We’re previewing key games and storylines each week during the college football season. Our FCS coverage is the home of the Top 25 media poll, FCS National Awards and much more.
C’mon, let’s be a little more understanding that even the best FCS teams have flaws this season.
No need to be judgmental, just let ’em show their flaws proudly, like the rest of us.
Maybe you spilled something on your shirt at breakfast and still decided to wear it all day. Who’s going to notice, right?
The big dent in your car door or taped-up window? The car still runs, so it’s all good.
Sometimes awkward in social settings, sure. Even Michael Myers could use a hug this week.
So, yeah, more Top 25 teams are going to lose games this week. Some team will turn the ball over a couple times (or six times – yeah, we noticed last week, Cal Poly). Some SWAC coach is going to throw his team under the bus.
Maybe for once, let all the flaws and tricks roll in with the treats, and simply recognize the FBS is going through the same craziness. And their teams get to count on wins whenever they play Sacramento State.
FCS Football Week 9 Preview & Predictions
Game of the Week: South Dakota at SDSU
A game this big deserves the ESPNU spotlight. Missouri Valley title race implications and FCS playoff positioning fill the storyline, and either No. 5 South Dakota State (6-2, 3-1) or No. 6 South Dakota (7-2, 4-1) could claim sole possession of first place by the end of their 120th rivalry matchup.
They’re two of five MVFC teams (out of nine) to be unbeaten at home this season, so the visiting Coyotes face an even tougher assignment in Brookings. In fact, during their Division I history, they’re 0-6 at SDSU, although they pushed the Jackrabbits to overtime in their last trip in 2024.
Second-and-10
1. For the USD-SDSU winner to take sole possession of first place in the MVFC, No. 4 Youngstown State (6-2, 4-1) would have to lose earlier on Saturday against No. 9 North Dakota (6-3, 3-2). Between the two games, the conference will be up to 10 Top 25 head-to-head matchups (six inside the Top 10) in a seven-week span. Add in No. 10 Illinois State (6-2, 2-2) this week and the conference has five Top 10 teams for the third time this season.
2. The CAA Football schedule-maker must have used sorcery to have the top six teams in the 13-team standings playing impactful games among themselves. They all have a noon ET kickoff: No. 18 Monmouth (6-2, 5-0) hosting Bryant (5-3, 3-1), No. 12 Campbell (7-1, 4-0) traveling to UAlbany (5-3, 3-1), and Stony Brook (5-3, 3-1) welcoming in Sacred Heart (3-4, 3-2). Out of the six, only UAlbany has won a CAA title – part of a three-team share during its 2023 national semifinalist season.
3. ETSU, the Southern Conference leader, will play the biggest game of coach Will Healy’s two seasons, when the No. 17 Buccaneers (6-2, 4-0) host No. 11 Tennessee Tech (7-1, 4-1). They’ve flipped the switch defensively, allowing just 6.3 points and 195.0 yards per game in their last three games – both are FCS lows in that time – and it’s all part of a five-game winning streak that’s the program’s longest since the 2021 SoCon title season. Linebackers Jarvis Johnson and Dre Delinois have anchored the stingy stretch.
4. Considering Saturday is Halloween, it’s a good thing Montana already exorcised its ghosts on Eastern Washington’s red turf two years ago, finally winning in its seventh attempt – a 52-49 track meet. The No. 14 Grizzlies (5-3, 3-2 Big Sky) have the most productive QB/RB/WR trio in the FCS in Keali’I Ah Yat, Eli Gillman and Brooks Davis, but they’ve surrendered 52, 49, and 42 points in their losses, including a pair leading into last week’s bye. Coach Bobby Kennedy hopes to have a healthier, steadier defense as it takes on incredibly productive EWU QB Nate Bell.
5. The Patriot League race was always expected to be deep, but seven teams deep at this point of the season? That’s how many are within one loss of first place after there were only three entering each of the last three weeks. Villanova has won two straight after a 1-2 start in the PL and ended Lehigh’s 17-game league winning streak, Lafayette also has back-to-back PL wins after an 0-2 start, and both Georgetown and Holy Cross have three straight league wins following 0-2 starts. The title race is one of the best in the FCS.
