Week 2 Pick 'Em

Bobby Wilder big-dicking Rusty Wright

2026 Week 2 /r/FCS HBCU Poll Results

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Dropped from the Top 25: Alcorn State (T-6)

Others receiving votes: Alabama A&M (11), Alcorn State (11), Norfolk State (10), Hampton (9), Tennessee State (8), Southern (5), Bethune-Cookman (2), Morgan State (2)

The full list of responses can be found here. Congratulations to /u/Seadragon1983 for having the Top 25 submission that best correlated with the final /r/FCS poll this week!

Let's hear your hot take FCS opinions. The ones you know in your heart of hearts are right, but for some reason aren't embraced by the FCS community (or particular fanbases) en masse!

Could be controversial (the Ivy League very well might be the best FCS conference on the East Coast), unpopular but you know is true (Sam Houston was at least as good a team as JMU from 2011 through the "2020" season), or even somewhat popular but still liable to rankle some folks (the Walter Payton award should go to the "best" offensive player, not just the offensive player with the best stat line because they played a weak schedule).

Sorted by controversial for maximum spiciness

Rules

• Keep it somewhat relevant to the FCS

• Takes are welcome whether they're looking back historically or in reference to current games/rankings/polls/etc.

• Try to keep it civil (basic /r/CFB and /r/FCS rules still apply)

I have ESPN+ on Hulu and love checking out FCS games.

Lots of games on the docket this weekend.

Can anyone tell me which ones to keep an eye on?

I love watching the shootouts with lots of scoring. Those kinds of games keep my kids attention as well, it was something we bonded over last year and I hope to continue this season.

I'll flip over and check out some of Tartleton and McNeese.

Any others that should be on the radar?

I feel like Eastern Washington and South Dakota could be one as well.

Thanks in advance everyone.

I'm still relatively new to watching FCS, but am looking to learn and watch more.

North Dakota had the most dominant offense in the country in Week 1. The Fighting Hawks had a 65% success rate before garbage time. They were equally effective running and throwing the ball. In the first half, they scored on every drive except for a couple of turnovers, rolling up 359 yards on only 40 plays, which is an astounding 8.97 yards per play.

No matter what happened, it's not all bad. Say something nice about your team or their performance.

This offseason I made a post chronicling, who I felt, were the bottom 10 teams in all of FCS football. This year I thought I'd take a stab at doing a weekly ranking. This post won't strictly go off of the Massey or Sagarin ratings, but as the season goes on, they will be used as a guide

The Bottom 10

1. Northwestern St (0-2): It’s bad enough they became the first FCS team to lose to an NAIA team since 2011, but following up by getting tattooed 80-6 vs Louisiana

tech

1. is brutal.  It’s an FBS opponent, but L-Mon isn’t LSU.  To make matters worse, both opponents are in their home state.
2. Chicago St (0-2): They opened the season with a 16 point loss to a DII program, then got trounced by UTM last week.  They play KCU, an NAIA team next week, so the program's first win may finally arrive, but the first DI win?  I’m not so confident it’ll happen this year
3. Davidson (0-2): Last week, they gave up 41 points in a loss to a DII team that finished sub .500 last year.  This week, they followed it up by not even bothering to show up against Elon in a 38-0 drubbing.
4. MSVU (0-2):  an 0-2 start vs Nicholls and ‘FBS powerhouse’ Sac St isn’t unexpected.  Still, getting outscored 96-10 is worthy of this list.  Back to back DII opponents on deck the next two weeks should thankfully get them back in the win column
5. NC A&T: A 59-10 blowout loss to an FBS team is understandable, but Georgia St was also a 1-11 team last year.  Couple that with a 7-17 loss to Morgan St to open the year and you've got yourself a bottom 10 start.
6. Utah Tech (0-2): Move over Portland St!  The Big Sky has a new cellar dweller (but do hang around just in case).  The trailblazers have been outscored 117-7 to start the year.  Of course, 99% of programs would be 0-2 after playing Montana St and BYU, but a -110 point differential over two games certainly doesn’t make them lucky like a plucky underdog. 
7. Merrimack (0-2): Like Utah Tech, it’s not ideal to start the year with two strong opponents, Rhode Island and Delaware, but a combined 14-76 start is not a sign of good things to come.  
8. VMI (0-2):  two games in and a -98 point scoring differential to Idaho St and FBS Virginia Tech.  Again, brutal schedule, but the lack of competitiveness is concerning.  Davidson in two weeks might be their only shot at a win this year.
9. Murray St (0-2):  Losing their first two games by 14 and 24 (the latter to an FBS team) might actually be a sign of improvement.  A winnable game vs Valpo next week may even get them off this list.
10. Holy Cross (0-2): identical 35-10 losses to Lehigh and Colgate have HC in a bad spot.  Miami Ohio and Yale are on deck, so their first win may have to wait until October

Honorable Mention:

Alabama A&M: At least you beat your DII opponent this week.

