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.
Teams are supposed to make their biggest improvement between their first and second games, right?
Some FCS football teams didn’t need to after opening performances in Week 0 two weeks ago.
Others forgot to listen to the advice come their follow-up in Week 1 last week.
It’s on to Week 2 – you know, the third week of action (the term Week 0 is going away next year, right?) – and teams are starting to take shape into what they are this season.
There are FBS matchups (37, in fact), Top 25 games, rivalry meetings and, well, plain ‘ol FCS fun on tap once again this week.
FCS Football Week 2 Preview & Predictions
FCS Game of the Week: William & Mary at Lehigh
Now paired together in the Patriot League, No. 16 William & Mary and No. 9 Lehigh, the league’s two-time defending champion, will meet for the first time since 1992.
The Stats Perform FCS Game of the Week is a Top 25 matchup in the Patriot League:No. 16 William & Mary at No. 9 LehighKendra Sheehan previews the Week 2 showdown. pic.twitter.com/qAKvpq7yXT
— Opta FCS Football (@OptaAnalystFCS) September 9, 2026The visiting Tribe have forced an FCS-high 10 turnovers in two games – just two fewer than all of last season. Their kicker, Max Lipinski, leads the FCS in field goals (eight) and kicking points (27), although the Mountain Hawks will counter with running back Luke Yoder and his national highs for touchdowns (seven) and points (42).
Second-and-10
1. Last Saturday’s three FCS-over-FBS wins were predicted in the preseason. Now comes the No. 1 opportunity on the list: top-ranked Montana State (2-0) at Nevada (1-0, 49-14 over Western Kentucky), which is coached by former Bobcats mentor Jeff Choate. The defending FCS champions bring a school-record 16-game winning streak into their first matchup against Nevada since 1996, and they’re a betting-line favorite. They’ve ranked in the FCS top 10 for rushing yards per game in each of their six seasons from 2019-25 (no 2020 campaign), but this year, they have over 300 passing yards in back-to-back games for the first time since 2015.
FCS Longest Active Winning StreaksOverall16 – Montana St10 – South Carolina St8 – Alabama St6 – Idaho State, Wofford4 – ElonHome15 – Rhode Island11 – South Carolina St10 – Abilene Christian, Montana StRoad10 – Illinois St8 – Lehigh6 – Villanova5 – Montana St
— Opta FCS Football (@OptaAnalystFCS) September 9, 20262. Montana State’s Taco Dowler is off to an outstanding start this season, including a 24.8-yard average on his first six punt returns. With 1,539 yards on 113 career punt returns, he’s on pace to surpass the FCS all-time record of 1,668 yards, set by Hampton’s Marquay McDaniel on 116 returns from 2002-05.
3. Make that both national finalists to be favored against FBS opponents this week. Fifth-ranked Illinois State (2-0) visits a Northern Illinois squad that brought 2025 Walter Payton Award runner-up Taron Dickens (Western Carolina) off the bench in its 40-0, season-opening loss to Iowa. Redbirds running back Victor Dawson, who was injured in Week 0, showed he’s healthy with a pair of touchdowns in last week’s 41-10 win at Western Illinois – their FCS-leading 10th in a row on the road.
4. A SWAC program hasn’t posted an FBS win since coach Eddie Robinson led Grambling State past Oregon State 23-6 on Sept. 28, 1985 in Shreveport, Louisiana. Alabama State (2-0), the SWAC team that came closest to one last year (52-42 at UAB), takes its shot again with a veteran squad traveling the hour downstate to Troy (1-0), which edged Sam Houston 24-21 in its opener. Hornets quarterback Andrew Body, who accounted for 431 yards of total offense and five touchdowns against UAB, will make his fifth career start against an FBS team (with action in another FBS game while at Texas Southern).
5. Beside William Mary at Lehigh, No. 13 Stephen F. Austin (2-0) travels to No. 23 Abilene Christian in the week’s other Top 25 matchup. Eight of their last 10 meetings since 2018 have ended as one-possession results, including SFA’s 41-34 win in the second round of the 2025 FCS playoffs. The Lumberjacks, the defending Southland champions and playing their 100th season of football, are seeking their first 3-0 start since 2004.
6. Two defending champions are not easing into conference play this week. Eighth-ranked Rhode Island (2-0) from CAA Football has won 15 straight home games, but this year, it’s in its home away from home in Pawtucket as it gets set to host Elon, (2-0), which was picked third in the conference’s preseason poll. URI’s all-conference QB Devin Farrell has yet to play this season following offseason foot surgery. Two-time defending SoCon champ and No. 18 Mercer (2-0) has a stiff test from Furman (1-1), which has featured a new standout defensive end in Wingate transfer Eli Lipscomb opposite 2025 Buck Buchanan Award runner-up Joshua Stoneking, who’s always facing double-teams.
7. Campbell may want to petition to compete for the SoCon title given it already has strong wins over ETSU and Western Carolina, but the Camels might be primed in coach Braxton Harris’ third season to compete in the CAA title race and secure an FCS playoff bid for the first time. They’re 16th in FCS TRACR and the third team ranked outside the Stats Perform FCS Top 25 Poll. Quarterback Braxton Sixkiller has passed for four TDs and rushed for three more, while on defense, Stonehill transfer Charles Battaglia has a team-high 17 tackles and fellow linebacker AJ Benton is coming off CAA defensive player of the week. But there’s a road block in the way this week – the Florida Gators.
