Our FCS football coverage is the home for the Top 25 media poll, FCS National Awards and much more. Here’s a review of the Week 2 games.
Play-by-play announcer Ben Creighton said it best during the closing minutes of regulation of No. 2 South Dakota State’s 30-24, double-overtime thriller over No. 3 Montana State.
“What else would you want from a top-three showdown in the FCS?” he stated as much as questioned.
Not much, of course. And the same can be said about the fast start to the 2025 FCS season between the thrillers, upsets and FBS hunting.
Here’s a review of Week 2 across FCS football:
Montana State Just Short Against SDSU
Montana State, the 2024 FCS runner-up, continues to chase both reigning champion North Dakota State and South Dakota State. The defending Big Sky champion Bobcats have won 35 of their last 37 home games, but the losses are to those two Missouri Valley Football Conference powers that have split the last four national titles.
Montana State came up just short against SDSU (2-0) in the biggest nonconference game of the FCS season – literally a couple of inches short. The Bobcats’ possession in the second OT ended just shy of the Jackrabbits’ 5-yard line and allowed the visitors to depart with a hard-fought win Saturday night.
The Stats Perform FCS Game of the Week even surpassed expectations by going the distance and beyond. After both teams scored touchdowns in the first overtime, SDSU opened the second extra session with Brayden Delahoyde catching a 25-yard score up the middle from Chase Mason (his third TD pass). The Bobcats gained a first down on their possession, but Julius Davis was stopped for no gain on 4th-and-1.
Montana State probably won’t drop too far down in the FCS Top 25 despite its 0-2 record. But the Bobcats have some catching up to do with their nemeses in the MVFC.
“Well, all you can do is go back to work,” Bobcats coach Brent Vigen said. “I know there’s another opportunity next week. I said early in the week that this wasn’t going to make us or break us, but it was an important game to gauge where we’re at.”
(For more of the big results in Week 2, here’s the FCS Top 25 Scoreboard)
Bryant, LIU Gain First FBS Wins
Bryant and LIU doubled this season’s FCS-over-FBS win total to four with their first-ever triumphs over the upper tier of Division I.
Bryant (1-1) slipped past UMass 27-26 on Bryce Soli’s 25-yard field goal as time expired. Coach Chris Merritt’s team got big performances from quarterback Brennan Myer (318 yards, three TD passes) and linebacker Brandon Perkins (14 tackles, two tackles for loss).
Not long after, LIU finished off a 28-23 triumph at Eastern Michigan. QBs Luca Stanzani and Ethan Greenwood both rushed for two TDs for Ron Cooper’s squad.
Second FCS-over-FBS win of the night and fourth of the season:LIU (1-1) 28, Eastern Michigan (0-2) 23Sharks gain first FBS win in program, and the third in Northeast Conference history. QBs Luca Stanzani and Ethan Greenwood: 2 TD runs each @EMUFB pic.twitter.com/zO2E6BNm1q
— Opta FCS Football (@OptaAnalystFCS) September 7, 2025Montana, Villanova Win Openers
The only non-Ivy League teams that had yet to kick off their seasons before Saturday were nationally ranked Montana and Villanova. Both opened with wins.
Sixth-ranked Montana overwhelmed Division II Central Washington 42-17 with Eli Gillman (15 carries, 198 yards, three TDs) and Eastern Washington transfer Michael Wortham (240 all-purpose yards, TD catch).
Nicholls transfer quarterback Pat McQuaide fueled No. 13 Villanova past Colgate 24-17. He was 18 of 28 for 299 yards and a touchdown, and he also rushed for a score.
Impressive Road Wins Come in Pairs
When you talk about the most impressive starts to the season, Presbyterian and West Georgia have to be included in the conversation. Both are 2-0 and have done it on the road.
Presbyterian walked it off in overtime 39-38 at Furman, making it two straight wins over Southern Conference teams following last week’s triumph at defending champ Mercer. Collin Hurst passed for five touchdowns and a 2-point pass to tight end Nathan Levicki to end OT. The Blue Hose from the non-scholarship Pioneer Football League have won six straight games since last season.
West Georgia, in just its second season following a move up from Division II, clearly likes 34 as a point total, following up a 34-3 win at Samford with a 34-10 victory at No. 22 Nicholls. The Wolves rushed for 341 yards, including Latrelle Murrell with 170, in their first ranked win on the D-I level.
YSU’s Brungard sets MVFC Record
Catch him if you can – or not.
