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FCS Contenders Emerge as Tarleton State keeps #1 spot
The stunned silence from football fans in Brookings, South Dakota on Saturday night was much like that coming from LSU’s home crowd 1,200 miles to the south in Baton Rouge.
The South Dakota State Jackrabbits were taken to the proverbial woodshed by rival North Dakota State 38-7. The Bison shut down the Jackrabbits’ potent running game and snorted their way to a 31-7 halftime advantage as the hometown fans in South Dakota sat in shock.
North Dakota State retained the coveted “Dakota Marker” trophy for another year and improved to 8-0.
South Dakota State dropped to 7-1 and hope they will get another shot at NDSU in the FCS Playoffs which begin right after Thanksgiving.
Let’s quickly review the SwampSwamiSports.com Top 25 ranking methodology
The defending FCS champions from North Dakota State moved up to the #2 position in this week’s SwampSwamiSports.com FCS rankings. Most sports fans would award the top spot to the unbeaten Bison based on its recent history (and it has been glorious for NDSU) along with this year’s 8-0 start.
However, the 9-0 Tarleton State Texans have posted one more victory already this season.
The Texans went to West Point to start the season and roped a victory over the FBS Army 30-27.
Sure, Army is only 3-4 this season. It’s likely that this year’s North Dakota State team is quite capable of beating Army this season, too.
That’s exactly the point of my rankings.
North Dakota State was not able to find an FBS opponent to play this season. Nobody in the upper division wants to risk getting beaten by the Bison.
So, NDSU must keep winning, bide its time, and wait for the right moment in order to overcome Tarleton State.
The SwampSwami rankings give credit to the team with the most wins every week.
When your favorite team has a bye week, there is the chance that another team will play on that weekend, win, and zoom past your team in the standings in next week’s rankings.
The record of your opponents also matter. Scheduling and beating a series of cupcakes (sorry about that Tennessee Tech) means that an opponent playing tougher competition will receive more credit in the rankings.
Every week, I will review your FCS team’s won-loss record along with the updated records of the teams which your favorite team has played earlier in this season.
A win over a 3-1 team early in the season will be discounted if that team has faltered to 3-4 recently.
More weight will be given to a team when their “best win” of the season comes on the road, too.
North Dakota State’s curb-stomping of 7-1 South Dakota State on the road Saturday night vaulted the Bison from #6 last week into the #2 spot this week.
Likewise, Presbyterian’s first loss of the year (35-19 at Dayton) dropped the Blue Hose (now 7-1) from #2 to #7 this week. The 6-2 Dayton Flyers benefited from a victory over a 7-1 opponent. They vaulted from #24 last week into the #15 spot one week later.
Your favorite team can only beat the opponents on this year’s schedule, though.
Scheduling and beating tougher competition should count more in the rankings than a team whose wins have come over competition with weaker season records.
Would #2 (8-0) North Dakota State beat #1 (9-0) Tarleton State? Perhaps, but we must wait for the FCS playoffs in order to find out.
Wacky Races – Let’s review the Conference records heading into November
Big Sky – The Montana Grizzlies (8-0), the UC Davis Aggies (7-1) and Montana State Bobcats (6-2) are all a perfect 4-0 in the conference. Montana State faces an uphill climb to secure the conference title.
UC Davis will travel to Montana State to play the Bobcats on Saturday, November 15. A week later, Montana State hits the road to face intrastate rival Montana in the season finale on November 22.
Coastal Athletic Association (CAA) – The Rhode Island Rams (7-2) and Monmouth Hawks (7-1) are both undefeated in conference play.
Villanova lurks one game back in the CAA race at 5-1. Rhode Island has one tough road game remaining at 4-4 Maine on November 15. If they should stumble, Monmouth’s toughest remaining opponent should be a November 8 home encounter against 5-4 New Hampshire.
Ivy League – 6-0 Harvard is the lone unbeaten team in the Ivy League through last weekend.
The Crimson are trailed by one game in the Ivy League Conference standings by a quartet including Dartmouth (5-1), Yale (4-2), Penn (4-2), and Princeton (3-3). Harvard will host Princeton on November 15 and finish on the road with their annual battle against arch-rival Yale on November 22.
Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) – The MEAC waited until last weekend to begin conference action. Delaware State (5-3), South Carolina State (5-3) and Howard (4-4) posted opening week victories to tie for first place at 1-0.
