Bam! The FCS national title picture begins on the defensive side of the ball. As the 2026 season takes shape, here are three defenses that will flex among the best.
There’s an adage in sports: Offense wins games, but defense wins championships.
No truer words have been spoken in FCS football than the last 15 years.
Yes, watching high-flying passing attacks put up 300-plus-yard passing performances or sophisticated, multi-read rushing offenses befuddle competition en route to massive amounts of yards is enjoyable.
But at this level, champions are not made on offense alone. Only teams that are among the best defensively have been claiming the FCS championship.
The start of modern-day defense of excellence.
To cap the 2011 season, North Dakota State defeated Sam Houston in the FCS championship game. Both teams were two of the best defensive teams in the country.
NDSU ranked 20th nationally in total defense while Sam Houston was fourth, but the Bison allowed 12.7 points per game and Sam Houston 14.9 as they ranked 1 and 2, respectively, in the FCS. Their 17-6 defensive slugfest gave NDSU its first of 10 FCS championships and defined the elements of a defense that future teams would need to reach the title game.
Over the next decade and a half, two defensive factors revealed a path to the championship: scoring defense and total defense.
Keep the yards low and the points off the board.
Scoring defense is so important because if an opponent can’t score, they can’t win the game.
Many FCS champions over the last 15 years were stingy with the points throughout the regular season, and that thriftiness served them well once they entered the playoffs. Last season, the eventual champion Montana State Bobcats entered the playoffs ranked seventh in scoring defense, surrendering a paltry 17.2 points on average, before they weathered four top-40 scoring offenses in the postseason.
In 2022 and 2023, on their way to back-to-back national championships, the South Dakota State Jackrabbits were about as dominant as any FCS defense could be over consecutive seasons. During their first title run, they ranked third in scoring defense and second in total defense. The next season, they were first in both scoring defense and total defense, allowing 9.3 points and 257.2 yards per game.
That’s a level of dominance even North Dakota State could not lay claim to during its two separate multi-year stints of defensive greatness.
Who are the potential dominant defenses in 2026?
Since 2011, 13 of the teams crowned FCS champions have boasted a defense that was top 10 in either total defense or scoring defense, and in 10 of those years, they were top 10 in both.
The question becomes who has that DNA in them this season to play that type of defense?
Here are three possibilities, with each nationally ranked team entering the season holding down the top three spots in Opta’s defensive TRACR (Team Rating Adjusted for Conference and Roster) metric. Here’s the TRACR leaderboard that will update throughout the season.
South Dakota State Jackrabbits
The Missouri Valley Football Conference program remains the gold standard for modern defensive efficiency in the FCS. Last season, in what they would consider a down year, the Jackrabbits’ 21.9 ppg allowed gave them the 25th-ranked scoring defense out of 129 FCS teams and their 319.4 yards allowed per game was good for 13th in total defense. The depth in their front seven, coupled with a defensive identity that relies on discipline and structure, makes it difficult for opposing offenses to have success moving the ball.
Additionally, SDSU’s commitment to a punishing, ball-control offense allows it to eat game clock and keep the ball away from opposing offenses. This, in turn, helps the Jacks defense by limiting opportunities for the opposition and allowing them to play fresher and usually with a lead.
Last season, they suffered through injuries that really derailed their normal efficiency.
The Jackrabbits, who have the FCS’ longest active run of consecutive winning seasons at 14, return six starters, including five in the front seven (linebackers Joe Ollman and Cullen McShane paced the team in tackles) and over a dozen key contributors from the 2025 defense. They’ve also added high-level talent with accolades from Division II and other FCS programs to bolster what should be an extremely deep unit once again.
Montana State Bobcats
Of course, the defending FCS champions would be on this short list as they look to repeat this season. Their defense was a lot more stingy in the regular season than they were in the playoffs, but they were still good enough to get the job done in the end and secure their first national title in 41 years.
This season, the Bobcats have one of the more experienced rosters in the country, returning 14 starters overall and well over 35 regular contributors. Their starters are evenly distributed throughout the defense, with two returners on the line, two at the linebacker position and three in the secondary. Safety Caden Dowler leads the way as the Big Sky Conference’s reigning defensive player of the year.
The Bobcats have superb depth at running back and a dual-threat quarterback, Justin Lamson, who also can eat up yardage on the ground. Mix that with veteran offensive linemen who know how to move bodies, and this is a high-powered offensive unit that can not only put pressure on opposing defenses to stop them, but pressure on opposing offenses to keep up.
That allows the Bobcats defense to stay fresh and to apply pressure to opposing offenses when necessary.
Lehigh Mountain Hawks
Lehigh had a perfect regular season and finished 12-1 last year while having one of the best defenses in the country. They ranked second in scoring defense (13.9) and fourth in total defense (278.0). The Mountain Hawks proved to be dominant in the Patriot League, and their defense should be out to prove they will once again be among the best in the FCS.
This season, they are buoyed by five returning defensive starters and four more returning contributors (notably, the offense returns eight starters). Although they’ve lost talented players, there’s still a nice nucleus of defensive players and pieces to fill out any areas they believe are thin. Their calling card is stopping the run – No. 1 nationally last season – and now that defensive coordinator Rich Nagy has been promoted to head coach, don’t expect that identity to change anytime soon.
While Lehigh stops the run at a high clip, it also runs the ball extremely efficiently, which allows their offense to keep the ball away from opponents and gives them the chance to control time of possession. Safety Nick Peltekian returns from an injury-plagued season, and he led the team in tackles in 2023, then in interceptions in 2024 while earning first-team all-league honors.
Lehigh appears in great position with the advancement of the Patriot League to have another outstanding regular season and perhaps gain a favorable path along the Road to Nashville come this postseason.
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Immovable Objects: Three FCS Defenses That Have Championship DNA Opta Analyst.
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