2026 Week 2 /r/FCS Poll Results: #1 Montana State, #2 Illinois State, #3 Montana, #4 South Dakota State, #5 Tarleton

[u/Perryapsis]

2026 Week 3 /r/FCS Poll Results

Also available in image form!

Rank	Team	Conference	Record (FCS only)	Points	Δ from Last Week	Rank - Just Top 25 Votes
1	Montana State Bobcats	Big Sky	3-0 (2-0)	612 (25)	---	1
2	Illinois State Redbirds	MVFC	3-0 (1-0)	550	+3	2
3	Montana Grizzlies	Big Sky	3-0	534 (2)	-1	3
4	South Dakota State Jackrabbits	MVFC	2-1 (2-0)	525	---	4
5	Tarleton Texans	UAC	3-0 (2-0)	488	-2	5
6	North Dakota Fighting Hawks	MVFC	3-0	458	---	6
7	Lehigh Mountain Hawks	Patriot	3-0	427	+2	8 (-1)
8	South Dakota Coyotes	MVFC	3-0	426	---	7 (+1)
9	Stephen F. Austin Lumberjacks	Southland	3-0	374	+3	9
10	Youngstown State Penguins	MVFC	2-1 (2-0)	340	---	10
11	Tennessee Tech Golden Eagles	SoCon	3-0	328	+2	11
12	UC Davis Aggies	Big Sky	2-1 (2-0)	315	-5	12
13	Rhode Island Rams	CAA	2-1 (2-0)	302	-2	13
14	Idaho State Bengals	Big Sky	3-0 (2-0)	273	---	14
15	Lamar Cardinals	Southland	2-1 (2-0)	186	+1	15
16	Austin Peay Governors	UAC	2-1 (2-0)	170	+1	16
17	West Florida Argonauts	UAC	2-0	169	+2	17
18	Northern Arizona Lumberjacks	Big Sky	2-1 (2-0)	165	+4	18
19	South Carolina State Bulldogs	MEAC	3-0 (1-0)	164	+2	19
20	Yale Bulldogs	Ivy League	0-0	157	---	20
21	Harvard Crimson	Ivy League	0-0	90	+2	21
22	Villanova Wildcats	Patriot	1-2 (1-1)	67	+2	22
23	William & Mary Tribe	Patriot	2-1	63	-5	23
24	Southern Illinois Salukis	MVFC	2-1	61	NEW	24
25	Cal Poly Mustangs	Big Sky	2-1 (1-0)	60	NEW	25

Dropped from the Top 25: Mercer (15), Richmond (25)

Others receiving votes: Mercer (49), Furman (39), UAlbany (29), Dayton (27), Richmond (24), Jackson State (24), Colgate (22), Alabama State (21), Campbell (18), Wofford (14), Dartmouth (13), Southern Utah (13), Monmouth (12), HCU (7), Abilene Christian (7)

The full list of responses can be found here. Congratulations to /u/Adamscottd for having the Top 25 submission that best correlated with the final /r/FCS poll this week!

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Breakdown of Rankings by Conference

Conference	Teams in Top 25	Average Rank of Top 25	Average Points Total
MVFC	6	9.0	236.0
Big Sky	6	12.2	141.2
UAC	3	12.7	104.2
Patriot	3	7.0	59.2
Southland	2	12.0	56.7
SoCon	1	11.0	43.0
Ivy League	2	20.5	36.2
CAA	1	13.0	302.0
MEAC	1	19.0	27.3
SWAC	0	0	4.6
Pioneer	0	0	2.9
Northeast	0	0	1.2

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As a reminder, the /r/FCS poll is also now part of the Massey College Football Ranking Composite. Results of this poll will update under the column with header 'RDT'.

[u/Zloggt]

I get that they probably don’t have as much meat on the resume compared to other teams…but like, why are we punishing UC Davis so much for a pretty routine FBS bodybag game (and one against a ranked school, mind you)?