The Delaware State Hornets appear to have a slight “home” edge. They will host both Howard (November 15) and South Carolina State (November 22) at their home stadium in Dover.
Missouri Valley Football Conference – North Dakota State’s win over previously unbeaten South Dakota State last Saturday put the Bison on top of the MVC standings, too.
NDSU is only ½ game ahead of intrastate rival University of North Dakota Fighting Hawks (6-2). The battle for state bragging rights in football happens Saturday, November 8 in Grand Forks (home of UND).
Northeast Conference – This is the only conference currently without a representative in my SwampSwamiSports.com FCS rankings.
This week’s top team in the Northeast Conference is Central Connecticut (5-3 overall and 3-0 in conference). The Blue Devils lead by one game over Duquesne (5-4) and Stonehill (3-5). Central Connecticut will host Stonehill on November 8 and must travel to Duquesne the following weekend on November 15.
Ohio Valley/Big South Alliance – Unbeaten and #8 ranked Tennessee Tech is off and running this season.
The Golden Eagles are 8-0 overall and 5-0 in conference play. Gardner-Webb (5-3) and UT-Martin (3-5) are one game behind in the conference standings. Tennessee Tech will host Gardner-Webb this Saturday at 12 Noon (ESPN+) and close the regular season on the road at UT-Martin on November 22.
Patriot League – Lehigh (8-0 and 3-0 in conference) and Lafayette (5-3 overall and 3-0 in the Patriot) are leading by one game over Georgetown (5-3 and 2-1 in conference action).
The Lehigh Mountain Hawks host the Georgetown Hoyas this Saturday (11AM on ESPN+). Lehigh will conclude its regular season on November 22 by visiting arch-rival Lafayette to battle the Leopards.
Pioneer Football League – The Drake Bulldogs from Des Moines, Iowa lead a very crowded group atop the Pioneer Football League this week.
Drake is 5-2 and 4-0 in conference play. Just one game behind is a trio of Dayton (5-2 and 4-1 in conference), Presbyterian (7-1 and 3-1 in the Pioneer), and Butler (5-3 overall and 3-1 in conference). The Drake Bulldogs travel to Butler this Saturday and must hit the road again to face Dayton on November 15. This conference race may come down the final week to determine a league champion.
Southern Conference (So-Con) – A three-way race is underway involving Mercer (6-1 and 5-0 So-Con), Western Carolina (5-3 overall but 4-0 in conference) and Chattanooga (4-4 and 3-1 in the league).
This week’s #12 ranked Mercer Bears have a “bear” of a schedule remaining. Mercer must travel to 5-3 Furman this Saturday (1PM on ESPN+), go to Western Carolina on November 8 and will return home for Chattanooga on November 15. That’s a tough finish!
Southland Conference – The surging Lamar Cardinals are 7-1 overall but remain in a three-way tie atop the Southland at 4-0 in the league.
The Southeastern Louisiana Lions (6-2 overall and 4-0 in conference) and Stephen F. Austin Lumberjacks (6-2 and 4-0 Southland) have a chance to grab the league’s crown, too. Lamar will face Southeastern LA at home on November 8 and then travel to Nacogdoches, Texas to face SFA the following Saturday on November 15.
Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC) – 5-3 Grambling’s road victory at Jackson State (now 7-2) last weekend left the SWAC wide open.
JSU fell into a four-way tie with Alabama State, Bethune-Cookman and Florida A&M. All have one loss in the SWAC’s Eastern Division. On the west side of the conference bracket, 7-2 Prairie View (4-0 in conference) leads by one game over 4-3 Texas Southern. The Panthers of Prairie View travel to 5-2 Alabama State this Saturday for a 2PM game which could have a major effect on the SWAC standings.
United Football Conference – Can anyone catch 9-0 Tarleton State?
The only team with a reasonable chance is Abilene Christian (4-4 overall but 3-1 in conference). Timing is everything, right? The Tarleton State Texans hit the road for a showdown with the Abilene Christian Wildcats this Saturday afternoon at 3PM (televised on ESPN+).
A total of 24 FCS football teams (conference champions plus at-large selections) are hoping to qualify for the playoffs and a chance to take home this season’s title in Nashville.
Let’s check out the SwampSwamiSports.com FCS Top 25 teams for the week ending Saturday, October 25, 2025:
The post FCS Contenders Emerge as Tarleton State keeps #1 spot appeared first on SwampSwamiSports.com.
