result was never really in doubt, which added to the argument for moving them up in my ballot. I struggled with where to put the Vandals, who fell to No. 17 with the loss. They don't have any signature wins, which is an issue. Until the Vandals win some key games, I'll struggle moving them into the Top 15.

Tarleton State and Montana State only dropped one spot, but it doesn't mean these teams can't make waves over the next few weeks. Neither of these teams did anything wrong, but just got passed by a team with a better resume at this point in the season. Montana State will have a chance this weekend against Northern Arizona on the road. I kept South Dakota State at No. 2 over Montana because I view a road win over Montana State as the best non-conference win among the Top 5 teams right now.

Mercer made a quarterback change, which has led to three consecutive wins, including a solid road win over ETSU on Saturday. This team has turned the corner, coming a long way since a Week 1 loss to Presbyterian. Speaking of Presbyterian, the Blue Hose enter my ballot for the first time this season. Not only do they have a head-to-head win over Mercer, but they also have a win over Furman. The Blue Hose are 5-0 overall (3-0 vs FCS) and have to be ranked for now due to their two SoCon wins, but I'll be keeping an eye on how they perform in conference play.

Incarnate Word is another team that has looked completely different since moving to EJ Colson at quarterback. The Cardinals had a huge Top 25 win over Abilene Christian, which was enough to move them back into my ballot. They have a chance to make more waves with a win over Stephen F. Austin this weekend. I kept Abilene Christian ahead of UIW due to its resume. After five games, a team's full resume has to count more than one head-to-head game. The Wildcats have two ranked wins, including an impressive performance against Austin Peay two weeks ago. If UIW continues to win, I'll reevaluate my position, but I need to see if this team really turned a corner, or if this was just a one-off performance.

I was close to ranking Harvard last week, but I needed to see another data point other than Stetson. The Crimson delivered a dominant performance over Brown, who had just beaten Georgetown 46-0 the previous week. This team was my preseason favorite to win the Ivy League, and nothing has changed. Sacramento State and South Dakota dropped from my ballot after disappointing losses. Neither team has shown anything on the field to justify consideration for the Top 25 at this point.

West Georgia jumps into the Top 15 after a road win over Southern Utah. The Wolves are 5-0, with all five wins coming over Division I programs, including a ranked win over Nicholls. We will find out how good this team really is in the next three weeks. The Wolves face Austin Peay, Abilene Christian, and Tarleton State, all of which are ranked in the Top 20. Northern Arizona also made a small jump, moving to 4-1 overall (4-0 vs FCS), including an impressive win over an improved UIW team. The Lumberjacks will have to earn their spot against Montana State in Week 6.

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