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.
Halloween is still over a week away yet here’s a scary thought for a lot of FCS teams, even some in the national rankings: The playoffs have arrived.
No, not the 24-team postseason.
The in-season playoffs.
As in teams in bunched standings that can’t afford to lose again if they’re going to claim or share a conference title and get to the actual playoffs, whose field will be announced on Nov. 22, or to the Celebration Bowl, in the case of the MEAC and the SWAC.
No, scratch that last one, the MEAC is just starting its conference race and the balanced SWAC-y, well, just about everyone may still be alive even with another loss.
But you get the idea heading into Week 8. A team may be playing well in October, but it may still have to overcome September to have meaningful games in November.
Just win, baby.
FCS Football Week 8 Preview & Predictions
Game of the Week: SE Louisiana at Stephen F. Austin
Southeastern Louisiana moved back into the Stats Perform Top 25 Poll at No. 23 after taking down Lamar in the Southland Conference. The Lions (4-3, 2-2) have a path ahead to get back to the playoffs, but with one huge caveat – they’ll need to hand second-ranked Stephen F. Austin (7-0, 4-0) its first loss.
Southeastern quarterback Kyle Lowe has a handful of weapons on an offense that averages 38.5 points in wins (with a plus-7 turnover margin). SFA, though, is allowing just 13.0 points per game, having just taken apart Nicholls 56-0 to match its 1995 squad for the best start in program history. Linebackers Malachi Williams and Eli Ennis (37 and 36 tackles, respectively) help anchor the unit.
Second-and-10
1. The Missouri Valley Football Conference has its eighth Top 25 head-to-head matchup (and fourth inside the Top 10) in a six-week span, with the winner of No. 6 North Dakota at No. 8 South Dakota – both 6-2 overall and 3-1 in the league – moving into a first-place tie with idle Youngstown State (6-2, 4-1). UND taking down No. 1 South Dakota State last Saturday underscored how outstanding the Fighting Hawks are inside their Alerus Center – a 4-0 mark this season and 38-7 in their last 45 games. However, in recent years, USD has been even better at the DakotaDome – also 4-0 this season, but 18-1 in the last three campaigns and 24-3 since 2023. The QB matchup is outstanding: UND’s Jerry Kaminski (1,742 passing yards, 21 TD passes) vs. USD’s Austyn Modrzewski (1,734, 22).
2. Third-ranked Montana State (6-1, 3-1 Big Sky) is back on track with a handful of key players having returned from injuries. The reigning national champion Bobcats gained the No. 1 spot in the FCS playoff committee’s Top 10 rankings this week. None of this is good news for No. 22 Weber State (5-3, 4-1), which just gained its first national ranking in more than two years. The Wildcats are winning shootouts behind the Nate Dahle-to-Kjar passing duo, as its 34.1 points per game allowed are the highest for any FCS team that’s at least two games above .500. The result particularly impacts Big Sky co-leader Northern Arizona (6-2, 4-1), which is idle.
3. First place in the Ivy League is on the line when No. 15 Harvard (5-0, 2-0) hosts resurgent Princeton (4-1, 2-0), which already has one more win than in each of the last two seasons. Princeton is ranked No. 1 in the FCS in scoring defense at 10.2 points per game, and the average drops to 7.5 during a four-game winning streak. That opponents have only six touchdowns in 16 trips to the red zone is outstanding efficiency by the Tigers defense. But no opponent has even scored a TD from outside the red zone as the longest score surrendered by the defense is 14 yards. Contributions abound, including from LBs Chase Christopher and Jake Moore (4.5 sacks) and cornerback Torian Roberts (interceptions, four pass breakups).
4. The Patriot League features a pair of particularly important games. Two-time defending champion Lehigh (6-1, 4-0) seeks to bounce back from its first regular-season loss in nearly two years (48-38 at Cornell) at Villanova (3-4, 2-2), which won last year’s second-round playoff matchup but needs to win out to have a chance to get back to the postseason. Colgate (4-3, 3-1) at No. 25 Richmond (5-2, 3-1) offers the chance to get back to first place (they’re rooting for Villanova), but the losing team will face an uphill climb for the playoffs given the PL has never had more than two qualifiers in a season.
