| FCS Football Rankings | Previous Season | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rank | School | Conference | Rank | W | L | Change |
| 1 | Sam Houston St | Southland | 2 | 14 | 1 | 1 |
| 2 | North Dakota St | Missouri Valley | 1 | 14 | 1 | 1 |
| 3 | Montana | Big Sky | 5 | 11 | 3 | 2 |
| 4 | Montana St | Big Sky | 11 | 10 | 3 | 7 |
| 5 | Appalachian St | Southern | 13 | 8 | 4 | 8 |
| 6 | Georgia Southern | Southern | 4 | 11 | 3 | 2 |
| 7 | Northern Iowa | Missouri Valley | 3 | 10 | 3 | 4 |
| 8 | Towson | CAA | 7 | 9 | 3 | 1 |
| 9 | Wofford | Southern | 10 | 8 | 4 | 1 |
| 10 | New Hampshire | CAA | 8 | 8 | 4 | 2 |
| 11 | James Madison | CAA | 18 | 8 | 5 | 7 |
| 12 | Lehigh | Patriot League | 6 | 11 | 2 | 6 |
| 13 | Stephen F. Austin | Southland | 22 | 6 | 5 | 9 |
| 14 | Eastern Washington | Big Sky | 29 | 6 | 5 | 15 |
| 15 | Delaware | CAA | 25 | 7 | 4 | 10 |
| 16 | Illinois St | Missouri Valley | 17 | 7 | 4 | 1 |
| 17 | Old Dominion | CAA | 14 | 10 | 3 | 3 |
| 18 | Bethune-Cookman | Mid-Eastern | 49 | 8 | 3 | 31 |
| 19 | Harvard | Ivy League | 16 | 9 | 1 | 3 |
| 20 | Youngstown St | Missouri Valley | 19 | 6 | 5 | 1 |
| 21 | Eastern Kentucky | Ohio Valley | 40 | 7 | 5 | 19 |
| 22 | Jacksonville St | Ohio Valley | 44 | 7 | 4 | 22 |
| 23 | Murray St | Ohio Valley | 55 | 7 | 4 | 32 |
| 24 | Stony Brook | Big South | 28 | 9 | 4 | 4 |
| 25 | William & Mary | CAA | 43 | 5 | 6 | 18 |
| 26 | Maine | CAA | 9 | 9 | 4 | 17 |
| 27 | South Dakota St | Missouri Valley | 21 | 5 | 6 | 6 |
| 28 | Central Arkansas | Southland | 12 | 9 | 4 | 16 |
| 29 | Chattanooga | Southern | 26 | 5 | 6 | 3 |
| 30 | Furman | Southern | 20 | 6 | 5 | 10 |
| 31 | Cal Poly SLO | Big Sky | 23 | 6 | 5 | 8 |
| 32 | Grambling St | SWAC | 88 | 8 | 4 | 56 |
| 33 | Villanova | CAA | 76 | 2 | 9 | 43 |
| 34 | Weber St | Big Sky | 45 | 5 | 6 | 11 |
| 35 | McNeese St | Southland | 38 | 6 | 5 | 3 |
| 36 | Elon | Southern | 42 | 5 | 6 | 6 |
| 37 | Indiana St | Missouri Valley | 15 | 6 | 5 | 22 |
| 38 | Southern Illinois | Missouri Valley | 47 | 4 | 7 | 9 |
| 39 | Richmond | CAA | 69 | 3 | 8 | 30 |
| 40 | Samford | Southern | 24 | 6 | 5 | 16 |
| 41 | Southern Utah | Big Sky | 31 | 6 | 5 | 10 |
| 42 | Missouri St | Missouri Valley | 51 | 2 | 9 | 9 |
| 43 | UC-Davis | Big Sky | 60 | 4 | 7 | 17 |
| 44 | South Dakota | Missouri Valley | 33 | 6 | 5 | 11 |
| 45 | North Dakota | Big Sky | 30 | 8 | 3 | 15 |
| 46 | Liberty | Big South | 50 | 7 | 4 | 4 |
| 47 | Sacramento St | Big Sky | 68 | 4 | 7 | 21 |
| 48 | Brown | Ivy League | 36 | 7 | 3 | 12 |
| 49 | Holy Cross | Patriot League | 35 | 6 | 5 | 14 |
| 50 | Tennessee Tech | Ohio Valley | 46 | 7 | 4 | 4 |
| 51 | Portland St | Big Sky | 34 | 7 | 4 | 17 |
| 52 | South Carolina St | Mid-Eastern | 62 | 7 | 4 | 10 |
| 53 | Northern Arizona | Big Sky | 73 | 4 | 7 | 20 |
| 54 | Northwestern St | Southland | 27 | 5 | 6 | 27 |
| 55 | Pennsylvania | Ivy League | 81 | 5 | 5 | 26 |
| 56 | Western Illinois | Missouri Valley | 59 | 2 | 9 | 3 |
| 57 | Norfolk St | Mid-Eastern | 32 | 9 | 3 | 25 |
| 58 | The Citadel | Southern | 48 | 4 | 7 | 10 |
| 59 | Rhode Island | CAA | 61 | 3 | 8 | 2 |
| 60 | Coastal Carolina | Big South | 53 | 7 | 4 | 7 |
