Each week, throughout the college football season, fans, alumni, media and the teams themselves look to the Stats Perform FCS Top 25 Poll to see who is rising and moving within the national rankings. The new poll follows Week 6 games.
There were a handful of touted HBCU teams to begin the 2026 season – they weren’t shy about telling anyone – yet Morgan State never got into the conversation.
Now off to their best start in 17 years, the Bears have powered into the Stats Perform FCS Top 25 Poll at No. 24 – their first-ever appearance in the national media rankings.
On Saturday, coach Damon Wilson’s MEAC squad slipped past Robert Morris 28-27 with a last-minute touchdown to improve to 5-1. That surpassed last season’s win total, and the lone loss is to an FBS opponent, Arizona State.
The Bears finished 6-6 two years ago but haven’t had a winning season since 2014, when they went 7-6 and made the program’s only FCS playoff appearance. Since 2015, the MEAC champ advances to the Celebration Bowl instead of the playoffs.
Northern Iowa enters the rankings at No. 19 – the Panthers’ first appearance since Sept. 16, 2024. Monmouth (23) and Yale (25) return from earlier this season.
The Stats Perform FCS Top 25 Poll is released each Monday during the regular season and one day after the FCS championship game (Jan. 11 in Nashville, Tennessee). A first-place vote is worth 25 points, a second-place vote 24 points, all the way down to one point for a 25th-place vote.
Stats Perform FCS Top 25 Poll (Oct. 12)
1. South Dakota State (5-1, 2-0 MVFC)
Points: 1,420 (52 of 57 first-place votes); Previous Ranking: 1; Week 6: No game; Week 7: Oct. 17 at No. 11 North Dakota (2 p.m., ESPN+/MidCo Sports)
2. Tarleton State (6-0, 1-0 UAC)
Points: 1,371 (5); Previous Ranking: 3; Week 6: 40-32 win at then-No. 9 Austin Peay; Week 7: Oct. 17 vs. Central Arkansas (7 p.m., ESPN+)
3. Stephen F. Austin (6-0, 3-0 Southland)
Points: 1,202; Previous Ranking: 7; Week 6: No game; Week 7: Oct. 17 at Nicholls (4 p.m., ESPN+)
4. Lehigh (6-0, 4-0 Patriot)
Points: 1,201; Previous Ranking: 5; Week 6: No game; Week 7: Oct. 17 at Cornell (2 p.m., ESPN+)
5. Montana State (5-1, 2-1 Big Sky)
Points: 1,195; Previous Ranking: 6; Week 6: No game; Week 7: Oct. 17 at Eastern Washington (7 p.m., ESPN+/Scripps/SWX)
6. Youngstown State (5-2, 3-1 MVFC)
Points: 1,178; Previous Ranking: 8; Week 6: 57-24 win at Indiana State; Week 7: Oct. 17 vs. No. 19 Northern Iowa (6 p.m., ESPN+)
7. Montana (5-2, 3-1 Big Sky)
Points: 1,052; Previous Ranking: 2; Week 6: 49-44 loss at then-No. 13 Northern Arizona; Week 7: Oct. 17 vs. Idaho (3 p.m., ESPN+/Scripps)
8. Northern Arizona (5-2, 3-1 Big Sky)
Points: 1,026; Previous Ranking: 13; Week 6: 49-44 win over then-No. 2 Montana; Week 7: Oct. 17 vs. Portland State (7 p.m., ESPN+)
9. South Dakota (5-2, 2-1 MVFC)
Points: 986; Previous Ranking: 10; Week 6: 31-10 win over then-No. 25 Southern Illinois; Week 7: Oct. 17 at Murray State (5 p.m., ESPN+)
10. Lamar (5-1, 3-0 Southland)
Points: 890; Previous Ranking: 11; Week 6: 38-35 win over UIW; Week 7: Oct. 17 at Southeastern Louisiana (5 p.m., ESPN+)
11. North Dakota (5-2, 2-1 MVFC)
Points: 800; Previous Ranking: 4; Week 6: 24-17 loss at Northern Iowa; Week 7: Oct. 17 vs. No. 1 South Dakota State (2 p.m., ESPN+/MidCo Sports)
12. Austin Peay (5-2, 1-1 UAC)
Points: 755; Previous Ranking: 9; Week 6: 40-32 loss to then-No. 3 Tarleton State; Week 7: Oct. 17 at West Georgia (2 p.m., ESPN+)
13. Illinois State (4-2, 0-2 MVFC)
Points: 722; Previous Ranking: 12; Week 6: No game; Week 7: Oct. 17 at Southern Illinois (4 p.m., ESPNU)
14. UC Davis (4-2, 2-1 Big Sky)
