We should’ve known Week 5 of FCS football was going to be wild once we saw the No. 1 team in the country, Montana State, fall on Friday night as time expired. The Saturday that followed continued the madness as the No. 1 team in HBCU football, South Carolina State, also went down among multiple other upsets. It’ll all lead to a new No. 1 in this week’s rankings.
What happened
Before I give you my rankings for this week, here’s a quick recap of what happened.
Notable FCS ranked results (rankings via FCS Coaches Poll)
- No. 1 Montana State lost a stunner to a previously winless Idaho team 35-34.
- No. 2 South Dakota State defeated No. 11 Illinois State 31-14. It’s the second-ranked win of the season for the Jackrabbits and second straight loss for the Redbirds
- No. 5 Stephen F. Austin rallied from a six-point third-quarter deficit to defeat UIW 28-26.
- No. 8 Tennessee Tech lost 44-20 on the road to Western Carolina.
- No. 10 Youngstown State defeated No. 25 Southern Illinois 28-16.
- No. 12 South Carolina State — see below
- No. 19 Northern Arizona defeated No. 14 Idaho State, handing the Bengals their first FCS loss of the season.
- No. 22 Harvard remained undefeated with a 20-17 win over No. 20 Colgate.
Black College Football poll results
- No. 1 South Carolina State lost to The Citadel 34-31 on a game-winning field goal.
- No. 2 Jackson State defeated No. 5 Alabama A&M thanks to 21 fourth-quarter points in the Gulf Coast Challenge.
- No. 3 Alabama State was without starting quarterback Andrew Body again and lost to Bethune-Cookman.
- No. 4 Delaware State lost a nonconference clash to CAA team UAlbany.
- No. 6 Prairie View A&M lost to Mississippi Valley State, a team that lost to a Division II school this season.
- No. 7 Morgan State beat Villanova in the final minute.
- No. 9 Grambling State won a shootout over No. 8 Alcorn State, where 49 combined fourth-quarter points were scored.
- No. 10 Norfolk State lost to Robert Morris.
What does it all mean
It means that we’ll have a pair of number ones if all voters respond appropriately. It’s unlikely that any have Montana State or South Carolina State ranked atop their ballots, whether that’s the FCS Coaches Poll, Stats Perform Poll, or Black College Football Poll.
As a voter in the Stats Perform and Black College Football Polls, I think the answer to who should be the nation’s new top teams is obvious.
A new FCS No. 1
My first-place vote for the new top team in the FCS goes to South Dakota State. The Jackrabbits were No. 2 in both national polls, and the simple and easy move is to bump them up one spot.
The other two challengers for the nation’s top spot are Montana and Tarleton State, the No. 3 and No. 4 teams in both polls. However, when comparing resumes, SDSU prevails.
All three teams are undefeated against the FCS, but South Dakota State and Montana have FBS losses. Tarleton State has an FBS win over Bowling Green.
However, South Dakota State has the best wins against FCS competition, defeating two ranked opponents in Youngstown State and Illinois State. The Jackrabbits defeated the Redbirds without starting quarterback Chase Mason, further showing the talent of the entire team.
Tarleton State has zero ranked FCS wins, and its opponents have just a 5-13 record against FCS teams combined.
Montana picked up a dominant ranked win over UC Davis last week, but had a close call against Southern Utah in its opener and has just the 22nd-best strength of schedule to SDSU’s ninth-best SOS.
South Dakota State has proven itself against some of the FCS’ best teams, earning my No. 1 vote and likely the top spot in both polls come Monday.
A new HBCU No. 1
The unanimous No. 1 team in the Black College Football poll lost a nonconference game. The No. 3, 4, 5, 6, 8 and 10 ranked teams also lost in Week 5. The clear pick for No. 1 this week is Jackson State, as the highest-ranked team to win a game.
South Carolina State fans could argue that this is an HBCU poll, so the Bulldogs shouldn’t drop for losing to a non-HBCU on a game-winning field goal. However, that argument can go against SC State as a team without any MEAC games yet.
Moreover, Jackson State didn’t beat a scrub team to get the No. 1 spot. The Tigers rallied past the No. 5 team in the latest poll, thus earning their spot at the top as the final undefeated HBCU team remaining. JSU got my vote at the top, and it wouldn’t surprise me if they are another unanimous selection.
See my complete ballots for both the Stats Perform Poll and Black College Football Poll below.
| Rank | Team |
|---|---|
| 1 | South Dakota State |
| 2 | Montana |
| 3 | Tarleton State |
| 4 | Lehigh |
| 5 | Youngstown State |
| 6 | Stephen F. Austin |
| 7 | Austin Peay |
| 8 | North Dakota |
| 9 | Lamar |
| 10 | Montana State |
| 11 | South Dakota |
| 12 | Northern Arizona |
| 13 | Campbell |
| 14 | Idaho State |
| 15 | Harvard |
| 16 | Tennessee Tech |
| 17 | Richmond |
| 18 | Jackson State |
| 19 | Colgate |
| 20 | Illinois State |
| 21 | Southeastern Louisiana |
| 22 | Monmouth |
| 23 | South Carolina State |
| 24 | Mercer |
| 25 | West Florida |
| Rank | Team |
|---|---|
| 1 | South Carolina State |
| 2 | Alabama State |
| 3 | Jackson State |
| 4 | Delaware State |
| 5 | Prairie View A&M |
| 6 | Morgan State |
| 7 | Alcorn State |
| 8 | Howard |
| 9 | Alabama A&M |
| 10 | Texas Southern |
| 11 | Grambling State |
| 12 | North Carolina Central |
| 13 | Norfolk State |
| 14 | North Carolina A&T |
| 15 | Bethune-Cookman |
| 16 | Tennessee State |
| 17 | Arkansas-Pine Bluff |
| 18 | Southern |
| 19 | Florida A&M |
| 20 | Hampton |
| 21 | Mississippi Valley State |
Source: www.ncaa.com