| 61 | Colgate | Patriot League | 64 | 5 | 6 | 3 |
| 62 | Drake | Pioneer | 54 | 9 | 2 | 8 |
| 63 | Albany NY | Northeast | 66 | 8 | 4 | 3 |
| 64 | Florida A&M | Mid-Eastern | 72 | 7 | 4 | 8 |
| 65 | Yale | Ivy League | 65 | 5 | 5 | ![]() |
| 66 | Tennessee-Martin | Ohio Valley | 78 | 5 | 6 | 12 |
| 67 | Jacksonville FL | Pioneer | 77 | 7 | 4 | 10 |
| 68 | Duquesne | Northeast | 57 | 9 | 2 | 11 |
| 69 | Jackson St | SWAC | 70 | 9 | 2 | 1 |
| 70 | SE Louisiana St | Southland | 82 | 3 | 8 | 12 |
| 71 | Lafayette | Patriot League | 63 | 4 | 7 | 8 |
| 72 | Lamar | Southland | 86 | 4 | 7 | 14 |
| 73 | Hampton | Mid-Eastern | 67 | 7 | 4 | 6 |
| 74 | Dartmouth | Ivy League | 74 | 5 | 5 | ![]() |
| 75 | San Diego | Pioneer | 58 | 9 | 2 | 17 |
| 76 | Prairie View A&M | SWAC | 104 | 5 | 6 | 28 |
| 77 | Georgetown DC | Patriot League | 37 | 8 | 3 | 40 |
| 78 | SE Missouri St | Ohio Valley | 99 | 3 | 8 | 21 |
| 79 | Central Conn St | Northeast | 105 | 4 | 7 | 26 |
| 80 | Dayton | Pioneer | 97 | 6 | 5 | 17 |
| 81 | Alabama St | SWAC | 80 | 8 | 3 | 1 |
| 82 | Bryant | Northeast | 83 | 7 | 4 | 1 |
| 83 | Eastern Illinois | Ohio Valley | 96 | 2 | 9 | 13 |
| 84 | Georgia St | CAA | 95 | 3 | 8 | 11 |
| 85 | Tennessee St | Ohio Valley | 79 | 5 | 6 | 6 |
| 86 | Western Carolina | Southern | 90 | 1 | 10 | 4 |
| 87 | Bucknell | Patriot League | 56 | 6 | 5 | 31 |
| 88 | Morgan St | Mid-Eastern | 87 | 5 | 6 | 1 |
| 89 | Nicholls St | Southland | 106 | 1 | 10 | 17 |
| 90 | Gardner-Webb | Big South | 93 | 4 | 7 | 3 |
| 91 | Alabama A&M | SWAC | 89 | 8 | 4 | 2 |
| 92 | Cornell NY | Ivy League | 75 | 5 | 5 | 17 |
| 93 | Presbyterian | Big South | 71 | 4 | 7 | 22 |
| 94 | Idaho St | Big Sky | 98 | 2 | 9 | 4 |
| 95 | Monmouth NJ | Northeast | 92 | 5 | 6 | 3 |
| 96 | Austin Peay | Ohio Valley | 100 | 3 | 8 | 4 |
| 97 | Northern Colorado | Big Sky | 115 | 0 | 11 | 18 |
| 98 | Arkansas-Pine Bluff | SWAC | 108 | 6 | 5 | 10 |
| 99 | Texas Southern | SWAC | 123 | 4 | 7 | 24 |
| 100 | Wagner | Northeast | 102 | 4 | 7 | 2 |
| 101 | Robert Morris PA | Northeast | 119 | 2 | 9 | 18 |
| 102 | Fordham | Patriot League | 109 | 1 | 10 | 7 |
| 103 | Butler | Pioneer | 107 | 5 | 6 | 4 |
| 104 | North Carolina A&T | Mid-Eastern | 85 | 4 | 6 | 19 |
| 105 | Sacred Heart | Northeast | 101 | 5 | 6 | 4 |
| 106 | Howard | Mid-Eastern | 84 | 5 | 6 | 22 |
| 107 | VMI | Big South | 110 | 2 | 9 | 3 |
| 108 | Charleston Southern | Big South | 122 | 0 | 11 | 14 |
| 109 | Marist | Pioneer | 103 | 4 | 7 | 6 |
| 110 | Columbia | Ivy League | 120 | 1 | 9 | 10 |
| 111 | Southern U. | SWAC | 113 | 4 | 7 | 2 |
| 112 | Campbell | Pioneer | 94 | 6 | 5 | 18 |
| 113 | Princeton | Ivy League | 112 | 1 | 9 | 1 |
| 114 | Delaware St | Mid-Eastern | 111 | 3 | 8 | 3 |
| 115 | Alcorn St | SWAC | 125 | 2 | 8 | 10 |
| 116 | Davidson | Pioneer | 114 | 4 | 7 | 2 |
| 117 | Morehead St | Pioneer | 118 | 3 | 8 | 1 |
| 118 | St Francis PA | Northeast | 116 | 2 | 9 | 2 |
| 119 | North Carolina Central | Mid-Eastern | 117 | 2 | 9 | 2 |
| 120 | Savannah St | Mid-Eastern | 121 | 1 | 10 | 1 |
| 121 | Mississippi Valley St | SWAC | 126 | 1 | 10 | 5 |
| 122 | Valparaiso | Pioneer | 124 | 1 | 10 | 2 |