Teams not in the current Top 25 after being nationally ranked in the preseason:Rhode Island (4-3), Villanova (3-4), Abilene Christian (4-4), Southern Illinois (3-5), Yale (3-2), UT Martin (3-4) and South Carolina State (5-2)How many will play in the postseason?
— Opta FCS Football (@OptaAnalystFCS) October 22, 20265. Like Villanova, Rhode Island was a preseason Top 10 team that’s trying to rally from a disastrous start. The Rams (4-3, 1-2) just won at then-No. 25 Yale as quarterback Alex McClelland was named CAA offensive player of the week (yes, McClelland can thank wide receiver Marquis Buchanan). They still own the longest active home winning streak (17) in the FCS with UAlbany coming to Pawtucket. Thoughts of winning out are viable because Rhody’s five remaining opponents are a combined 12-25, or a winning percentage (.324) that’s 12th-lowest among 128 FCS teams.
FCS Longest Active Winning StreaksOverall7 – Stephen F. Austin, Tarleton State5 – Harvard4 – Campbell, ETSU, Mercer, Monmouth, Princeton, Youngstown StateHome17 – Rhode IslandRoad4 – Columbia, Stephen F. Austin
— Opta FCS Football (@OptaAnalystFCS) October 18, 20266. The MEAC is set for a five-week sprint to the finish line. The last of the FCS conference schedules to kick off begins with four of the six teams above .500. South Carolina State (5-2) brings two consecutive titles and 11 straight conference wins into the mix as it hosts Norfolk State (4-3), which has three more wins than in coach Michael Vick’s debut last season. Delaware State (4-3) hosting North Carolina Central (2-5) gets it all started Friday night, and Morgan State (5-2) hosts Howard (3-4) as well. Some of the MEAC’s impressive nonconference wins are against Villanova (Morgan State), Stony Brook (Delaware State) Alabama A&M (Howard) and Furman (SCSU).
7. Three of the top five teams in the Pioneer Football League have never appeared in the FCS playoffs. Two of them are squaring off on Saturday as front-running Marist (4-3, 3-0) hosts St. Thomas (5-2, 2-1). While STTU leads the league in offensive yards per game (442.1) behind dual-threat QB Nick Peipert, Marist has allowed the fewest yards per game (335.3) behind safety Chase Hatton. Third-place Presbyterian (4-3, 3-1) sits in between the pair, already with a win over St. Thomas and a loss to Marist as it heads to Valparaiso while in pursuit of a first playoff bid. The PFL schedule is the best of the season as three-time defending champ Drake (2-5, 2-2) also hosts Butler (5-2, 2-1) and Dayton (5-1. 2-1) hosts preseason league favorite San Diego (3-4, 2-2).
8. Raise your hand if you thought Youngstown State’s Beau Brungard was leading FCS QBs in rushing yards. That’s a lot of hands. Brungard’s 1,468 rushing yards last season were the most by an FCS signal-caller since 2012, but the 2026 leader is Western Illinois’ Kennedy McGill, who’s gained over half of his 680 yards in his last two games. Ohio Valley Conference co-leader UT Martin (3-4, 2-0) offers a stiff test this week as it’s allowed only 81.6 rushing yards on average to FCS opponents.
9. After back-to-back seasons of only Mercer advancing to the playoffs, the Southern Conference is rebounding well with three Top 25 teams (No. 12 Tennessee Tech, No. 17 Mercer and No. 18 ETSU, which sits in first place) and postseason possibilities in Chattanooga and Wofford. What’s happened in conference play in recent seasons are the playoff contenders outside Mercer have beaten up on each other a little too much. It could start to happen again if up-and-down Western Carolina (3-0 at home and 0-4 on the road) knocks off visiting Chattanooga (4-3, 3-1), which has allowed just 8.0 points and 241.3 yards per game in its SoCon matchups. WCU has won the last four meetings, including 52-50 in 2023.
10. Four FCS teams remain winless: Towson at 0-8, and Northwestern State, Utah Tech and VMI 0-7 each. Towson has a bye this week, but it probably has the best chance to break through, given five of the Tigers’ losses are by seven or fewer points, and with Hampton (1-6) visiting on Oct. 31. All of the Utah Tech losses are by double digits, and its remaining Big Sky schedule is difficult, including at Cal Poly on Saturday. Northwestern State faces the same scenario in the Southland, but it’s coming off its closest loss (27-24 to McNeese) as it gets set to host Nicholls (2-5, but outscored 180-20 in a four-game losing streak). Three of the top four teams in the SoCon are up next for VMI, including front-running ETSU this week.
