FCS Football Top 25: Zach McKinnell's 2025 Week 10 Ballot

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 ballot for the 2025 FCS football season.

25. Jackson State

24. West Georgia

23. South Dakota

22. Lamar

21. Southern Illinois

20. Rhode Island

19. Illinois State

18. Western Carolina

17. Youngstown State

16. Villanova

15. Stephen F. Austin

14. Abilene Christian

13. South Dakota State

12. Southeastern Louisiana

11. Mercer

10. UC Davis

9. North Dakota

8. Monmouth

7. Tennessee Tech

6. Harvard

5. Lehigh

4. Tarleton State

3. Montana State

2. Montana

1. North Dakota State

Honorable Mentions: Presbyterian, Alabama State, Lafayette, Sacramento State, Dartmouth

Analysis:

This was one of those weeks where being a Top 25 voter was miserable. Seven ranked teams lost to unranked or lower-ranked opponents, with a total of eight ranked teams losing if you include Youngstown State's loss to North Dakota State. Four of those eight losses were Top 10 teams, making this week's ballot extremely difficult.

It's tough to find a perfect balance between FCS record, ranked wins, strength of schedule, average margin of victory, advanced metrics (Power ratings), the eye test, and head-to-head results. This week was the ultimate test, and I think you can make a valid argument to move some of these up or down a few spots, but that'll work itself out over the next few weeks.

Now that we've set the stage with some overall thoughts on how I build my ballot, let's try to dig into some of the biggest changes in this week's Top 25.

The Top 3 was obvious. North Dakota State is the undisputed No. 1 team in the FCS. The Bison added another Top 25 win to their resume this weekend, giving them five this season. I've had Montana at No. 2 for a few weeks, and nothing has changed as the Grizzlies handled business against Weber State. In terms of the eye test, Montana State checks all the boxes. The Bobcats were dominant in a 55-7 win over Northern Colorado, extending their winning streak to seven games.

Abilene Christian jumped back into the Top 15 after a win over Tarleton State. It was the fourth Top 25 win for the Wildcats, who improved to 5-2 against the FCS. Losses against UIW and Southern Utah limit ACU's ceiling, but I couldn't ignore this team's ability to find ways to win against good teams. The Wildcats also hold the head-to-head win against Stephen F. Austin, which puts them in the Top 15.

Speaking of Tarleton State, the Texans lost their first game of the season, which triggered a ton of overreactions about how this team was overrated. In my opinion, this team remains one of the Top 4 teams in the country. The Texans have four Top 50 FCS wins (Massey) and hold an FBS win over Army, giving them one of the strongest resumes in the country. They also have a stronger strength of schedule and more quality wins than any of the undefeated FCS teams behind them.

South Dakota State suffered the biggest upset of the weekend, falling to Indiana State at home. I understand Chase Mason was sidelined with an injury, but that doesn't justify this loss. Tarleton State, Lamar, UC Davis, Jackson State, and Monmouth have all found ways to avoid losing without their starting quarterbacks.

The Jacks have an excellent resume with wins over Montana State, Sacramento State, and Youngstown State, but this is one of the worst losses for any team in the Top 15 conversation. I made the decision to judge this team as it's currently constructed, and without Mason, the Jacks aren't a Top 10 team. If he returns next week, and the Jacks find a way to win on the road against USD, I will move them back into the Top 10.

Lehigh jumped into the Top 5 after all the chaos this weekend. The Mountain Hawks are now 9-0, all against the FCS, including notable wins over Yale, Penn, and then-ranked Richmond. They've been dominant since Week 1, winning their past eight games by two scores or more. They are also one of only three undefeated teams with three or Top 50 FCS wins (Massey), joining Montana and North Dakota State.

I also moved Harvard firmly into the Top 10 after a dominant win over Dartmouth. This team passes the eye test, and even if their SOS isn't the greatest, they have absolutely dominated every opponent on the schedule. The Crimson have outscored their opponents 290-79, with their lowest margin of victory being 21 points. I gave Harvard the edge over Tennessee Tech due to the Golden Eagles' non-Division I win, but I view them almost equally right now.

Next week, there are five ranked matchups, which will help sort out some of the chaos between No. 4 and No. 25. It's important to remember these rankings are fluid, and that's why I hate slot voters, because as you receive more data points on a team, the better you should be able to distinguish where they should be ranked.

Below are the five ranked matchups in Week 11 (Rankings from the Stats Perform Top 25):

No. 1 North Dakota State at No. 13 North Dakota

No. 8 South Dakota State at No. 22 South Dakota

No. 12 Mercer at No. 24 Western Carolina

No. 15 Southern Illinois at No. 21 Youngstown State

No. 19 Southeastern Louisiana at No. 20 Lamar

Follow FCS Football Central on social media for ongoing coverage of FCS football, including on X, Facebook, and YouTube.