Youngstown State junior Beau Brungard set the Missouri Valley Football Conference single-game record for rushing yards by a quarterback with 264 in a 56-17 victory over Robert Morris. His huge performance came on just 10 carries, and four went for touchdowns (a Penguins’ QB mark), while also he completed 12 of 16 passes for 122 yards and a TD.
Combined with YSU’s season-opening win over Mercyhurst, Brungard has 38 carries for 409 yards and six TDs.
Around FCS Nation
First-year coaches gaining their first wins ran rampant in Week 2: Alabama A&M’s Sam Shade (41-31 over Alcorn State); Butler’s Kevin Lynch (37-27 over Truman State); Delaware State’s DeSean Jackson (37-32 over UAlbany); Idaho’s Thomas Ford Jr. (37-30 over St. Thomas); Norfolk State’s Michael Vick (34-31 over Virginia State in OT); North Dakota’s Eric Schmidt (50-20 over Portland State); and Stetson’s Mike Jasper (59-13 over Warner).
No. 1 North Dakota State (2-0) 59, Tennessee State (1-1) 3NDSU’s Barika Kpeenu: 3 TD runsBison advantages: (433-131 yards; 24-4 first downs)TSU FG with 4:05 left averted shutout@NDSUFootball pic.twitter.com/CtBlAdil26
— Opta FCS Football (@OptaAnalystFCS) September 6, 2025Top-ranked North Dakota State nearly posted a second consecutive shutout win to open the season, but Tennessee State kicked a field goal with 4:05 left in a 59-3 blowout. Since 2007, the only FCS teams to open with back-to-back shutout wins were the 2016 Chattanooga and 2021 Princeton squads. … One week after a 38-0 loss to NDSU, The Citadel handled Samford 40-13 in the SoCon opener. The Bulldogs forced five turnovers and Javonte Graves-Billups caught six passes for 139 yards and two touchdowns.
Derek Robertson passed for a school-record six touchdowns, including three to Josh Derry, in No. 21 Monmouth’s 49-28 win at Fordham. Robertson also had a TD run. … No. 17 Tennessee Tech is 2-0 for the first time in 13 years after topping Chattanooga 45-17. Kekoa Visperas passed for two touchdowns and Aidan Littles scored on both a run and a catch. The Golden Eagles’ seven-game winning streak is the longest in the FCS after Jackson State fell at Southern Miss 38-20. … Both starting quarterbacks stood out as No. 10 Idaho (1-1) held off St. Thomas 37-30. Idaho’s Joshua Wood accounted for 368 yards of total offense and four TDs; the Tommies’ Andy Peters was 343 and three, respectively.
Ninth-ranked Rhode Island won 31-17 at Stony Brook to improve to 2-0 in CAA Football. The Rams offset Seawolves running back Roland Dempster (201 scrimmage yards, TD) with a 300-yard passer (Devin Farrell, 305), a 100-yard rusher (Antwain Littlejohn Jr. (122) and a 100-yard receiver (Aboraa Kwarteng, 114). … New Hampshire (2-0) edged Holy Cross 19-16 when Nick Reed converted his fourth field goal from 40 yards as time expired. He also connected from 50, 33 and 30 yards. Adding to the special teams excellence, Cameron Garner-Young blocked a kick for the second consecutive game. … Towson won the Battle for Great Baltimore in dramatic fashion as John Dunmore’s 18-yard TD catch with 28 seconds left pushed the Tigers (2-0) past Morgan State 27-22.
In a head-to-head meeting of ranked teams, No. 16 Abilene Christian defeated No. 25 Stephen F. Austin 28-20, scoring all of its points in the middle two quarters. Defensive end Kaghen Roach scored on a fumble recovery. … Tarleton State’s Victor Gabalis threw five TD passes in the No. 5 Texans’ 59-3 rout of Mississippi Valley State. … Matt Colombo scored from 3 yards out in overtime to lift San Diego past No. 24 Southern Utah 27-24.
Key FCS vs. FCS Games in Week 3North Dakota at MontanaSouthern Illinois at UT MartinSoutheast Missouri at North Dakota StateNorthern Arizona at Southern UtahLehigh at DuquesneEastern Washington at Northern IowaRhode Island at Holy CrossLafayette at GeorgetownElon at…
— Opta FCS Football (@OptaAnalystFCS) September 7, 2025Top photo, from left, from West Georgia (Benjamin Lilley), South Dakota State (Dave Eggen/Inertia), Montana State (Brian Morse) and Bryant Athletics.
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FCS Football Week 2 Review: Jackrabbits Edge Montana State in a Classic; Two More Upsets of the FBS Opta Analyst.
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