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By SwampSwamiSports.comThe stunned silence from football fans in Brookings, South Dakota on Saturday night was much like that coming from LSU’s home crowd 1,200 miles to the south in Baton Rouge.
The South Dakota State Jackrabbits were taken to the proverbial woodshed by rival North Dakota State 38-7. The Bison shut down the Jackrabbits’ potent running game and snorted their way to a 31-7 halftime advantage as the hometown fans in South Dakota sat in shock.
North Dakota State retained the coveted “Dakota Marker” trophy for another year and improved to 8-0.
South Dakota State dropped to 7-1 and hope they will get another shot at NDSU in the FCS Playoffs which begin right after Thanksgiving.
Let’s quickly review the SwampSwamiSports.com Top 25 ranking methodology
The defending FCS champions from North Dakota State moved up to the #2 position in this week’s SwampSwamiSports.com FCS rankings. Most sports fans would award the top spot to the unbeaten Bison based on its recent history (and it has been glorious for NDSU) along with this year’s 8-0 start.
However, the 9-0 Tarleton State Texans have posted one more victory already this season.
The Texans went to West Point to start the season and roped a victory over the FBS Army 30-27.
Sure, Army is only 3-4 this season. It’s likely that this year’s North Dakota State team is quite capable of beating Army this season, too.
That’s exactly the point of my rankings.
North Dakota State was not able to find an FBS opponent to play this season. Nobody in the upper division wants to risk getting beaten by the Bison.
So, NDSU must keep winning, bide its time, and wait for the right moment in order to overcome Tarleton State.
The SwampSwami rankings give credit to the team with the most wins every week.
When your favorite team has a bye week, there is the chance that another team will play on that weekend, win, and zoom past your team in the standings in next week’s rankings.
The record of your opponents also matter. Scheduling and beating a series of cupcakes (sorry about that Tennessee Tech) means that an opponent playing tougher competition will receive more credit in the rankings.
Every week, I will review your FCS team’s won-loss record along with the updated records of the teams which your favorite team has played earlier in this season.
A win over a 3-1 team early in the season will be discounted if that team has faltered to 3-4 recently.
More weight will be given to a team when their “best win” of the season comes on the road, too.
North Dakota State’s curb-stomping of 7-1 South Dakota State on the road Saturday night vaulted the Bison from #6 last week into the #2 spot this week.
Likewise, Presbyterian’s first loss of the year (35-19 at Dayton) dropped the Blue Hose (now 7-1) from #2 to #7 this week. The 6-2 Dayton Flyers benefited from a victory over a 7-1 opponent. They vaulted from #24 last week into the #15 spot one week later.
Your favorite team can only beat the opponents on this year’s schedule, though.
Scheduling and beating tougher competition should count more in the rankings than a team whose wins have come over competition with weaker season records.
Would #2 (8-0) North Dakota State beat #1 (9-0) Tarleton State? Perhaps, but we must wait for the FCS playoffs in order to find out.
Wacky Races – Let’s review the Conference records heading into November
Big Sky – The Montana Grizzlies (8-0), the UC Davis Aggies (7-1) and Montana State Bobcats (6-2) are all a perfect 4-0 in the conference. Montana State faces an uphill climb to secure the conference title.
UC Davis will travel to Montana State to play the Bobcats on Saturday, November 15. A week later, Montana State hits the road to face intrastate rival Montana in the season finale on November 22.
Coastal Athletic Association (CAA) – The Rhode Island Rams (7-2) and Monmouth Hawks (7-1) are both undefeated in conference play.
Villanova lurks one game back in the CAA race at 5-1. Rhode Island has one tough road game remaining at 4-4 Maine on November 15. If they should stumble, Monmouth’s toughest remaining opponent should be a November 8 home encounter against 5-4 New Hampshire.
Ivy League – 6-0 Harvard is the lone unbeaten team in the Ivy League through last weekend.
The Crimson are trailed by one game in the Ivy League Conference standings by a quartet including Dartmouth (5-1), Yale (4-2), Penn (4-2), and Princeton (3-3). Harvard will host Princeton on November 15 and finish on the road with their annual battle against arch-rival Yale on November 22.
Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) – The MEAC waited until last weekend to begin conference action. Delaware State (5-3), South Carolina State (5-3) and Howard (4-4) posted opening week victories to tie for first place at 1-0.