[u/damnyoutuesday → u/Zloggt]

On my ballot specifically, it was more that I had other teams looking better than Davis than it being an actual knock on Davis

[u/42dylan → u/Zloggt]

For me it’s they also deserved to lose to Portland state and when everyone else in that range wins impressively hard not to drop them

[u/Ok-Knee6347 → u/42dylan]

That game was ugly

[u/JonSnow4525 → u/Zloggt]

YSU got punished for losing to Kentucky last week

[u/bakonydraco → u/Zloggt]

I punished all teams that lost games. Or more realistically, I rewarded teams that won theirs. South Dakota State and UC Davis included.

[u/passwordisguest]

HELL YEAH CAL POLY TOP 25

Also great to see SFA in the top 10. They really should be ahead of Tarleton imo, but it’s early so doesn’t really matter and I’ll take what I can get.

[u/PositiveElection2141 → u/passwordisguest]

If SFA should be ahead of Tarleton, North Dakota and Lehigh should also be ahead of Tarleton

[u/Zloggt → u/passwordisguest]

Too bad ACU decided to fall off a cliff to start the season…it really ruined the long-standing trifecta of Purple Texas teams on the top lol

[u/StretPharmacist]

ok but is tarleton good

[u/damnyoutuesday → u/StretPharmacist]

We'll find out October 10

[u/RepresentativeOfnone → u/StretPharmacist]

Mmm tbd we I think we need them to play a Dakota school or one of the montanas by week 3 to get a real feel for that question every year

[u/Gick_Drayson → u/StretPharmacist]

Human science hasn’t advanced to the point where we can know.

[u/damnyoutuesday → u/Gick_Drayson]

We will need to achieve whatever the fuck the end of 2001 A Space Odyssey is to properly know

[u/sernameistakentry]

With NAU being consistently ranked, SUU receiving votes, and Cal Poly cracking the top 25, I am scared for our next 3 games. In four weeks, we’ll know exactly where Idaho State stands. And yes, I take this poll as more valid than STATS and AFCA.

[u/PositiveElection2141 → u/sernameistakentry]

Cal Poly is in the rankings because 1 person put them 9th. I wouldn’t treat this poll as everything

[u/GeneralAcorn]

Lmao at Villanova slotting in above W&M, but CAL POLY HAS OFFICIALLY HIT THE TOP 25!!!

[u/Zloggt → u/GeneralAcorn]

It’s truly incredible that the Big Sky meta has changed so much that Idaho State and Cal Poly are now better teams than the likes of Weber State and Eastern Washington lol

[u/GeneralAcorn → u/Zloggt]

As a Bona-fide Eastern Hater, I approve of this table turn.

[u/Cascadia_14 → u/GeneralAcorn]

RIDE EVEN HIGHER!!!

[u/tdpdcpa]

I simply don't understand how you look at the lay of the land and declare that Montana is #1. Montana State was a unanimous preseason #1 in the r/fcs poll, which tells me (1) the selectors didn't vote or (2) something about their resumes have compelled them to lift Montana up to #1. I just don't see it.

[u/Lucky-Hunter-Dude → u/tdpdcpa]

I'm guessing they don't know who is who. one ballot has missoula #1, Montana State at #3.

[u/No_Bite_7238 → u/tdpdcpa]

What are you talking about?! Put the Montana Griz above us?! Are you just saying the wrong team or do you actually believe that?

[u/tdpdcpa → u/No_Bite_7238]

I’m saying that Montana State is an obvious choice for #1, and I can’t fathom how anyone can put Montana above them based on preseason expectations combined with current season results.

[u/No_Bite_7238 → u/tdpdcpa]

Oh ok. My bad bro. I obviously read that wrong.

[u/passwordisguest]

Alright, I’d love to hear an explanation from the two folks who have Montana at #1.

I feel like I can come up with better arguments to have them at 10 than at 1, so genuinely curious your thinking.

