The 2025 FCS football season ended with a Nashville party, and it’s getting an encore, so we’re already looking at how perennial contenders will pound their chests again and conference title races will stay red hot. It’s never too early to put it together with a 2026 Top 25 ranking.
If you’ve noticed the same conferences and teams keep making it to the FCS championship game, take heart – at least a new state was thrown into the mix this past season.
Make no mistake, though, the national championship discussion doesn’t feel much different heading toward the 2026 season.
For once, though, North Dakota State may not be the favorite.
In the last five seasons, NDSU (two), South Dakota State (two) and 2025 champ Montana State have combined on all the titles as well as three runner-up finishes, with the 2023 Montana and – thank you, Prairie State – 2025 Illinois State squads also finishing as runners-up.
That’s only the Big Sky and Missouri Valley conferences, of course – a scenario that feels likely again in a never-too-early FCS Top 25 rankings and outlook for the 2026 season.
Can you hear the opening whistle? All roads lead to Jan. 4, 2027 in Nashville, Tennessee.
Says Craig Haley: “There’s quality depth across the FCS, so let’s extend out the rankings to keep a close eye on Top 25-caliber teams in ETSU, West Georgia, UTRGV, UIW, Southeastern Louisiana, New Hampshire, Harvard, Northern Arizona and Western Carolina.”Big Sky Conference (13 Teams)
A playoff meeting between Montana State and Montana just may become a regular occurrence. The national champion (and two-time defending Big Sky champion) Bobcats return a ridiculously strong nucleus, including quarterback Justin Lamson, running back Adam Jones, the Dowler twins – wide receiver Taco and safety Caden – and All-American offensive lineman Titan Fleischman. They’ve reached the season’s final game in three of coach Brent Vigen’s first five seasons. But the Grizzlies counter with the offensive Big Three of QB Keali’I Ah Yat, RB Eli Gillman and WR Brooks Davis as well as linebacker Peyton Wing.
UC Davis will have a vastly different look following back-to-back appearances in coach Tim Plough’s first two seasons, while Northern Arizona and Idaho State have talented QBs in Ty Pennington and Jordan Cooke, respectively. In FCS conference realignment, Southern Utah returns to the Big Sky following a four-year departure, bringing Utah Tech along for the fun, with Sacramento State off to seek an FBS golden ticket.
CAA Football (13 Teams)
The CAA will take a step backward as FCS semifinalist Villanova and William & Mary join Richmond in the Patriot League, although former NEC Football power Sacred Heart enters off an 8-4 independent season. Defending champ Rhode Island, which will play 2026 home games in Pawtucket, still boasts the passing combo of Devin Farrell to Marquis Buchanan, and LBs Moses Meus and Rohan Davy are coming off 100+ tackle seasons. Monmouth has its second all-time head coach in Jeff Gallo following Kevin Callahan’s retirement after 33 seasons. The Hawks are motivated from being left on the playoff sideline, and QB Frankie Weaver ended his freshman season with 11 TD passes to zero interceptions in the final three games. Add UAlbany (Tom Perkovich), Hampton (Van Malone) and New Hampshire (Sean Goldrich) to Monmouth and the CAA membership has the most head coaching changes in the FCS.
Ivy League (8 Teams)
Yale landed the Ivy League’s first-ever automatic bid to the playoffs, then came from 28 points down to beat Youngstown State 43-42 in the first round. The return of QB Dante Reno and safety Abu Kamara, the league’s 2025 defensive player of the year, warrants the Bulldogs being favored over fellow playoff qualifier Harvard (there’s also this little thing called a four-game winning streak in their heated rivalry). But the Crimson will have an experienced lineup despite QB Jaden Craig’s departure, including RB Xaviah Bascon, WR Brady Blackburn, LB Sean Line (2025 leading tackler) and DB Damien Henderson. Penn had quite the coaching hire in luring New Hampshire royalty Rick Santos away from the CAA program.
Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (6 Teams)
Reigning Celebration Bowl champion South Carolina State didn’t lose a MEAC game in coach Chennis Berry’s first two seasons with the Bulldogs, and they will remain strong at running back, led by Tyler Smith, and in the defensive front seven, including LB Jordan Franklin. Delaware State had an FCS-high seven-game improvement in coach DeSean Jackson’s first season, but the Hornets’ FCS-leading rushing attack will have a complete rehaul. Among programs that have competed in the last four FCS seasons, North Carolina Central has the seventh-best winning percentage (35-12, .745).
