Each week, throughout the college football season, fans, alumni, media and the teams themselves look to the Stats Perform FCS Top 25 Poll to see who is rising and moving within the national rankings. The new poll follows Week 8 games.
This year, Mercer has a lot of company in the Southern Conference title race.
In fact, the two-time defending champion Bears are only the second-highest SoCon team in the Stats Perform FCS Top 25 Poll – and they’re fourth in the conference standings.
Mercer (6-2, 3-1) checks in at a season-high No. 16 in the new national media rankings with No. 11 Tennessee Tech (7-1, 4-1) ahead of the Bears and No. 17 ETSU (6-2, 4-0) just below. Additionally, Chattanooga (5-3, 4-1) – the Stats Perform FCS National Team of the Week – and Wofford (5-3, 3-2) are receiving votes.
As part of a strong four-week finish to the SoCon schedule, this week’s biggest game in the competitive conference is ETSU hosting Tennessee Tech. The first-place Buccaneers are riding a five-game winning streak for the first time since they last won the conference title in 2021.
The Stats Perform FCS Top 25 Poll is released each Monday during the regular season and one day after the FCS championship game (Jan. 11 in Nashville, Tennessee). A first-place vote is worth 25 points, a second-place vote 24 points, all the way down to one point for a 25th-place vote.
Stats Perform FCS Top 25 Poll (Oct. 26)
1. Tarleton State (8-0, 3-0 UAC)
Points: 1,414 (47 of 57 first-place votes); Previous Ranking: 1; Week 8: 49-6 win at West Georgia; Week 9: Oct. 31 vs. Eastern Kentucky (7 p.m. ET, ESPN+)
2. Stephen F. Austin (8-0, 5-0 Southland)
Points: 1,338 (5); Previous Ranking: 2; Week 8: 45-24 win over No. 23 Southeastern Louisiana; Week 9: Oct. 31 vs. Houston Christian (3 p.m., ESPN+)
3. Montana State (7-1, 4-1 Big Sky)
Points: 1,297 (3); Previous Ranking: 3; Week 8: 38-33 win at No. 22 Weber State; Week 9: Oct. 31 vs. Cal Poly (3 p.m., ESPN+/Scripps)
4. Youngstown State (6-2, 4-1 MVFC)
Points: 1,245 (2); Previous Ranking: 4; Week 8: No game; Week 9: Oct. 31 vs. No. 9 North Dakota (noon, ESPN+)
5. South Dakota State (6-2, 3-1 MVFC)
Points: 1,204; Previous Ranking: 5; Week 8: 42-9 win over Murray State; Week 9: Oct. 31 vs. No. 6 South Dakota (4 p.m., ESPNU)
6. South Dakota (7-2, 4-1 MVFC)
Points: 1,136; Previous Ranking: 8; Week 8: 26-23 OT win over No. 6 North Dakota; Week 9: Oct. 31 at No. 5 South Dakota State (4 p.m., ESPNU)
7. Northern Arizona (6-2, 4-1 Big Sky)
Points: 1,078; Previous Ranking: 7; Week 8: No game; Week 9: Oct. 31 at Southern Utah (3 p.m., ESPN+)
8. Austin Peay (7-2, 3-1 UAC)
Points: 962; Previous Ranking: 9; Week 8: 27-21 win at North Alabama; Week 9: No game
9. North Dakota (6-3, 3-2 MVFC)
Points: 958; Previous Ranking: 6; Week 8: 26-23 OT loss at No. 8 South Dakota; Week 9: Oct. 31 at No. 4 Youngstown State (noon, ESPN+)
10. Illinois State (6-2, 2-2 MVFC)
Points: 870; Previous Ranking: 10; Week 8: 17-10 win over Indiana State; Week 9: Oct. 31 vs. Murray State (2 p.m., ESPN+)
11. Tennessee Tech (7-1, 4-1 Southern)
Points: 845; Previous Ranking: 12; Week 8: 28-13 win at The Citadel; Week 9: Oct. 31 at No. 17 ETSU (3:30 p.m., ESPN+)
12. Campbell (7-1, 4-0 CAA)
Points: 785; Previous Ranking: 13; Week 8: 35-6 win at Maine; Week 9: Oct. 31 at UAlbany (noon, FloSports)
13. Harvard (6-0, 3-0 Ivy)
Points: 712; Previous Ranking: 15; Week 8: 35-7 win over Princeton; Week 9: Oct. 30 at Dartmouth (7 p.m., ESPNU)
14. Montana (5-3, 3-2 Big Sky)
Points: 702; Previous Ranking: 14; Week 8: No game; Week 9: Oct. 31 at Eastern Washington (4 p.m., ESPN+/Scripps/SWX/MTN)