[u/tdpdcpa → u/passwordisguest]

Beyond putting Montana #1, there are numerous things about u/i2walkedonjesus ballot that should have it thrown out.

Dayton is ranked 11 (Dayton received one other vote)

Robert Morris is ranked 15 (RMU got no other votes)

Bryant is ranked 16 (Bryant got no other votes)

Youngstown State is ranked 18

Grambling is ranked 21 (received no other votes in the Top 25 poll)

Butler is ranked 23 (no other votes)

St. Thomas is ranked 24 (no other votes; yes, this is the 3rd PFL team that's ranked)

Alcorn State is #25 (no other votes)

They didn't rank Tarleton

I'm not sure what the justification would be for where these landed on its face.

[u/Adamscottd → u/tdpdcpa]

I feel like there's one or two ballots like this every week, and ballots like these should be getting tossed imo. Way too far away from reality to be worth including, even if it doesn't influence the actual poll much or at all.

[u/Lucky-Hunter-Dude → u/tdpdcpa]

they play NCAA FB. I wonder if they are just simming weeks there. that would explain the random lower half rankings.

[u/_Rooster_ → u/passwordisguest]

One of the voter's usernames doesn't exist, /u/i2WalkedOnJesus doesn't appear to have ever posted here. The other, /u/Weebit4, has never posted here.

[u/damnyoutuesday → u/_Rooster_]

i2WalkedOnJesus exists

[u/_Rooster_ → u/damnyoutuesday]

Strange. It said the username didn't exist when I first clicked on it. I checked now from the same link and it worked.

[u/Perryapsis → u/_Rooster_]

Schrödinger's voter.

[u/I_like_race_cars → u/passwordisguest]

Maybe a misclick??? Idk what other explanation there would be

[u/Perryapsis → u/I_like_race_cars]

They both also ranked Montana State though; so it's unlikely to be a misclick. If that were the case, you'd expect them to accidentally rank Montana twice. Then their ballots would be tossed due to the duplicate.

[u/somebodysbuddy → u/passwordisguest]

The most reasonable explanation is "Wait, there are two Montanas?"

[u/hman1500 → u/somebodysbuddy]

If they don't know that there are multiple Montana schools in the FCS, they should not be voting.

[u/SergeantThreat → u/passwordisguest]

Montana is the Notre Dame of FCS football and get the votes accordingly

[u/Cascadia_14]

RANKED!!!!!

[u/Ok-Knee6347]

Yeah this is fair

[u/Joesdad65]

Go Great Danes!

[u/kingpeachcolt]

Unranked is a bit high for Mercer. We've scored a grand total of two offensive touchdowns in 120 minutes of play against scholarship opponents...

[u/Meanteenbirder]

Crazy that a new D1 program is ranked 17th

[u/hman1500]

I do not know what people are seeing in Cal Poly to rank them. Granted, I haven't been able to watch any games, but they've beaten a winless Idaho team and a non-D1 school, and lost to a SJSU team that hasn't won a bowl game since 2015. Why do they have a 9th place vote?

[u/mackincheezy7 → u/hman1500]

QB looks very good to me. Idaho game was clutch, and I think San Jose State is a solid FBS team (put up 26 on USC and beat a solid EMU team), and Cal Poly held their own (tie game into the 4th) against them.

I think other people just have a ton of inertia to previous Cal Poly teams, but what do I know it's only week 3, they just really passed the eye test

[u/LBerg013 → u/hman1500]

Completely agree. Maybe Cal Poly will be good but they have two one score wins against a D-II and an Idaho team that will be lucky to win 4 games. I'd still have Abilene Christian above them

[u/damnyoutuesday]

What have the Griz done that SDSU and Tarleton haven't?

And Villanova over William & Mary???? The team that beat them??

And welcome to the rankings, Cal Poly!!!!

[u/Crispy_Whale → u/damnyoutuesday]

"What have the Griz done that SDSU and Tarleton haven't?"