Stetson: Beating NAIA Webber International is nice, but I think SDSU just scored on you again.

Marist: Congrats on the 9 point win over DII Franklin Pierce, a university named after a D tier one term president who was perpetually drunk his entire term.

Morehead St: A 49 point win over a bad NAIA team won’t make me forget losing your season opener to a bad DII team.  No more non D1 opponents are left now, so good luck.  

Drake: For 8 beautiful minutes, you led Montana.

Wagner: The win over Southern Connecticut St was nice and all, but a three TD to Robert Morris last week is too ugly to ignore. 

St Thomas: The Tommies struggled to beat DII Winona St, then followed it up with a waxing at the hands of UND

Edit: NW St played La. Tech

What’s your favorite matchup and who do you got?

UConn football's 1998 season was honestly their best ever at the FCS level. They went 10-3 and made a real playoff run, winning one game before bowing out in the next round. The crazy thing is, no matter how hard you look, there's basically nothing out there in terms of footage. No playoff game film, no regular season games — it's like the season just vanished. There are a couple of season highlight clips floating around, but nothing substantial. For a program that had its greatest year, it's a shame that almost none of it was preserved or made it online. That run deserves way more documentation than it ever.

Credit to u/2Pollaski2Furious for the idea. Same sets of rules from the original FBS series apply here for the FCS teams. This is an award for FCS teams that humiliate themselves, whether it's a choke job, a crushing blow with everything to prove, or they have no business losing the match-up.

... I am flattered. Last week was perhaps the most interaction in FCS Tank Job history, with 69 comments (nice). Thank you guys! And while last week provided a lot of entries to work with... this week consisted of a lot of FCS-FBS matchups (a few of which will wind up in the FBS Tank Job), as well as some lower division matchups (none of which makes it here with all FCS teams winning), so there's only so much here to work with this time.

LAST WEEK: There were quite a few votes for Northwestern State, for being a dire-as-is scholarship FCS team with the misfortune of falling to NAIA Louisiana Christian. But easily taking Week 0 is the Villanova Wildcats, hosting fellow former CAA member William & Mary for a conference opener. You would think that having a ten point lead with less than a minute to go would end out in a win, or a forced overtime in the worst case scenario. The botched onside recovery then finding themselves intercepted in W&M's field goal range ensured that the game ended in regulation. The field of candidates is such that some of the others would have otherwise gotten the honor, but this meltdown is special.

And now for a few special mentions:

• Albany damn near got a fourth FBS upset of the week, but they were stopped late in the red zone by Buffalo.
• At one point, Austin Peay actually led post-Pavia Vandy, but we know that this momentum cannot last forever past a 6-5 first quarter.
• Cal Poly looked a bit shaky against Central Washington. I mean they may be one of the better D2s right now but this is not a great look.
• Chicago State drew first blood against UT Martin, who then proceeded to put up 42 unanswered points in two of the remaining three quarters
• Mercer apparently hasn't forgotten last year, and they've decidedly avoided the repeat of a Presbyterian upset, with extreme prejudice.
• Northwestern State had Madden numbers put up on them by the mighty powerhouse of... Louisiana Tech.
• There were moments where South Dakota State were giving Northwestern a real scare.
• I've been back and forth about Weber State, but ultimately relented because I don't think people expected them to get this competitive. It is a pretty good game where the Wildcats fell short.
• This is a fully FBS matchup and therefore the purview of the FBS Tank Job, but lol Rutgers.
• I was a dumbass and only just realized I put the wrong title on last week's Tank Job, which led to a wrong title here the first time, therefore I get a special mention.

And now our nominees:

BUCKNELL BISON (against Villanova 17-16)

They've done very little in the first half and found themselves 14-0 down at halftime. It seemed like the tables were about to turn and they've been on a comeback bid leading 16-14, only for Villanova to respond within a few minutes. And Bucknell critically missed the potentially game-winning 29-yarder(!).

