As expected in the preseason, Saturday’s showdown between South Dakota State and Montana State matches the No. 2 and 3 teams in the Stats Perform FCS Top 25 Poll.
It’s just that the two national powers have reversed spots since the preseason poll.
South Dakota State has jumped to No. 2 over the now-No. 3 Bobcats in the national media rankings. Both teams are behind defending national champion North Dakota State, which last season defeated SDSU in the playoff semifinals and Montana State in the title game.
SDSU was ultra-impressive this past Saturday while limiting then-No. 15 Sacramento State to just one field goal and 131 yards in a 20-3 victory. The Bobcats, meanwhile, fell to FBS power Oregon 59-13.
Their meeting at Montana State will be the fourth since 2021, which includes two semifinal-round playoff games.
Tarleton State, the first FCS team to be 2-0, moved up five spots from the preseason poll to No. 5. The Texans posted the first FCS-over-FBS win of the young season, topping Army 30-27 in two overtimes. Austin Peay later beat Middle Tennessee, and the Governors are now one spot outside the Top 25.
The Stats Perform FCS Top 25 Poll is released each Monday during the regular season and one day after the FCS championship game (to be played Jan. 5 in Nashville, Tennessee). A first-place vote is worth 25 points, a second-place vote 24 points, all the way down to one point for a 25th-place vote.
Stats Perform FCS Top 25 Poll (Sept. 1)
1. North Dakota State (1-0)
Points: 1,397 (53 of 56 first-place votes); Previous Ranking: 1; Week 1: 38-0 win at The Citadel; Week 2: at Tennessee State
2. South Dakota State (1-0)
Points: 1,333 (2); Previous Ranking: 3; Week 1: 20-3 win over then-No. 15 Sacramento State; Week 2: at No. 3 Montana State
3. Montana State (0-1)
Points: 1,274 (1); Previous Ranking: 2; Week 1: 59-13 loss at Oregon; Week 2: No. 2 South Dakota State
4. South Dakota (0-1)
Points: 1,171; Previous Ranking: 4; Week 1: 55-7 loss at Iowa State; Week 2: at Lamar
5. Tarleton State (2-0)
Points: 1,164; Previous Ranking: 10; Week 0: 42-0 win at Portland State; Week 1: 30-27 win at Army; Week 2: Mississippi Valley State
6. Montana (0-0)
Points: 1,027; Previous Ranking: 7; Week 1: No game; Week 2: Central Washington
7. Illinois State (0-1)
Points: 961; Previous Ranking: 6; Week 1: 35-3 loss at Oklahoma State; Week 2: Morehead State
8. UC Davis (1-0)
Points: 958; Previous Ranking: 8; Week 0: No contest (inclement weather) vs.then-No. 11Mercer; Week 1: 31-24 win at Utah Tech; Week 2: at Washington
9. Rhode Island (1-0, 1-0 CAA)
Points: 953; Previous Ranking: 9; Week 1: 31-20 win over Campbell; Week 2: at Stony Brook
10. Idaho (0-1)
Points: 879; Previous Ranking: 12; Week 1: 13-10 loss at Washington State; Week 2: St. Thomas
11. Lehigh (1-0, 1-0 Patriot)
Points: 745; Previous Ranking: 14; Week 1: 21-14 win over then-No. 25Richmond; Week 2: Sacred Heart
12. UIW (1-1, 0-1 Southland)
Points: 730; Previous Ranking: 5; Week 0: 20-6 lossat Nicholls; Week 1: 31-21 win over Eastern Washington; Week 2: No game
13. Villanova (0-0)
Points: 718; Previous Ranking: 13; Week 1: No game; Week 2: Colgate
14. Southern Illinois (1-0)
Points: 423; Previous Ranking: 20; Week 1: 49-3 win over Thomas More; Week 2: at Purdue
15. Jackson State (1-0)
Points: 422; Previous Ranking: 17; Week 1: 28-14 win over Hampton; Week 2: at Southern Miss
16. Abilene Christian (0-1)
Points: 396; Previous Ranking: 16; Week 1: 35-7 loss at Tulsa; Week 2: No. 25Stephen F. Austin
17. Tennessee Tech (1-0)
Points: 371; Previous Ranking: 21; Week 1: 65-0 win over Cumberland; Week 2: Chattanooga
18. Sacramento State (0-1)
Points: 351; Previous Ranking: 15; Week 1: 20-3 loss at then-No. 3 South Dakota State; Week 2: at Nevada
19. Northern Arizona (0-1)
Points: 349; Previous Ranking: 19; Week 1: 38-19 loss at Arizona State; Week 2: Utah Tech
20. North Dakota (0-1)
Points: 325; Previous Ranking: NR; Week 1: 38-35 loss at Kansas State; Week 2: Portland State
21. Monmouth (1-0)
Points: 323; Previous Ranking: 22; Week 1: 42-39 win at Colgate; Week 2: at Fordham
22. Nicholls (1-1, 1-0 Southland)
Points: 265; Previous Ranking: NR; Week 0: 20-6 win over then-No. 5 UIW; Week 1: 38-20 loss at Troy; Week 2: West Georgia
23. Mercer (0-1)
Points: 229; Previous Ranking: 11; Week 0: No contest (inclement weather) vs. then-No. 8UC Davis; Week 1: 15-10 loss toPresbyterian; Week 2: No game
24. Southern Utah (1-0)
Points: 226; Previous Ranking: NR; Week 1: 46-24 win over Idaho State; Week 2: at San Diego
25. Stephen F. Austin (0-1)
Points: 146; Previous Ranking: 23; Week 1: 27-0 loss at Houston; Week 2: at No. 16 Abilene Christian
Dropped Out of Top 25: Western Carolina (18); Stony Brook (24); Richmond (25)
Others Receiving Votes (schools listed on two or more ballots): Austin Peay (1-0), 146; ETSU (1-0), 116; Harvard (0-0), 105; New Hampshire (1-0), 100; UT Martin (0-1), 93; Southeast Missouri (0-1), 71; Gardner-Webb (1-0), 54; Stony Brook (0-1): 54; Richmond (0-1, 0-1 Patriot), 53; Western Carolina (0-1), 45; Eastern Kentucky (0-1), 37: Chattanooga (0-1), 35: Tennessee State (1-0), 31: South Carolina State (1-0), 30; Presbyterian (1-0), 24; Youngstown State (1-0), 20; North Carolina Central (1-1), 11