15. Lamar (6-2, 4-1 Southland)
Points: 648; Previous Ranking: 16; Week 8: 35-10 win over Houston Christian; Week 9: Oct. 31 at UTRGV (8 p.m., ESPN+)
16. Mercer (6-2, 3-1 Southern)
Points: 579; Previous Ranking: 17; Week 8: No game; Week 9: Oct. 31 vs. The Citadel (3 p.m., ESPN+)
17. ETSU (6-2, 4-0 Southern)
Points: 508; Previous Ranking: 18; Week 8: 38-0 win at VMI; Week 9: Oct. 31 vs. No. 11 Tennessee Tech (3:30 p.m., ESPN+)
18. Monmouth (6-2, 5-0 CAA)
Points: 421; Previous Ranking: 19; Week 8: 49-13 win at Hampton; Week 9: Oct. 31 vs. Bryant (noon, FloSports)
19. Lehigh (6-2, 4-1 Patriot)
Points: 383; Previous Ranking: 11; Week 8: 24-18 loss at Villanova; Week 9: Oct. 31 vs. Bucknell (noon, ESPN+)
20. UC Davis (5-3, 3-2 Big Sky)
Points: 348; Previous Ranking: 20; Week 8: 33-6 win over Northern Colorado; Week 9: Oct. 31 at No. 22 Weber State (3 p.m., ESPN+)
21. Richmond (6-2, 4-1 Patriot)
Points: 267; Previous Ranking: 25; Week 8: 13-6 win over Colgate; Week 9: Oct. 31 at Holy Cross (1 p.m., ESPN+)
22. Weber State (5-4, 4-2 Big Sky)
Points: 176; Previous Ranking: 22; Week 8: 38-33 loss at No. 3 Montana State; Week 9: Oct. 31 vs. No. 20 UC Davis (3 p.m., ESPN+/KMYU)
23. Idaho State (5-3, 2-3 Big Sky)
Points: 145; Previous Ranking: NR; Week 8: 38-8 win over Portland State; Week 9: Oct. 31 at Utah Tech (3 p.m., ESPN+)
24. Abilene Christian (4-4, 3-0 UAC)
Points: 136; Previous Ranking: NR; Week 8: No game; Week 9: Oct. 31 vs. West Georgia (4 p.m., ESPN+)
25. South Carolina State (6-2, 1-0 MEAC)
Points: 96; Previous Ranking: NR; Week 8: 22-7 win over Norfolk State; Week 9: Oct. 29 at Morgan State (7 p.m., ESPNU/ ESPN Deportes)
Dropped Out: Northern Iowa (21), Southeast Louisiana (23), Jackson State (24)
Others Receiving Points (schools listed on two or more ballots)
UAlbany (5-3, 3-1 CAA): 75; Southeastern Louisiana (4-4, 2-3 Southland): 35; Alabama A&M (6-2, 3-1 SWAC): 30; Northern Iowa (3-4, 2-2 MVFC): 30; Chattanooga (5-3, 4-1 Southern): 23; Southeast Missouri (5-3, 3-0 OVC): 15; Wofford (5-3, 3-2 Southern): 15; UIW (4-4, 3-2 Southland): 8; Princeton (4-2, 2-1 Ivy): 7; Jackson State (6-2, 3-2 SWAC): 6; Dayton (6-1, 3-1 Pioneer): 5; Stony Brook (5-3, 3-1 CAA): 3
Stats Perform FCS Top 25 Poll Voting Panel
Stats Perform: Craig Haley. Big Sky Conference: Riley Corcoran, Tyson Rodgers, Larry Weir. CAA Football: Roger Brown, Matt Harmon, Rob Washburn. Ivy League: JJ Klein, Craig Larson. Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference: Isaiah Green, Kendrick Lewis. Missouri Valley Football Conference: Kyle Grooms, Tom Miller, Randy Reinhardt. Northeast Conference: Sarah Boissonneault, Brian Cleary. Ohio Valley Conference: Mike Bradd, Kyle Schwartz, Mark Simpson. Patriot League: Bob Black, Eric Malanoski, Ryan Sakamoto. Pioneer Football League: Cody Bush, Larry Hansgen. Southern Conference: Scott Keeler, Andrew Miller, Ralan Wardlaw. Southland Conference: Matthew Bonnette, James Dixon, Anthony Goss. Southwestern Athletic Conference: Curtis Ford, Ronnie Johnson. United Athletic Conference: Claire Johnson, Benjamin Ray, Jake Withee. National Representatives: Sean Anderson, Stan Becton, Taylor Blue, Zack Carlton, Gene Clemons, Joe DeLeone, Matt Dixon, Steven J. Gaither, Sam Herder, Emory Hunt, Kyle Kensing, Brandon Lawrence, Zach McKinnell, Jon Passman, Omar Rashon Borja, Ryan Roberts, Timothy Rosario, Kent Schmidt, Phil Sokol, Reggie Thomas, Ralph Ventre, Jamie Williams.
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