6. Top-ranked Tarleton State (8-0, 3-0 UAC) is hosting the program with the second-most appearances in FCS playoff history, but it’s going to take a lot for Eastern Kentucky (3-5, 2-1) to keep up with the Texans, the national leaders in offensive yards per game (506.0) and points per game (41.9, tied with Alcorn State). Conversely, EKU is averaging 18.3 points per game. Tarleton QB Kaden Anderson is tied for the FCS high with 24 touchdown passes (against just two interceptions) and the Tylan Hines-led rushing attack leads the FCS in yards per carry (6.5). Next week, coach Todd Whitten’s squad hosts UAC co-leader Abilene Christian, which has beaten the Texans in the last two seasons and four of five meetings since 2021.
FCS Longest Active Winning StreaksOverall8 – Stephen F. Austin, Tarleton State6 – Harvard5 – Campbell, ETSU, MonmouthHome13 – Montana State12 – Stephen F. Austin11 – PresbyterianRoad4 – Columbia, Monmouth, Stephen F. Austin, Tarleton State
— Opta FCS Football (@OptaAnalystFCS) October 25, 20267. The Magic City Classic between Alabama A&M (6-2, 3-1 SWAC) and Alabama State (4-3, 2-2) could again be the season’s biggest crowd. That’s been the case for four consecutive seasons, with the SWAC rivalry averaging 68,810 at Birmingham’s Legion Field in that time. ASU has won all four of those games, although A&M had won the previous four meetings. A&M may want to get its points by halftime because the Hornets have allowed only four touchdowns and a 5.6-point average in the second half – the lowest in all the FCS.
8. Howard (4-4, 1-0) was one of the three teams to win MEAC conference openers last week, and now it’s on to face one of the other two, North Carolina Central (3-5, 1-0). The Bison are the only team in the FCS to be perfect in an opponent’s red zone – 20 for 20 with 11 touchdowns and nine field goals. However, the season’s most-important score was not from the offense in the red zone, it was Ben Chandler IV going 87 yards on an overtime pick-6 to beat Morgan State 26-20 last Saturday. The Howard-NCCU matchup is part of another excellent MEAC schedule as Morgan State (5-3, 0-1) is home but facing a must-win against two-time defending champion South Carolina State (6-2, 1-0) and Delaware State (Desean Jackson) and Norfolk State (Michael Vick) are back at it at Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia for another reunion of former Eagles’ teammates.
9. The Southland Conference may need Lamar to do something no other team has done to date – win at UTRGV – if it’s going to have much a title race in November. It’s the only conference out of 13 in the FCS to have just one team within one loss of the first-place team – in this case the Cardinals (6-2, 4-1) behind No. 2 Stephen F. Austin (8-0, 5-0). UTRGV (4-4, 2-3) isn’t having as strong a season as its 2025 inaugural campaign, but the Vaqueros are 10-0 at Vackar Stadium in the two seasons. In their three home games this season, they’ve only allowed one touchdown and 13 points. Notably, SFA’s home winning streak is even longer than UTRGV’s at 12 as it gets set to host Houston Christian (4-4, 3-2).
10. As first-place Central Connecticut State (4-3, 3-0) seeks a third consecutive NEC Football title and FCS playoff appearance, it boasts the conference’s top-ranked offense, including a 34.4-point average that’s nearly 10 points better than the next-best team, Robert Morris. CCSU hosts those Colonials (4-4, 2-1) on Saturday, and that begins a four-game ending stretch against the NEC’s top four scoring defenses and the four teams just one loss behind in the standings. RMU has the conference tackle leaders in linebackers Amanuel Dickson and Jake Lopinto, and, in needing to keep up with CCSU offensively, the league’s top passing duo in Carson Haggard-to-Jaqai Carter.