8. Richard Duren was UIW’s athletic director when he scheduled a four-year series with Northern Arizona, which began in 2024, and he’s now a part of the series (a 1-1 split to date) from the other side as NAU’s AD. UIW is seeking a statement road win in coming off a bye following its program record for points in a 76-14 rout of Oklahoma Panhandle State. Meanwhile, the 24th-ranked Lumberjacks (1-1) are trying to solidify the offensive line for standout QB Ty Pennington, whose has made both the first two starts against UIW and totaled 533 passing yards and four touchdown passes without an interception.
9. Nonconference rivalries are always a big part of the September schedule. Fresh off its FBS win at Charlotte, The Citadel (1-1) welcomes in Charleston Southern (0-2) from a mere 17 miles away. The “War for the Wheel” also takes center stage as Southeast Missouri (1-1) crosses the Mississippi River (not by boat, like early in the series) to take on Southern Illinois (1-1). It’s a 4-4 tie since the ship wheel’s trophy was introduced to the series. North Carolina A&T (0-2) and host North Carolina Central (1-1) also have to decide which team will pour on the points. Since 2016, NCCU has won five of the nine meetings and N.C. A&T has scored two more points (254 to 252), but the closest margin has been 14 points and the average has been nearly 28 (including four scores with differences of 42+ points).
10. Eastern Washington (1-1) at No. 11 South Dakota (2-0) will mark the first time in a Division I game that both teams wear helmet decals that feature Indigenous languages. Each EWU decal will have a Salish phrase that translates to a “group of eagles,” while USD’s decal will read Sungmanitu, which is Lakota for Coyote. Also notably, UNI will retire the jersey of former quarterback Kurt Warner in a ceremony before the Panthers (0-1) host Drake (0-2). The two-time NFL MVP will be in attendance, alongside his family, to be recognized with a banner bearing his name and number 13 jersey.
FCS Football Week 2 – Top 25 Schedule
All games EST as well as Saturday unless noted; Predicted winner in boldface
Last Week’s Record: 21-3 (.875); Season Record: 37-9 (.804)
No. 1 Montana State (2-0, 1-0 Big Sky): at Nevada (0-1), 10:30 p.m. (CW Sports) No. 2 South Dakota State (1-1): vs. New Haven (1-1), 7 p.m. (Midco/KELO/ESPN+) No. 3 Montana (2-0, 1-0 Big Sky): vs. Utah Tech (0-2, 0-1), 3 p.m. (ESPN+/MTN) No. 4 Tarleton State (2-0): at McNeese (1-1), 7 p.m. (ESPN+) No. 5 Illinois State (2-0): at Northern Illinois (0-1), 7 p.m. (MW+) No. 6 North Dakota (2-0): at Portland State (0-2), 10 p.m. (ESPN+) No. 7 UC Davis (2-0, 1-0 Big Sky): at SMU (1-0), 4 p.m. (ACCNX) No. 8 Rhode Island (1-1): vs. Elon (2-0), noon (FloSports) No. 9 Lehigh (2-0, 2-0 Patriot): vs. No. 16 William & Mary (2-0, 1-0), 2 p.m. (ESPN+) No. 10 Youngstown State (1-1): vs. Duquesne (0-1), 2 p.m. (ESPN+) No. 11 South Dakota (2-0): vs. Eastern Washington (1-1), 2 p.m. (ESPN+/Midco) No. 12 Tennessee Tech (2-0): vs. Samford (0-2), 7 p.m. (ESPN+) No. 13 Stephen F. Austin (2-0, 2-0 Southland): at No. 23 Abilene Christian (0-2), 8 p.m. (ESPN+) No. 14 Lamar (1-1): at Idaho (0-2), 4 p.m. (ESPN+/SWX) No. 15 Austin Peay (1-1): vs. Morehead State (1-1), 5 p.m. (ESPN+) No. 16 William & Mary (2-0, 1-0 Patriot): at No. 9 Lehigh (2-0, 2-0), 2 p.m. (ESPN+) No. 17 Idaho State (2-0): vs. San Diego (0-1), 6 p.m. (ESPN+) No. 18 Mercer (2-0): vs. Furman (1-1), 6 p.m. (ESPN+) No. 19 Yale (0-0): No game No. 20 West Florida (2-0, 1-0 UAC): No game No. 21 Villanova (1-1, 1-1 Patriot): at Louisville (0-1), 7 p.m. Friday (ACC Network) No. 22 South Carolina State (2-0): vs. Virginia State (2-0), 6 p.m. (ESPN+) No. 23 Abilene Christian (0-2): vs. No. 13 Stephen F. Austin (2-0), 8 p.m. (ESPN+) No. 24 Northern Arizona (1-1, 1-0 Big Sky): vs. UIW (1-0), 5 p.m. (ESPN+) No. 25 Harvard (0-0): No gameTop photo, from left, via Lehigh Athletics, AP Photos, Alabama State Athletics and Illinois State Athletics. For more FCS football coverage, follow at X, Facebook, Instagram and Bluesky.
FCS Football Week 2 Preview & Predictions: Upsets Possibilities, Strong Schedule Await Opta Analyst.
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