FCS Football Top 25: Zach McKinnell's 2026 Week 10 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 10 ballot for the 2026 FCS football season.

25. Villanova

24. Idaho

23. Abilene Christian

22. South Carolina State

21. Idaho State

20. Illinois State

19. Incarnate Word

18. Lehigh

17. Weber State

16. Harvard

15. Campbell

14. Monmouth

13. Mercer

12. Montana

11. North Dakota

10. Austin Peay

9. Tennessee Tech

8. South Dakota

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7. Stephen F. Austin

6. Northern Arizona

5. Lamar

4. Youngstown State

3. South Dakota State

2. Montana State

1. Tarleton State

Honorable Mentions: ETSU, North Alabama, Bryant, UAlbany, Princeton, UC Davis

Analysis:

Before jumping into my ballot, I did want to speak on the reactions I've seen regarding the Top 25 rankings, along with the playoff committee's Top 10. It's important to remember that games aren't played by point spreads, power rankings, or a biased hypothetical. So, who cares who would be "favored" on a neutral field? The games are played on the field, not in a hypothetical world using some computer model.

This isn't an attack on analytics or power ratings, because those tools give us a much deeper understanding of the game, especially when utilized alongside watching film. But it's Week 11, so the results on the field should matter MUCH more than a hypothetical discussion about a game that hasn't, and possibly won't, be played. I just wanted to offer these thoughts after seeing the absurd talking points I've seen floating around the FCS media space about which teams are "overrated" and which teams are being "disrespected" by various voters and the committee.

There haven't been any changes in who I think are the Top 4 teams in FCS football. In my opinion, it's clear that Tarleton State, Montana State, South Dakota State, and Youngstown State have separated a bit from the rest of the country in terms of resume and upside in the postseason. The Texans rolled over Abilene Christian with an elite offensive performance, while Montana State survived in 3OT against Idaho State on the road.

The biggest mover was Lamar, which picked up a massive win over Stephen F. Austin. The Cardinals have one of the best resumes in the country now, holding wins over Abilene Christian, Idaho, Incarnate Word, and SFA. At 8-1 against the FCS and with a Top 30 SOS, it's very clear this team has a better resume than all the teams behind them, plus they've backed it up with their on-field performances.

As for Stephen F. Austin, the Lumberjacks are still 8-1 against the FCS, including wins over Incarnate Word and Abilene Christian. There are going to be some voters who overreact to one game, but losing to a Top 10 team on the road is a much better loss than a lot of these other teams have this season. This is still a good team, but they shouldn't have ever been the No. 2 team in the country, which is why they were No. 5 on my ballot last week.

Mercer also makes a move into the Top 15 following its overtime win over Chattanooga. The Bears are 8-1 against the FCS and have won six consecutive games since a 2-2 start to the season. They have a real opportunity to make some noise with huge games against Tennessee Tech and ETSU to end the year.

Lehigh is another team that made a jump back into the Top 20 after a dominant 33-7 win over Colgate. Injuries had this team in a funk over the past three weeks, but the Mountain Hawks were extremely impressive this past weekend. They move to 8-2 against the FCS, but a lack of signature wins keeps them out of the Top 15. Lehigh controls its own destiny for the Patriot League auto-bid with games against Richmond and Lafayette remaining on the schedule.

There were some notable new additions to the backend of my ballot. Villanova sneaks into the final spot after a 30-0 win over Richmond. The Wildcats have won four consecutive games, including a head-to-head win over Lehigh three weeks ago. Their three FCS losses came by a combined 13 points, and they are playing their best football of the season right now. I'll be interested to see how the committee evaluates them as a potential at-large team if they win out and finish 8-4 overall.

Idaho finally jumps into the Top 25 as one of the most difficult teams in the country to analyze. The Vandals have massive wins over Montana and Montana State, but their 0-4 start to the season has kept them on the outside looking in. Now at 5-4 against the FCS, Idaho has a much better resume than most of the other comparable teams, plus I value teams who are hitting their stride at the right time, which is why the Vandals are on a 4-game winning streak.

Despite a loss to Tarleton State, Abilene Christian remains at No. 23 in my ballot. The Wildcats are 5-4 against the FCS, plus they hold a head-to-head win over Idaho in the Kibbie Dome. They also have a win over North Alabama, which finds itself just outside of the Top 25. ACU must find a way to pull off the upset over Austin Peay this weekend, or the season is officially over for the Wildcats.

I didn't have a chance to discuss it last week, but Incarnate Word has been firmly in my Top 25 since last week. The Cardinals are 5-3 against the FCS, but all three losses were against Top 10 teams by a combined 15 points, all of which were on the road. The Cardinals have won their last four games by an average of 32 points per game, which is another example of how this team is starting to peak at the right time.

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