Week 1 FCS Top 25 Ballot
With the first full weekend of college football complete, your humble author has submitted his latest ballot for the FCS STATS Top 25.
Perhaps more so in the Football Championship Subdivision than in the FBS, the initial few weeks of the season are particularly difficult to navigate for polling purposes. Schedules deviate wildly with the bevy of cross-subdivision matchups.
In general — albeit with some exceptions that I have noted below — I try not to dock teams for losing to FBS opponents; in some instances, I reward teams for their losses to FBS competition.
Anyway, this was particularly difficult. I did not include East Tennessee State, which beat an SEC opponent by three touchdowns. Vanderbilt could also be headed to a winless season, though, so it’s tough to put too much stock (now) into that win vs. Montana’s defensive grindfest defeat of a Washington team plenty of folks expect to win the Pac-12 North.
Sam Houston
My philosophy on the defending champs: So long as they play well and don’t lose, they are No. 1 until someone snatches their chain. The Bearkats traveled to one of the highest elevations in college football at Northern Arizona and played better the longer the game went.South Dakota State
The Jackrabbits just might be the team to beat for the 2021 national championship. They came a play away from winning it all in the spring, and despite losing quarterback Mark Gronowski, somehow looked even better on offense. Running back Pierre Strong is as explosive a ball-carrier as there is in FCS, and the SDSU offensive line is nasty. The Jacks shoved Colorado State around effortlessly in a three-touchdown rout.
James Madison
Dukes head coach Curt Cignetti called JMU’s first-half performance against Morehead State “embarrassing.” They responded to a lackluster start hanging an absurd 51 points in the second half.North Dakota State
Virginia Tech transfer quarterback Quincy Patterson was OK in his debut, but didn’t need to channel Trey Lance. The Bison wore down a talented UAlbany offense, most notably limiting Karl Mofor to 21 yards rushing.Montana
In the upset of the week, Montana went into Husky Stadium and beat Washington at its own game. This was vintage Griz football, reminiscent of the hard-nosed teams in the ‘90s and 2000s that regularly competed for national championships.Delaware
The Fightin’ Blue Hens looked ready to blow out CAA opponent Maine on Thursday, going ahead 17-0, but Delaware had to rally after giving up 21 unanswered points. Coming back after letting a lead slip away on the road is weirdly impressive in a way different from just cruising, but also exposes some vulnerability to a UD team that’s something of mystery after an outstanding spring.Montana State
Here we have the first team I ranked — and highly at that — despite a loss. The Bobcats gave Wyoming everything it could handle in Laramie, which in some ways says more about them than if they’d crushed a patsy. Wyoming is a good team that I suspect wins in the neighborhood of eight games.Richmond
In both of my ballots thus far, I’ve been higher on Richmond than other pollsters. The Spiders just snuck into the rankings this week at No. 25; I see a legit contender to reach Frisco, hence my top-10 vote of confidence. Coming into the season, I had more questions about the offense than defense, and the offense played better than the D in a Week 1 rout of Howard. Credit first-year playmaker “Hollywood” Jasiah Williams for adding another dimension with dual-threat quarterback Joe Mancuso and Swiss Army Knife back Aaron Dykes.Weber State
Like Montana State, I didn’t ding fellow Big Sky Conference favorite Weber State too much for a Week 1 loss against an FBS opponent. In the Wildcats’ case, they played likely Pac-12 South contender Utah almost neck-and-neck for three quarters.Villanova
Had Mark Ferrante not let off the gas, Villanova could have realistically threatened to score 70 in a rout of Lehigh. While it’s difficult to gauge how good Lehigh will be in the Patriot League, the improvement of Villanova’s defense from the spring (and at times from 2019) bodes well for the Wildcats’ playoff prospects.Southern Illinois
