FCS Nation Radio Releases Week 3 Top 25 Poll
Illinois State Makes Its Move. Patience Pays Off at the Top.
FCS Nation Top 25 – Week 3 (2026)
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Sept. 14, 2026
Montana State
South Dakota State
Montana
Tarleton State
Illinois State
North Dakota
UC Davis
Youngstown State
Lehigh
Rhode Island
Tennessee Tech
South Dakota
Idaho State
Austin Peay
Stephen F. Austin
Lamar
South Carolina State
Yale
Alabama State
West Florida
Cal Poly
Northern Arizona
Wofford
Campbell
Furman
Week 2 gave us another reminder of why September rankings require two things: rewarding what happens on the field and resisting the urge to overreact to every result.
There is no change at No. 1.
Montana State remains atop the FCS Nation Top 25 after going into Reno and beating FBS Nevada, 20-7.
The defending national champions have now won 17 consecutive games, extending their program record, and continue to give us no reason to move them off the top line.
South Dakota State stays at No. 2 after taking care of New Haven, 57-14.
And then we get to the decision we were comfortable waiting on.
Montana stays No. 3. Tarleton stays No. 4.
After Tarleton State went on the road and beat FBS Bowling Green last week, there was plenty of temptation around the FCS landscape to immediately push the Texans into the No. 3 spot.
We didn't.
That wasn't a slight toward Tarleton. It was an acknowledgement of how early we are in the season and how much Montana is replacing from last year's roster. We expected the Grizzlies to need some time to find their groove, and we weren't ready to erase the larger body of work after two weeks.
This weekend reinforced the value of that patience.
Tarleton survived McNeese, 27-24, on a 24-yard field goal as time expired. The Texans are still 3-0, still have an FBS win on the résumé and are still very much a national championship contender. But needing every second to escape a McNeese team that entered the night 1-1 is exactly why we weren't interested in jumping the gun a week ago.
Meanwhile, Montana handled Utah Tech, 35-14. The Grizzlies are still finding their identity after significant roster turnover, but we expect that process to continue as the season settles in.
So, for another week, it's Montana at No. 3 and Tarleton at No. 4.
Illinois State forces the issue.
The biggest move in this week's poll belongs to the Redbirds.
Illinois State jumps from No. 8 to No. 5 after going into DeKalb and beating FBS Northern Illinois, 28-24. And this wasn't simply a case of hanging around and stealing one late.
Illinois State raced out to a 21-0 advantage, watched NIU storm all the way back to take a 24-21 fourth-quarter lead, and then responded with an 11-play, 75-yard touchdown drive to retake the lead. A late interception sealed it.
That's an FBS road win, a 3-0 record and enough evidence for us to make a real move.
North Dakota slides into No. 6 despite doing absolutely nothing wrong. The Fighting Hawks are 3-0 after a 47-23 road win at Portland State and continue to look like one of the more dangerous offenses in the subdivision.
UC Davis falls two spots to No. 7 following a 56-10 loss at No. 17 FBS SMU. We aren't burying an FCS contender for losing to a nationally ranked FBS opponent, but Illinois State's résumé demanded a move upward, and the Aggies' result left room for it.
Youngstown State moves to No. 8 after putting 70 points on Duquesne. Beau Brungard accounted for eight touchdowns as the Penguins scored on each of their first seven possessions and led 49-10 at halftime. That's about as emphatic a response to an FBS loss as you can have.
Lehigh and Rhode Island complete the Top 10, and both strengthened their cases this weekend.
Lehigh moved to 3-0 with a convincing 44-20 win over William & Mary, while Rhode Island turned a 3-3 game entering the fourth quarter into a 31-10 victory over Elon.
Tennessee Tech remains No. 11 and might quietly be building one of the better early résumés in the country. The Golden Eagles followed their win over Chattanooga by beating Samford 45-19 to move to 3-0.
The middle of the poll sees some reshuffling rather than wholesale change. Lamar climbs to No. 16, South Carolina State to No. 17, while Yale moves to No. 18 as the Bulldogs remain one of the few teams in the rankings still waiting to begin their season.
West Florida moves up to No. 20, Cal Poly to No. 21 and Northern Arizona makes a two-spot climb to No. 22.
And at No. 25, we have a newcomer.
Welcome, Furman.
The Paladins enter the FCS Nation Top 25 after knocking off ranked Mercer, 20-13, in Macon.
Furman forced five turnovers, including four interceptions, and Ben Croasdale broke a 13-13 tie with a 47-yard touchdown run with just 47 seconds remaining. The victory snapped Mercer's 12-game Southern Conference winning streak and gives Furman exactly the kind of résumé-building result that gets rewarded on our ballot.
William & Mary is the team that falls out after its 44-20 loss at Lehigh.
Three weeks in, the picture is getting clearer, but we're nowhere close to settled.
Montana State keeps winning. Illinois State just added an FBS scalp. North Dakota is 3-0.
Tarleton remains unbeaten. Lehigh keeps rolling. Tennessee Tech keeps building. And Furman just reminded everyone how quickly one ranked win can change the conversation.
Welcome to Week 3.
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