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2 weeks ago Craig HaleyMissouri Valley Football Conference (10 Teams)
Even without having a national champion (12 since 2011), the MVFC had three more ranked teams (with seven) and playoff qualifiers (six) than any other conference. North Dakota State and South Dakota State are still the headliners, of course. The Bison need Nathan Hayes to continue their lineage of top QBs, with the returning nucleus also boasting WR Jackson Williams, OL Griffin Empey, defensive tackle Keenan Wilson, LB Donovan Woolen and S Darius Givance. Jackrabbits QB Chase Mason will remain protected by OL Quinten Christensen and Shane Willenbring while again distributing the ball to WR Lofton O’Groske and tight end Greyton Gannon, and their defense returns it leading tacklers in LBs Joe Ollman and Cullen McShane.
National runner-up Illinois State is replacing QB Tommy Rittenhouse, but the new starter (an FBS drop-down transfer?) will lean on RB Victor Dawson and WRs Dylan Lord and Luke Mailander, while two-time first-team FCS All-America LB Tye Niekamp will build on his 346 career tackles. There’s incredible talent behind center with Walter Payton Award recipient Beau Brungard of Youngstown State, DJ Williams of Southern Illinois and Jerry Kaminski of North Dakota. At South Dakota, CB Mikey Munn shuts down receivers, and RB Charles Pierre Jr. is expected back from injury.
NEC Football (9 Teams)
With Sacred Heart gone and Saint Francis nearing a 2026 drop to Division III, you will have to go back to 2012 to find the last current NEC member besides Central Connecticut State or Duquesne to appear in the playoffs. CCSU, which has been competitive in first-round losses against Rhode Island the last two seasons, is replacing a lot, although All-America CB Chris Jean brings a veteran presence to a potential junior-led lineup. Duquesne appears solid in the skills position, including RB Ness Davis off a breakout season, and it’s added influential DL transfers Edmari Binion (Colorado State) and DaShawn Fields (Morgan State). Notably, LIU (6-6, 4-3) is coming off its best FCS record. Chicago State is scheduled to play a start-up season, but its matchups against NEC opponents will not count in the standings. Always competitive, the NEC had the closest conference matchups of the 2025 FCS season.
OVC-Big South Football Association (8 Teams)
With 2025 champ Tennessee Tech moving to the Southern Conference, UT Martin is the team to beat in the joint league. It will be tough to stop the Skyhawks’ rushing attack with dual-threat QB Aidan Glover and RB Markellus Bass transferring in from the JUCO level to join RBs Tommy Ansley and Chris Franklin. Incredibly, the last eight Southeast Missouri seasons have resulted in either four wins (four times, including 2025) or nine wins (four times). Cole Ruble is coming off the team high in all-purpose yards and QB Johnny Weber returns off five starts, but transfers must bolster the lineup. Notably, Lindenwood handed losses to UTM and SEMO last season, and its offensive weapons (RBs Steve Hall and Jared Rhodes and WR Jalen Smith) will drive defenses bonkers. The Lions tied for third with Gardner-Webb, which will have a different look under Kris McCollough, its third different coach in a four-season span. Quarterback Cole Pennington finished strong, but a lot depends on RB Carson Gresock’s potential transfer.
Patriot League (10 Teams)
Oh, how the PL has the potential to be a regular multiple-bid league in the playoffs. Lehigh is a two-time defending champion, having beaten Richmond in the 2024 playoffs just before the Spiders moved into the league, then falling to Villanova in the 2025 playoffs before the Wildcats come aboard with William & Mary. Lehigh, which had an unbeaten regular season, will still boast RB Luke Yoder, the PL offensive player of the year, veteran QB Hayden Johnson and a strong secondary. Villanova will pound the run with Ja’briel Mace and Isaiah Ragland. The Wildcats’ season opener is against – drum roll, please – William & Mary, which will be strong in the trenches, but needs to fill out the offensive skills position. Lafayette, after surprising with a 6-1 league record, has been hurt by the transfer portal, but a new QB will have plenty of passing options. Every Richmond result in its 3-4 PL debut was decided by seven or fewer points.
Pioneer Football League (11 Teams)
Drake has been the outright champion in three consecutive seasons and figures to remain the favorite in coach Joe Woodley’s second season with veterans such as PFL defensive player of the year Sean Allison, fellow LB JR Flood and DB Garrison Codde – the team’s top three tacklers – plus QB Logan Inagawa. Still, the 2025 title race was competitive, with Dayton and San Diego – the programs with the most PFL titles – clearly back in the mix. Presbyterian figures to fall back from contender status after a coaching change led to QB Collin Hurst’s transfer. The PFL has unbalanced scheduling, but Butler is saddled with facing all of the other teams that went .500 or better in the league.