The Delaware State Hornets appear to have a slight “home” edge. They will host both Howard (November 15) and South Carolina State (November 22) at their home stadium in Dover.
Missouri Valley Football Conference – North Dakota State’s win over previously unbeaten South Dakota State last Saturday put the Bison on top of the MVC standings, too.
NDSU is only ½ game ahead of intrastate rival University of North Dakota Fighting Hawks (6-2). The battle for state bragging rights in football happens Saturday, November 8 in Grand Forks (home of UND).
Northeast Conference – This is the only conference currently without a representative in my SwampSwamiSports.com FCS rankings.
This week’s top team in the Northeast Conference is Central Connecticut (5-3 overall and 3-0 in conference). The Blue Devils lead by one game over Duquesne (5-4) and Stonehill (3-5). Central Connecticut will host Stonehill on November 8 and must travel to Duquesne the following weekend on November 15.
Ohio Valley/Big South Alliance – Unbeaten and #8 ranked Tennessee Tech is off and running this season.
The Golden Eagles are 8-0 overall and 5-0 in conference play. Gardner-Webb (5-3) and UT-Martin (3-5) are one game behind in the conference standings. Tennessee Tech will host Gardner-Webb this Saturday at 12 Noon (ESPN+) and close the regular season on the road at UT-Martin on November 22.
Patriot League – Lehigh (8-0 and 3-0 in conference) and Lafayette (5-3 overall and 3-0 in the Patriot) are leading by one game over Georgetown (5-3 and 2-1 in conference action).
The Lehigh Mountain Hawks host the Georgetown Hoyas this Saturday (11AM on ESPN+). Lehigh will conclude its regular season on November 22 by visiting arch-rival Lafayette to battle the Leopards.
Pioneer Football League – The Drake Bulldogs from Des Moines, Iowa lead a very crowded group atop the Pioneer Football League this week.
Drake is 5-2 and 4-0 in conference play. Just one game behind is a trio of Dayton (5-2 and 4-1 in conference), Presbyterian (7-1 and 3-1 in the Pioneer), and Butler (5-3 overall and 3-1 in conference). The Drake Bulldogs travel to Butler this Saturday and must hit the road again to face Dayton on November 15. This conference race may come down the final week to determine a league champion.
Southern Conference (So-Con) – A three-way race is underway involving Mercer (6-1 and 5-0 So-Con), Western Carolina (5-3 overall but 4-0 in conference) and Chattanooga (4-4 and 3-1 in the league).
This week’s #12 ranked Mercer Bears have a “bear” of a schedule remaining. Mercer must travel to 5-3 Furman this Saturday (1PM on ESPN+), go to Western Carolina on November 8 and will return home for Chattanooga on November 15. That’s a tough finish!
Southland Conference – The surging Lamar Cardinals are 7-1 overall but remain in a three-way tie atop the Southland at 4-0 in the league.
The Southeastern Louisiana Lions (6-2 overall and 4-0 in conference) and Stephen F. Austin Lumberjacks (6-2 and 4-0 Southland) have a chance to grab the league’s crown, too. Lamar will face Southeastern LA at home on November 8 and then travel to Nacogdoches, Texas to face SFA the following Saturday on November 15.
Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC) – 5-3 Grambling’s road victory at Jackson State (now 7-2) last weekend left the SWAC wide open.
JSU fell into a four-way tie with Alabama State, Bethune-Cookman and Florida A&M. All have one loss in the SWAC’s Eastern Division. On the west side of the conference bracket, 7-2 Prairie View (4-0 in conference) leads by one game over 4-3 Texas Southern. The Panthers of Prairie View travel to 5-2 Alabama State this Saturday for a 2PM game which could have a major effect on the SWAC standings.
United Football Conference – Can anyone catch 9-0 Tarleton State?
The only team with a reasonable chance is Abilene Christian (4-4 overall but 3-1 in conference). Timing is everything, right? The Tarleton State Texans hit the road for a showdown with the Abilene Christian Wildcats this Saturday afternoon at 3PM (televised on ESPN+).
A total of 24 FCS football teams (conference champions plus at-large selections) are hoping to qualify for the playoffs and a chance to take home this season’s title in Nashville.
Let’s check out the SwampSwamiSports.com FCS Top 25 teams for the week ending Saturday, October 25, 2025:
The post FCS Contenders Emerge as Tarleton State keeps #1 spot appeared first on SwampSwamiSports.com.