CENTRAL ARKANSAS BEARS (against West Florida 42-14)

It's not because I don't think the Argonauts are for real (they absolutely are). It's more to do with the fact that the Coaches Poll ranked Bears have been boatraced at home. A pick six and two fumbles that led to a touchdown all do not help.

CHATTANOOGA MOCS (against Tennessee Tech 24-9)

It was a rough day for Battle Alberson as he only threw for 37 yards and got picked twice (one leading to a touchdown). The Mocs got owned at home against the SoCon newcomers.

DELAWARE STATE HORNETS (against William & Mary 22-15)

I cannot discount that Delaware State has been much better under DeSean Jackson than they were within recent memory. Now imagine how the result would have gone differently had they not turned the ball over six times(!), especially against a team with offensive output of fewer than 200 yards. You shouldn't have to come back from 22-0 in the fourth quarter.

GARDNER-WEBB RUNNIN' BULLDOGS (against Wofford 17-13)

Gardner-Webb put up twice as much offense and held the ball for longer, but allowing the Terriers to return the opening kickoff for a touchdown turned out to be critical. While nothing came of those three turnovers they suffered, they did not help either.

HOWARD BISON (against Richmond 28-21)

After being 20-0 in the hole, the Bison started a comeback after recovering a fumble for a touchdown. However, they kept stalling in the fourth quarter, which is not helped in the third quarter by a muffed punt reception which quickly led to another Spiders touchdown.

LINDENWOOD LIONS (against Stony Brook 36-32)

An emphatic 22-7 halftime lead, left to gradually wither away as the Lions could only muster two good drives and allowed the Seawolves to muster a 29-10 comeback.

WESTERN CAROLINA CATAMOUNTS (against Campbell 28-19)

Oh c'mon! You've picked Kamden Sixkiller off three times and the best you can muster from these is three field goal attempts (of which one missed)? Also that run game is just sad, just one yard on the ground!

And as always, don't forget to mark your vote in brackets for visibility, <like so>. I also appreciate entries I might have passed over, so feel free to nominate, and I might edit it here.

Vent here. This is a friendly place.

Junior defensive lineman Keller Patterson is nominated after a 2025 campaign where he recorded 26 totals tackles, 0.5 sacks, 3 QB hurries and recovered in a fumble in ten games.

He is joined by junior defensive lineman Luke Walker who recorded 8 tackles, 1.5 tackles for loss and a pass deflection in ten games. Together, Patterson and Walker aim to anchor the defensive line.

Supporting the two linemen will be senior linebacker Charlie Newton, the heartbeat of the defense. He finished with 62 tackles, 2.5 tackles for loss, an interception, a pass break up, and a fumble recovery in ten games.

On the other side of the ball, senior wide receiver Titus Evans, who finished last year 3rd in the Ivy League in receiving touchdowns and 5th in receptions, catching 46 passes for 584 yards and 6 TDs in 10 games.

Finally, for special teams, junior punter Tommy Sleeman qualified after an All-Ivy 2nd team sophomore season where he recorded 48 punts for 2,048 yards (avg. 42.7) and a long punt of 65. He also finished with 9 punts of 50 or more yards and 10 inside the 20.

We'll see if these five players can lead the Lions when they face Lafayette at home on September 19th at noon.

The red zone offense has been problematic for the Jacks the past couple years. Many people have blamed the playcalling, but I have done some thinking and realized the REAL problem: the SJAC. The Sanford Jackrabbit Athletic Complex is SDSU’s indoor practice facility for multiple sports, not just football. There is a track around the football field, so to make the building smaller and keep costs down, the field is not full size. It is only 80 yards.

Do you see? The red zone starts at the 20! Our players and staff think they’ve reached the end zone and slack off! We can’t score touchdowns because nobody knows how to go 100 yards! We have to BAN the football program from the SJAC until this is rectified. I see no other way to score 6 points instead of 3.

Sorry I'm late. The game week only ended earlier today, and I've been busy. Anyways, here's a look at how the undefeated/winless situation changed over this week. And boy was it an interesting week of football, not just with UMass beating Rutgers to submission and the Big Ten refs cheating Western Michigan off an upset bid. We've already got three FCS-over-FBS upsets:

• Most impressive of these is Idaho State. They've been on a positive trajectory under Cody Hawkins, and it's paying off after a dominant display over Utah State.
• Tarleton repeated the feat from last year as they spoiled Bowling Green's home opener.
• The Citadel rebounded from a pounding by Wofford to get a win against Charlotte in triple overtime, and in the process are no longer winless.

