As if it wasn't already official, the balance of power in FCS has shifted West.
North Dakota State and South Dakota State won 11 national championships from 2011-24, but Montana State broke through to win its second national title back in January after losing by three to NDSU in the 2024 title game. The Bobcats got to the title game by defeating their arch-rivals in a semifinal matchup that doubled as the biggest sporting event in the history of the state of Montana, and FCS prognosticators see the Brawl of the Wild (or Cat-Grizz, as the locals call it) at the top of the sport once again in 2026.
Montana State was the unanimous choice atop the preseason Stats Perform FCS Top 25, released Monday, with Montana trailing at No. 2. Montana State hosts Montana in the regular-season finale on Nov. 21 after handing the Grizzlies their only losses of the 2025 season -- 31-28 in Missoula to close the regular season, then 48-23 at Bobcat Stadium in the semifinal rematch. Montana will play its first season under head coach Bobby Kennedy after Bobby Hauck stunningly resigned, then later became the defensive coordinator at Illinois.
Elsewhere, 2022-23 champion South Dakota State starts at No. 3, marking the sixth straight season the Jackrabbits begin inside the top three. Brock Spack's Illinois State Redbirds check in at No. 4 after making a surprise run to the FCS National Championship a year ago; beaten 37-7 to close the regular season, Illinois State won four straight road games (including in the Fargodome) before falling by one point in overtime to Montana State in the title game.
Speaking of the Fargodome, North Dakota State is (obviously) absent after the Bison joined the Mountain West Conference of FBS. In addition to winning 10 national championships in a 15-season span, the Bison began 14 straight seasons in the top five.
Rounding out the top five is Tarleton, the highest-ranked non-Big Sky/Missouri Valley squad. A Division II program as recently as 2019, Todd Whitten's team went 12-2 a season ago and reached the FCS quarterfinals.
Rhode Island is the highest-ranked CAA team at No. 7. Yale paces the non-scholarship faction of FCS at No. 18, and South Carolina State is the only HBCU team ranked at No. 24.
1. Montana State -- 1,425 total points (57 first-place votes)
2. Montana -- 1,328
3. South Dakota State -- 1,266
4. Illinois State -- 1,231
5. Tarleton -- 1,100
6. UC Davis -- 1,063
7. Rhode Island -- 1,048
8. Villanova -- 1,008
9. Youngstown State -- 946
10. North Dakota -- 945
11. Lehigh -- 826
12. South Dakota -- 783
13. Stephen F. Austin -- 773
14. Tennessee Tech -- 594
15. Abilene Christian -- 579
16. Southern Illinois -- 509
17. Austin Peay -- 440
18. Yale -- 418
19. Southeastern Louisiana -- 392
20. Lamar -- 380
21. Mercer -- 306
22. Monmouth -- 200
23. UT-Martin -- 144
24. South Carolina State -- 107
25. Northern Arizona -- 103