Percentages as of Thursday morning.FCS Football Week 8 – Top 25 Schedule
All games ET on Saturday; Predicted winner in boldface
Last Week’s Record: 15-7 (.682); Season Record: 123-41 (.750)
No. 1 Tarleton State (7-0, 2-0 UAC): at West Georgia (1-6, 0-2), 2 p.m. (ESPN+) No. 2 Stephen F. Austin (7-0, 4-0 Southland): vs. No. 23 Southeastern Louisiana (4-3, 2-2), 6 p.m. (ESPN+) No. 3 Montana State (6-1, 3-1 Big Sky): vs. No. 22 Weber State (5-3, 4-1), 3 p.m. (ESPN+/Scripps) No. 4 Youngstown State (6-2, 4-1 MVFC): No game No. 5 South Dakota State (5-2, 2-1 MVFC): vs. Murray State (1-6, 0-3), 3 p.m. (ESPN+/MidCo Sports 2) No. 6 North Dakota (6-2, 3-1 MVFC): at No. 8 South Dakota (6-2, 3-1), 2 p.m. (ESPN+/MidCo Sports) No. 7 Northern Arizona (6-2, 4-1 Big Sky): No game No. 8 South Dakota (6-2, 3-1 MVFC): vs. No. 6 North Dakota (6-2, 3-1), 2 p.m. (ESPN+/MidCo Sports) No. 9 Austin Peay (6-2, 2-1 UAC): at North Alabama (4-3, 1-1), 7 p.m. (ESPN+) No. 10 Illinois State (5-2, 1-2 MVFC): vs. Indiana State (2-5, 0-3), 3 p.m. (ESPN+) No. 11 Lehigh (6-1, 4-0 Patriot): at Villanova (3-4, 2-2), 3:30 p.m. (ESPN+) No. 12 Tennessee Tech (6-1, 3-1 Southern): at The Citadel (2-5, 0-3), 2 p.m. (ESPN+) No. 13 Campbell (6-1, 3-0 CAA): at Maine (1-6, 1-3), 1 p.m. (FloSports/FOX 22) No. 14 Montana (5-3, 3-2 Big Sky): No game No. 15 Harvard (5-0, 2-0 Ivy): vs. Princeton (4-1, 2-0), 3 p.m. (ESPN+) No. 16 Lamar (5-2, 3-1 Southland): vs. Houston Christian (4-3, 3-1), 4 p.m. (ESPN+) No. 17 Mercer (6-2, 3-1 Southern): No game No. 18 ETSU (5-2, 3-0 Southern): at VMI (0-7, 0-3), 1:30 p.m. (ESPN+) No. 19 Monmouth (5-2, 4-0 CAA): at Hampton 1-6, 0-3), 2 p.m. (FloSports/MNMT) No. 20 UC Davis (4-3, 2-2 Big Sky): vs. Northern Colorado (3-5, 2-3), 7 p.m. (ESPN+/KMAX/KQCA My 58) No. 21 Northern Iowa (3-3, 2-1 MVFC): at Southern Illinois (3-5, 1-3), 2 p.m. (ESPN+) No. 22 Weber State (5-3, 4-1 Big Sky): at No. 3 Montana State (6-1, 3-1), 3 p.m. (ESPN+/Scripps) No. 23 Southeastern Louisiana (4-3, 2-2 Southland): at No. 2 Stephen F. Austin (7-0, 4-0), 6 p.m. (ESPN+) No 24 Jackson State (6-1, 3-1 SWAC): at Bethune-Cookman (4-3, 2-1), 3 p.m. (ESPN+) No. 25 Richmond (5-2, 3-1 Patriot): vs. Colgate (4-3, 3-1), 2 p.m. (ESPN+)For more FCS coverage, follow on X, Facebook, Instagram and Bluesky.
FCS Football Week 8 Preview & Predictions: It’s the Playoffs Before the Postseason Opta Analyst.
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