Points: 670; Previous Ranking: 14; Week 6: No game; Week 7: Oct. 17 at Southern Utah
15. Tennessee Tech (5-1, 3-1 Southern)
Points: 644; Previous Ranking: 15; Week 6: 20-15 win over Furman; Week 7: Oct. 17 vs. Eastern Kentucky (2:30 p.m., ESPN+)
16. Campbell (5-1, 2-0 CAA)
Points: 596; Previous Ranking: 17; Week 6: No game; Week 7: Oct. 10 vs. Towson (3:30 p.m., FloSports/WITN/WRAL)
17. Harvard (4-0, 2-0 Ivy)
Points: 529; Previous Ranking: 18; Week 6: 41-29 win at Cornell; Week 7: Oct. 17 vs. Holy Cross (1 p.m., ESPN+)
18. Mercer (5-2, 2-1 Southern)
Points: 402; Previous Ranking: 20; Week 6: 17-14 win over Western Carolina; Week 7: Oct. 17 at Samford (7 p.m., Nexstar/ESPN+)
19. Northern Iowa (3-2, 2-0 MVFC)
Points: 380; Previous Ranking: 24; Week 6: 24-17 win over then-No. 4 North Dakota; Week 7: Oct 17 at No. 6 Youngstown State (6 p.m., ESPN+)
20. ETSU (5-2, 3-0 Southern)
Points: 312; Previous Ranking: 24; Week 6: 34-16 win at The Citadel; Week 7: No game
21. Idaho State (4-2, 1-2 Big Sky)
Points: 253; Previous Ranking: 16; Week 6: 25-24 loss to Cal Poly; Week 7: Oct. 17 at Weber State (3 p.m., ESPN+)
22. Colgate (4-2, 3-0 Patriot)
Points: 251; Previous Ranking: 23; Week 6: No game; Week 7: Oct. 17 vs. Georgetown (1 p.m., ESPN+)
23. Monmouth (4-2, 3-0 CAA)
Points: 121; Previous Ranking: NR; Week 6: No game; Week 7: Oct. 17 at New Hampshire (1 p.m., FloSports)
24. Morgan State (5-1)
Points: 116; Previous Ranking: NR; Week 6: 28-27 win over Robert Morris; Week 7: Oct. 17 at Tennessee State (6:30 p.m., ESPN+)
25. Yale (3-1, 1-1 Ivy)
Points: 104; Previous Ranking: NR; Week 6: 28-7 win over Dartmouth; Week 7: Oct. 17 vs. Rhode Island (noon, ESPN+)
Dropped Out: Richmond (19), South Carolina State (21), Jackson State (22), Southern Illinois (25)
Others Receiving Points (schools listed on two or more ballots)
Stony Brook (4-2, 2-0 CAA): 102; Richmond (5-2, 3-1 Patriot): 68; Jackson State (5-1, 2-1 SWAC): 39; South Carolina State (5-2): 24; West Florida (3-2, 1-2 UAC): 24; Cal Poly (4-3, 3-1 Big Sky): 22; Southern Illinois (3-4, 1-2 MVFC): 17; Abilene Christian (3-4, 2-0 UAC): 14; North Alabama (4-2, 1-0 UAC): 10; Grambling State (4-2, 2-1 SWAC): 8; Southeastern Louisiana (3-3, 1-2 Southland): 6; Weber State (4-3, 3-1 Big Sky): 6; Princeton (3-1, 1-0 Ivy): 2
Stats Perform FCS Top 25 Poll Voting Panel
Stats Perform: Craig Haley. Big Sky Conference: Riley Corcoran, Tyson Rodgers, Larry Weir. CAA Football: Roger Brown, Matt Harmon, Rob Washburn. Ivy League: JJ Klein, Craig Larson. Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference: Isaiah Green, Kendrick Lewis. Missouri Valley Football Conference: Kyle Grooms, Tom Miller, Randy Reinhardt. Northeast Conference: Sarah Boissonneault, Brian Cleary. Ohio Valley Conference: Mike Bradd, Kyle Schwartz, Mark Simpson. Patriot League: Bob Black, Eric Malanoski, Ryan Sakamoto. Pioneer Football League: Cody Bush, Larry Hansgen. Southern Conference: Scott Keeler, Andrew Miller, Ralan Wardlaw. Southland Conference: Matthew Bonnette, James Dixon, Anthony Goss. Southwestern Athletic Conference: Curtis Ford, Ronnie Johnson. United Athletic Conference: Claire Johnson, Benjamin Ray, Jake Withee. National Representatives: Sean Anderson, Stan Becton, Taylor Blue, Zack Carlton, Gene Clemons, Joe DeLeone, Matt Dixon, Steven J. Gaither, Sam Herder, Emory Hunt, Kyle Kensing, Brandon Lawrence, Zach McKinnell, Jon Passman, Omar Rashon Borja, Ryan Roberts, Timothy Rosario, Kent Schmidt, Phil Sokol, Reggie Thomas, Ralph Ventre, Jamie Williams.
Bear Alert: Morgan State Earns First Ranking in Stats Perform FCS Top 25 Poll Opta Analyst.
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