We have the honor of being one of the 54 voters in the FCS Stats Perform Top-25 for the 2022 season. Each week we will release our official ballot and provide some explanation for the biggest movers in our FCS Top-25 each week at the FCS level. You can also hear the rationale on our weekly FCS Recap on our YouTube channel every Sunday/Monday night.
Week 11 Top-25 Ballot
25. Florida A&M (8-2)
Week 11: 21-14 Win Over Alabama State
24. Fordham (8-2)
Week 11: 45-10 Win Over Lafayette
23. Southeastern Louisiana (7-3)
Week 11: 23-7 Win Over Northwestern State
22. Delaware (7-3)
Week 11: 21-13 Loss To #12 Richmond
21. Mercer (7-3)
Week 11: 23-13 Loss To #13 Furman
20. North Dakota (7-3)
Week 11: 28-19 Win Over South Dakota
19. New Hampshire (7-3)
Week 11: 31-28 Win Over #22 Rhode Island
18. Montana (7-3)
Week 11: 63-7 Win Over Eastern Washington
17. Idaho (6-4)
Week 11: 44-26 Loss To UC Davis
16. UC Davis (6-4)
Week 11: 44-26 Win Over #15 Idaho
15. Southeast Missouri State (8-2)
Week 11: 31-7 Win Over Eastern Illinois
14. Elon (8-3)
Week 11: 38-24 Win Over Hampton
13. Chattanooga (7-3)
Week 11: 35-24 Loss To #10 Samford
12. Jackson State (10-0)
Week 11: 27-13 Win Over Alabama A&M
11. Holy Cross (10-0)
Week 11: 36-29 Win Over Bryant
10. Incarnate Word (9-1)
Week 11: Bye Week
9. Richmond (8-2)
Week 11: 21-13 Win Over #17 Delaware
8. Furman (8-2)
Week 11: 23-13 Win Over #14 Mercer
7. William & Mary (9-1)
Week 11: 45-12 Win Over Villanova
6. Weber State (8-2)
Week 11: 45-7 Win Over Idaho State
5. Samford (9-1)
Week 11: 35-24 Win Over #11 Chattanooga
4. North Dakota State (8-2)
Week 11: 21-18 Win Over Southern Illinois
3. Montana State (9-1)
Week 11: 72-28 Win Over Cal Poly
2. South Dakota State (10-1)
Week 11: 31-7 Win Over Illinois State
1. Sacramento State (10-0)
Week 11: 45-17 Win Over Portland State
Analysis On Week 11 Performances:
New teams on my Top-25 ballot: UC Davis & Florida A&M
Teams who dropped out of my Top-25: Rhode Island & Princeton
Rhode Island drops out of the rankings after a 31-28 loss to New Hampshire this weekend. The Rams fall to 6-4 with their only signature win being over Elon early this season, but close wins against Monmouth and Maine in the past few weeks made me hesitant to keep Rhode Island in my ballot. Princeton saw their hopes for an undefeated season slip away after a 24-20 loss to Yale. The Tigers have been impressive defensively this season, but the offense has struggled to find consistency in back-to-back weeks.
UC Davis made a huge jump in our ballot after an impressive 44-26 win over Idaho on the road. The Aggies have played the 14th hardest schedule in the country, but have failed to win their biggest games until this weekend against the Vandals. The Aggies are 6-4, but the three of the losses have come against Top-6 FCS programs and one loss to a Power-5 opponent early in the season. UC Davis will need to pull off the upset against Sacramento State next weekend if the Aggies are going to have a chance to earn an at-large bid to the FCS Playoffs. Florida A&M slides into the final spot of our ballot after winning their eighth straight game after a tough 0-2 start with losses to Jackson State and North Carolina. The Rattlers will need to defeat Bethune-Cookman in the Florida Classic to have a chance at receiving their 2nd straight at-large bid to the FCS Playoffs.
Samford enters the Top-5 for the first time this season after a dominant 35-24 win against Chattanooga on the road to clinch the SoCon Championship. The Bulldogs are undefeated against FCS competition with their only loss of the season coming against Georgia earlier this season and have a Top-20 strength of schedule with multiple ranked wins, which gives them one of the best resumes in the country right now.
Furman and Richmond both move into the Top-10 after ranked wins on the road this weekend for both programs. Furman looked impressive against Mercer in a 23-13 win, which moved the Paladins to 8-2 with their sole loss to Samford earlier in the season. The Paladins also were missing Tyler Huff due to injury in an 8-point loss to the Bulldogs, which is why I think the Paladins should firmly be ranked in the Top-10 right now. The Spiders won a 21-13 defensive battle against Delaware this weekend. Richmond sits at 8-2 with a loss to Virginia and a 2-OT loss to Elon on the road, but the Spiders have three ranked wins on their resume and a Top-40 strength of schedule which is why I put Richmond in the Top-10 of my ballot.
Jackson State and Holy Cross both dropped in my ballot due to having the weakest resumes in the extremely tight battle for the #7-12 spots in my ballot. Holy Cross has one ranked win (Fordham) and a solid FBS win (Buffalo) on their resume, but struggled against Bryant this weekend at home which is why I dropped the Crusaders a few spots. Jackson State is the only team in the Top-15 without a ranked win on their resume and the Tigers rank 114th in strength of schedule which is the lowest out of any team in the Top-25 right now. Jackson State looks impressive based on the eye test and find themselves at 10-0, which is why I still think the Tigers are contenders for a spot in the Top-10 moving forward.
Notable Week 12 Games: #18 Montana @ #3 Montana State, #16 UC Davis @ #1 Sacramento State, #7 William & Mary @ #9 Richmond, #20 North Dakota @ #4 North Dakota State, #21 Mercer @ #5 Samford, #22 Delaware @ Villanova, #12 Jackson State @ Alcorn State
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