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 3 Top-25 Ballot
25. Southeast Missouri State (2-1)
Week 3: 42-16 Win Over Nicholls State
24. Furman (2-1)
Week 3: 27-14 Win Over #18 East Tennessee State
23. Samford (2-1)
Week 3: 33-28 Win Over Tennessee Tech
22. Richmond (2-1)
Week 3: 30-6 Win Over Lehigh
21. Austin Peay (3-1)
Week 3: 28-3 Win Over Alabama A&M
20. UT Martin (1-2)
Week 3: 30-7 Loss To Boise State
19. North Carolina Central (3-0)
Week 3: 45-27 Win Over #25 New Hampshire
18. North Dakota (2-1)
Week 3: 27-24 Win Over Northern Arizona
17. Mercer (2-1)
Week 3: 17-0 Win Over The Citadel
16. Eastern Washington (1-1)
Week 3: Bye Week
15. William & Mary (3-0)
Week 3: 34-7 Win Over Lafayette
14. Eastern Kentucky (2-1)
Week 3: 40-17 Win Over Charleston Southern
13. Chattanooga (3-0)
Week 3: 41-14 Win Over North Alabama
12. Weber State (3-0)
Week 3: 44-14 Win Over Utah Tech
11. Holy Cross (3-0)
Week 3: 38-14 Win Over Yale
10. Villanova (2-1)
Week 3: 49-10 Loss To Army
9. Jackson State (3-0)
Week 3: 66-24 Win Over Grambling State
8. Sacramento State (2-0)
Week 3: 37-21 Win Over Northern Iowa
7. Delaware (3-0)
Week 3: 42-21 Win Over #17 Rhode Island
6. Montana State (2-1)
Week 3: 68-28 Loss To Oregon State
5. Missouri State (2-1)
Week 3: 38-27 Loss To #10 Arkansas
4. Incarnate Word (3-0)
Week 3: 31-14 Win Over Prairie View A&M
3. South Dakota State (2-1)
Week 3: 45-17 Win Over Butler
2. Montana (3-0)
Week 3: 49-14 Win Over Indiana State
1. North Dakota State (2-1)
Week 3: 31-28 Loss to Arizona
Analysis On Week 3 Performances:
New teams on my Top-25 ballot: Furman & Southeast Missouri State
Teams who dropped out of my Top-25: Northern Arizona & Rhode Island
The biggest risers in my ballot were North Carolina Central and North Dakota. North Carolina Central jumped five spots after an impressive 45-27 win over #25 New Hampshire on the road. QB Davius Richard had another impressive performance with over 330 total yards and 3 total touchdowns, while the Eagles defense smothered the New Hampshire rushing attack and held the Wildcats to less than 3.0 yards per carry. North Dakota won a tightly contested road matchup with Northern Arizona on Saturday afternoon. RB Tyler Hoosman continued his dominance on the ground with over 100 yards rushing, while averaging over 8.0 yards per carry.
Furman and Southeast Missouri State were the only new additions to my Top-25 ballot after Week 3. Furman picked up an important conference win on the road over #18 East Tennessee State behind QB Tyler Huff’s 300 yards of total offense and 2 touchdowns on Saturday night. Southeast Missouri State has won two impressive out of conference games in the past two weeks over Southern Illinois and Nicholls State. QB Paxton DeLaurent was impressive again with over 300 passing yards and 4 total touchdowns against Nicholls State this weekend.
Incarnate Word and Missouri State both jumped ahead of Montana State in my Week 3 rankings. I usually do not penalize FCS teams for FBS losses, but Montana State look far less impressive against Oregon State (40-point loss) compared to Missouri State against #10 Arkansas (11-point loss) and Incarnate Word against Nevada (14-point win) in their FBS games this season. Both Incarnate Word and Missouri State have a ranked FCS win on their resume as we enter Week 4. Montana State will have a chance to earn a Top-5 spot again this weekend as the Bobcats face #16 Eastern Washington on the road.
Week 4 will shake up the Top-25 tremendously as conference play opens across the country and the FCS slate includes multiple Top-25 matchups. #14 Eastern Kentucky travels to face #21 Austin Peay, #6 Montana travels to face #16 Eastern Washington, & #3 South Dakota State faces #5 Missouri State in the FCS Game of the Week next weekend.
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