A breakout spring season wasn’t without question marks for SIU — most notably, the consistency of its offense. With quarterback Nic Baker throwing for four touchdowns and 460 yards in a rout of SEMO, the Salukis looked quite a bit more consistent than in the spring.North Dakota
I suspect Bubba Schweigert and his staff were conservative with the playbook against an overmatched Idaho State; even so, talented running back Otis Weah still went for two touchdowns and 113 yards, a promising start to a potential Walter Payton Award-contending season.Northern Iowa
Like Montana State, UNI showed a ton in defeat. Mark Farley’s workmanlike Panther teams have a knack for playing Iowa State close, if not upending them. But given that tradition continued with the Cyclones coming in ranked in the top 10 and tabbed as a potential College Football Playoff crasher, Northern Iowa having a crack at derailing those prospects right out of the gate while stifling the ballyhooed Cyclones offense in a one-score decision.UC Davis
A newcomer to my ballot, and making a massive jump right not the fray, UC Davis went into Tulsa and beat a team that came one field goal away from playing in last year’s Peach Bowl. While not the same Golden Hurricane squad — Zaven Collins probably deserved to be a Heisman finalist last year and he’s gone for the NFL — it’s still a landmark win for the Aggies.Eastern Washington
For those keeping score at home, that’s now five Big Sky teams in the top 15. Eastern Washington is always in the mix to win that conference, and it started the pursuit of the 2021 championship with a road win at UNLV.VMI
The Keydets’ breakthrough into the Playoffs last spring doesn’t look like a fluke tied into a shortened season. VMI’s air-raid offense dumped 45 points on a good Davidson that also made the Playoffs last season. Keep an eye on the Keydets in Week 2 against Kent State; the Golden Flashes played hard and looked good at Texas A&M, but the physical toll taken from a road SEC game might leave them prone against VMI’s quick-strike offense.Missouri State
Another team that impressed in defeat, Missouri State’s momentum from a strong finish to the spring carries over into the fall. The Bears played Oklahoma State to a one-score game in Week 1, starting Bobby Petrino’s second season at the helm on a strong note.Southeastern Louisiana
Reigning Walter Payton Award winner Cole Kelley did light-work in a 49-28 rout of North Alabama, throwing for three touchdowns and 263 yards. He rushed for a fourth touchdown.Austin Peay
The Governors scored 14 unanswered in the late-third and fourth quarters to knock off then-No. 18 Chattanooga. While Austin Peay is likely to lose in Week 2 traveling to Ole Miss, I fully anticipate the Govs putting up more of a fight than Louisville did on Monday.Central Arkansas
A rough fourth quarter doomed Central Arkansas at Arkansas State, but the Bears were down just six points through three quarters against an FBS opponent. Quarterback Breylin Smith threw two touchdowns, and he’ll be one to watch in a marquee FCS matchup with Missouri State this coming Saturday.Sacred Heart
The defending NEC champions are flying under the radar. After giving Delaware fits in the first round of the spring Playoffs, the Pioneers brought the same tandem of tough defense and potent run game to blank Bucknell, 21-0. Julius Chestnut rushed for a leisurely 170 yards in three quarters.Murray State
Preston Rice scored four rushing touchdowns in a 35-0 rout of Mississippi Valley State, the last FCS opponent Murray State will see until Oct. 2.Rhode Island
Quarterback Kasim Hill has shown flashes of being one of the most dangerous playmakers in FCS. Can he sustain it? If so, Rhode Island is a quiet threat in the CAA. Saturday’s game against UAlbany is a biggie; I like the winner to make the Playoffs.Alabama A&M
Undefeated in the SWAC a season ago, A&M opened its fall campaign with a thrilling, 42-41 win over a preseason MEAC favorite, South Carolina State.Jacksonville State
This one was the toughest choice I made; ETSU probably could have gone in this slot, given Jacksonville State’s failure to score against UAB. However, UAB is a much better team than Vanderbilt and I’d like to see the perennial playoff contending Gamecocks against FCS competition before making too harsh of a judgment against their track record. But that’s also going to have to wait: They play Florida State this week.