FCS Football Week 9 – Top 25 Schedule
All games ET and on Saturday unless noted; Predicted winner in boldface
Last Week’s Record: 17-1 (.944); Season Record: 140-42 (.769)
No. 1 Tarleton State (8-0, 3-0 UAC): vs. Eastern Kentucky (3-5, 2-1), 7 p.m. (ESPN+) No. 2 Stephen F. Austin (8-0, 5-0 Southland): vs. Houston Christian (4-4, 3-2), 3 p.m. (ESPN+) No. 3 Montana State (7-1, 4-1 Big Sky): vs. Cal Poly (4-5, 3-3), 3 p.m. (ESPN+/Scripps) No. 4 Youngstown State (6-2, 4-1 MVFC): vs. No. 9 North Dakota (6-3, 3-2), noon (ESPN+) No. 5 South Dakota State (6-2, 3-1 MVFC): vs. No. 6 South Dakota (7-2, 4-1), 4 p.m. (ESPNU) No. 6 South Dakota (7-2, 4-1 MVFC): Oct. 31 at No. 5 South Dakota State (6-2, 3-1), 4 p.m. (ESPNU) No. 7 Northern Arizona (6-2, 4-1 Big Sky): Oct. 31 at Southern Utah (3-5, 2-3), 3 p.m. (ESPN+) No. 8 Austin Peay (7-2, 3-1 UAC): No game No. 9 North Dakota (6-3, 3-2 MVFC): at No. 4 Youngstown State (6-2, 4-1), noon (ESPN+) No. 10 Illinois State (6-2, 2-2 MVFC): vs. Murray State (1-7, 0-4), 2 p.m. (ESPN+) No. 11 Tennessee Tech (7-1, 4-1 Southern): at No. 16 ETSU (6-2, 4-0), 3:30 p.m. (ESPN+) No. 12 Campbell (7-1, 4-0 CAA): at UAlbany (5-3, 3-1), noon, FloSports) No. 13 Harvard (6-0, 3-0 Ivy): at Dartmouth (3-3, 2-1), 7 p.m. Friday (ESPNU) No. 14 Montana (5-3, 3-2 Big Sky): at Eastern Washington (2-6, 1-4), 4 p.m. (ESPN+/Scripps/SWX/MTN) No. 15 Lamar (6-2, 4-1 Southland): at UTRGV (4-4, 2-3), 8 p.m. (ESPN+) No. 16 Mercer (6-2, 3-1 Southern): vs. The Citadel (2-6, 0-4), 3 p.m. (ESPN+) No. 17 ETSU (6-2, 4-0 Southern): vs. No. 11 Tennessee Tech (7-1, 4-1), 3:30 p.m. (ESPN+) No. 18 Monmouth (6-2, 5-0 CAA): vs. Bryant (5-3, 3-1), noon (FloSports) No. 19 Lehigh (6-2, 4-1 Patriot): vs. Bucknell (1-7, 0-5), noon (ESPN+) No. 20 UC Davis (5-3, 3-2 Big Sky): at No. 22 Weber State (5-4, 4-2), 3 p.m. (ESPN+) No. 21 Richmond (6-2, 4-1 Patriot): at Holy Cross (3-5, 3-2), 1 p.m. (ESPN+) No. 22 Weber State (5-4, 4-2 Big Sky): vs. No. 20 UC Davis (5-3, 3-2), 3 p.m. (ESPN+/KMYU) No. 23 Idaho State (5-3, 2-3 Big Sky): at Utah Tech (1-7, 1-4), 3 p.m. (ESPN+) No. 24 Abilene Christian (4-4, 3-0 UAC): vs. West Georgia (1-7, 0-3), 4 p.m. (ESPN+) No. 25 South Carolina State (6-2, 1-0 MEAC): at Morgan State (5-3, 0-1), 7 p.m. Thursday (ESPNU/ ESPN Deportes)For more FCS coverage, follow on social media on X, Facebook, Instagram and Bluesky.
FCS Football Week 9 Preview & Predictions: It’s All Going to Sort Itself Out (Probably) Opta Analyst.
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