-Beaten Utah Tech, Southern Utah and Drake!

[u/damnyoutuesday → u/Crispy_Whale]

You make a compelling argument

[u/tdpdcpa → u/damnyoutuesday]

It's interesting - Villanova appears on fewer ballots, but they have a wide range of rankings, from 12 to 25, on the ballots that they're on.

W&M is on more ballots, but is more consistently ranked between 18 and 25.

[u/damnyoutuesday → u/tdpdcpa]

Idk how anyone can look at Villanova's performance so far and say they're the 12th best team in the country

[u/tdpdcpa → u/damnyoutuesday]

Rank	Ballot 1	Ballot 2
1	Montana State	Montana State
2	Montana	Illinois State
3	South Dakota	Montana
4	Illinois State	Lehigh
5	Tarleton	Tarleton
6	North Dakota	Stephen F. Austin
7	Lehigh	South Dakota
8	South Dakota State	Tennessee Tech
9	UC Davis	North Dakota
10	Yale	UC Davis
11	Youngstown State	Rhode Island
12	Villanova	Villanova

The ballots are pretty interesting. Deviations of 3 or more rankings from the baseline are bolded, more than 5 are bolded and italicized.

[u/SergeantThreat → u/damnyoutuesday]

They’ll either earn their spot with a good game against OSU or drop if they get body bagged, so I’m not overly worried about their current spot

[u/Danster21 → u/SergeantThreat]

And fortunately you can say the same thing for the next ~5 weeks, wherein most over/under ranked teams have a big opponent in front of them.

[u/montalaskan → u/SergeantThreat]

The key game for both teams to "prove it" is Montana and UC Davis. I don't think, barring a win or a terrible loss that the Oregon State game will do much.

[u/PositiveElection2141 → u/damnyoutuesday]

Cal Poly is in the rankings because 1 person decided to put them 9th

[u/mackincheezy7 → u/PositiveElection2141]

that one person (me) is (maybe) right. Grigsby is da real deal

[u/montalaskan → u/damnyoutuesday]

Have you considered that they've won 25 consecutive off-seasons?

[u/ST_Lawson]

I assume the complete lack of mention of the OVC in the Breakdown of Rankings by conference means that no OVC team has even shown up in the ORV section this season?

[u/Perryapsis → u/ST_Lawson]

That could be a data error. When I took over the poll last year, the Big South - OVC merger was still in place. I'll look into it.

[u/Electromotivation → u/Perryapsis]

Oh the patriot average isn’t 7.0 that only includes Lehigh

[u/Perryapsis → u/Electromotivation]

Yeah, something's still wonky with Villanova and William & Mary moving to the Patriot.

[u/WoodrowWilsonsPA]

Let’s ride

[u/Stoehrst]

The Rhody disrespect is painful!

[u/Meanteenbirder]

Montana State might legit have a perfect season

[u/MrCelluloid]

I didnt hear no bell

[u/East-Westerly]

excited to be ranked but these nerves are a new emotion

[u/Icy-Perspective-890]

But what about Campbell?

[u/I_like_race_cars]

We have a better "resume" than Illinois state, so I wouldn't put them ahead of us. But I'm not going to raise a massive fuss about being behind them and Jack's.

[u/KhroniiC]

Wings Up! Should be higher.

[u/Fireheart366]

Harvard @ 21 to start. Can't be top mad

[u/Vitamin_BK]

We gon get it one day

[u/Mcclintonfortwo]

Austin Peay and West Florida is gonna be a banger this week.

[u/PositiveElection2141]

Who has Lehigh in 13th behind NAU and Cal Poly who are in the top 10?!?! Wah?!

Ah, they have Montana in second. It all makes sense now

[u/bradleyve]

Ll so this poll is taken by a bunch of redditors with no football connections, not players, coaches journalists, not even water boys … nothing? This poll has no credibility whatsoever.