Southern Conference (10 Teams)
The addition of Tennessee Tech increases the chance of the SoCon getting back to multiple playoff qualifiers – it’s only been Mercer for two consecutive seasons – but the top teams have sustained key transfer losses in addition to the usual graduation. Instead of supplementing their roster like last year, coach Bobby Wilder’s Golden Eagles are replacing 40-50 players. The reload will include former Southeast Missouri QB Jax Leatherwood. Mercer is coming off the SoCon’s first back-to-back titles this decade, but new coach Joel Taylor’s first season doesn’t include many returnees with significant playing time, with the transfer losses including Jerry Rice Award-winning QB Braden Atkinson and Buck Buchanan Award-winning DE Andrew Zock. But Taylor will load up on transfers, including from the West Georgia program that finished 8-3 under him. Western Carolina has been knocking at the door with three straight seven-win seasons, and while it most explosive offensive ever will lose QB Taron Dickens, there are key returnees in WR AJ Colombo, DB Ken Moore Jr. and all-purpose Patrick Boyd Jr. ETSU has an under-the-radar pair back in RB Jason Albritton and TE Charlie Browder, and Chattanooga, Furman and Wofford are always talented. Basically, it’s good luck with navigating a treacherous conference schedule.
Southland Conference (10 Teams)
This will be a deep title race. After national quarterfinalist Stephen F. Austin lost an excellent senior class, its leading returnees start up front with SLC offensive lineman of the year Erik Gray. But there’s also All-America punt returner Bugs Mortimer, potential breakout WR Clayton Wayland, LB Malachi Williams and CB Mike Patterson. Additionally, RB Lontrell Turner has transferred over from UIW. Lamar appears talented enough to win its first conference title since 1971, returning QB Aiden McCown as well as a potentially stout D-line with Peyton Christian and Kei’Trone Simpson. Southeastern Louisiana is reloading off a playoff appearance behind the rushing of QB Kyle Lowe and RBs Deantre Jackson and Calvin Smith Jr., while the door is open for UTRGV to potentially break through following a 9-3 debut. The Vaqueros defense will be the strength with LB Jaiden Haygood and DL Ian Box, which is saying a lot considering there’s also a high-scoring offense, which will have QB Aidan Jakobsohn or FBS drop-down Garret Rangel at the controls. UIW, which tied for the FCS’ second-biggest decline in going from 11 wins in 2024 to just five, seeks to get back on track against a difficult schedule, with well-traveled FBS drop-down QB TJ Finley making an offseason commitment.
Southwestern Athletic Conference (12 Teams)
The top three SWAC teams were crazy close in 2025: Jackson State stopped Alabama State at the goal line for a four-point win; ASU won by three at Prairie View A&M; and PVAMU claimed the conference championship game by two at JSU. Jackson State, bolstered by the largest home crowds in the FCS, tends to reload the best, and it’s already gained 25+ transfer commitments in addition to returnees such as QB Jared Lockhart. Along with Lockhart, Prairie View A&M RB Chase Bingmon shared top SWAC freshman honors, and he will help power coach Tremaine Jackson’s lineup. Speaking of rising sophomores, Alabama State QB Te’Sean Smoot finished strong after SWAC offensive player of the year Andrew Body suffered a season-ending injury. The coaching carousel often spins in the SWAC, and this offseason, it’s been at Florida A&M (Quinn Gay) and Southern (Marshall Faulk).
United Athletic Conference (7 Teams)
The UAC has become a consistently strong conference with five playoff qualifiers over the last two seasons, but it will be down to seven members following the loss of Southern Utah and Utah Tech to the Big Sky. Defending co-champ Tarleton State will have influential additions, including QB Braedyn Locke (Arizona), RB Miequle Brock Jr. (Nicholls) and DeAndre Buchannon (West Georgia). Abilene Christian, a two-time defending champ, had unexpected defections in LB Rashon Myles Jr. and RB Rovaughn Banks Jr., although it’s strong up front with OL Landon and Luke Roaten, center Colter Lynch and TE Itty Henry. Austin Peay returns one of the FCS’ more productive QBs in Chris Parson as well as OL Joshua Sales Jr., TE Jackson Head and DB Ellis Ellis Jr. The big coaching addition in the conference is at West Georgia with former Presbyterian mentor Steve Englehart, and he’s wisely brought QB Collin Hurst with him.
FCS Independents (2 Teams)
Alonzo Carter is the new coach at Sacramento State, where talk has outweighed recent performance. Running back Jamar Curtis returning for another season is a plus for the Hornets. Merrimack went 4-8 last season, but it included a win over NEC champ CCSU. The Warriors have to replace dual-threat QB Aiden Pereira, perhaps with Nevada transfer Anthony Wolter.
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Craig Haley’s Never-Too-Early FCS Top 25 Rankings and Outlook for the 2026 Season Opta Analyst.
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