A convincing speech, an adjustment in scheme, a refocusing of coaches and players – they can all be a part of halftime. Using whatever works, the better FCS football teams tend to outscore opponents in the third quarter. Here’s who doing it best in the 2025 season.
The top two nationally ranked teams in FCS football were facing surprisingly close games at halftime of their road conference assignments last Saturday.
Time to send out the upset alerts?
Hardly, if you knew No. 1 North Dakota State and No. 2 South Dakota State well. After all, they were coming out of halftime when the action resumed in the third quarter.
NDSU, up 10-7 at Indiana State, forced a turnover on the first play from scrimmage, scored a touchdown on the second play, added another score midway through the quarter, and was on its way.
SDSU, up 14-7 at Murray State, got a quick-strike touchdown in the first 1 minute, 11 seconds of their second half and had all the breathing room it would need.
NDSU won by 31 points; SDSU by 21.
Winning the third quarter is a telling sign with many of the more successful FCS teams. It can reflect strong coaching as well as a team that makes the necessary changes while in the locker room.
In the 2025 FCS season, all but one of the top 15 teams in third-quarter scoring margin – points scored against points allowed – have winning records, including seven of the eight unbeaten teams remaining. Stony Brook (3-4) is the exception.
FCS Football 2025: Best Point Differential in Third Quarter
1. Tarleton State (8-0): +79 (102 scored, 23 allowed) 2. Tennessee Tech (7-0): +78 (98, 20) 3. North Dakota State (7-0): +58 (65, 7) 4. South Dakota State (7-0): +51 (59, 8) 5. Sacred Heart (5-3): +50 (57, 7) 6. Alabama A&M (4-3): +46 (87, 41) 7. Stephen F. Austin (5-2): +43 (60, 17) 8. William & Mary (4-3): +41 (81, 40) 9. Stony Brook (3-4): +38 (66, 28) T10. Lehigh (7-0): +37 (73, 36) T10. Montana (7-0): +37 (66, 29) T10. Montana State (5-2): +37 (51, 14) T10. Presbyterian (7-0): +37 (53, 16) T10. Yale (3-2): +37 (57, 20) 15. Illinois State (4-3): +36 (60, 24)Four of those programs were also in the FCS top 10 of third-quarter scoring margin last season: national runner-up Montana State (+88); South Dakota State (+73); national champion North Dakota State (+51); and Montana (+46).
Going further back, South Dakota State has been in the top 10 in every season since the 2020 campaign (played in spring 2021). North Dakota State has done the same in every season since 2021.
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