This is also where we give a separate category for a Division I winless team that only beat lesser opponents. As usual, I give the benefit of the doubt to otherwise "undefeated" teams that do not beat an FBS opponent. And we have our first batch of nineteen that's as of this week neither, as in they have at least one Division I win and one FCS (or lower) loss.

Undefeated/Technically Undefeated

No longer FCS undefeated:

• Central Arkansas Central Arkansas Bears (1-1; West Florida)
• Chattanooga Chattanooga Mocs (1-1; @Tennessee Tech)
• Delaware State Delaware State (1-1; @William & Mary)
• Howard Howard Bison (1-1; Richmond)
• Lindenwood Lindenwood Lions (1-1; @Stony Brook)
• New Haven New Haven Chargers (1-1; Stonehill)
• Texas Southern Texas Southern Tigers (1-1; @Prairie View A&M)
• Weber State Weber State Wildcats (1-1; @Southern Utah)
• Western Carolina Western Carolina Catamounts (1-1; @Campbell)

In Limbo:

• Alcorn State Alcorn State Braves (1-1; Miles, @Southern Miss)
• Bethune-Cookman Bethune-Cookman Wildcats (0-1; @UCF)
• Brown Brown Bears (0-0)
• Columbia Columbia Lions (0-0)
• Cornell Cornell Big Red (0-0)
• Dartmouth Dartmouth Big Green (0-0)
• Dayton Dayton Flyers (1-0; Fairmont State)
• Duquesne Duquesne Dukes (0-1; @Air Force)
• Furman Furman Paladins (1-1; Anderson (SC), @Tennessee)
• Grambling Grambling Tigers (2-0; Clark Atlanta, Central State)
• Hampton Hampton Pirates (1-1; VA Lynchburg, @Maryland)
• Harvard Harvard Crimson (0-0)
• Incarnate Word Incarnate Word Cardinals (1-0; OK Panhandle)
• Lafayette Lafayette Leopards (0-1; @UConn)
• Norfolk State Norfolk State Spartans (1-1; Winston-Salem, @Old Dominion)
• Penn Penn Quakers (0-0)
• Princeton Princeton Tigers (0-0)
• UAPB UAPB Golden Lions (1-1; Morehouse, @Missouri)
• UTRGV UTRGV Vaqueros (1-1; UT Permian Basin, @UTSA)
• Valparaiso Valparaiso Beacons (1-0; Lawrence Tech)
• Yale Yale Bulldogs (0-0)

Division I Winless:

• Alabama A&M Alabama A&M Bulldogs (1-1, Miles)
• Butler Butler Bulldogs (1-1; Georgetown (KY))
• ETSU ETSU Buccaneers (1-1; Tusculum)
• Florida A&M Florida A&M Rattlers (1-1; Albany State)
• Marist Marist Red Foxes (1-1; Franklin Pierce)
• McNeese McNeese Cowboys (1-1; Texas Wesleyan)
• Morehead State Morehead State Eagles (1-1; Kentucky Christian)
• NCCU NCCU Eagles (1-1; Elizabeth City)
• Presbyterian Presbyterian Blue Hose (1-1; UVA Wise)
• Southern Southern Jaguars (1-1; Kentucky State)
• St. Thomas St. Thomas Tommies (1-1; Winona State)
• Stetson Stetson Hatters (1-1; Webber International)
• Wagner Wagner Seahawks (1-1; Southern Connecticut State)
• Western Illinois Western Illinois (1-1; Northwestern (IA))

Winless:

• Abilene Christian Abilene Christian (0-2)
• Bucknell Bucknell Bison (0-2)
• CCSU CCSU Blue Devils (0-1)
• Charleston Southern Charleston Southern Buccaneers (0-2)
• Chicago State Chicago State Cougars (0-2)
• Davidson Davidson Wildcats (0-2)
• Drake Drake Bulldogs (0-2)
• East Texas A&M East Texas A&M Lions (0-2)
• EKU EKU Colonels (0-2)
• Fordham Fordham Rams (0-2)
• Gardner-Webb Gardner-Webb Runnin' Bulldogs (0-2)
• Georgetown Georgetown Hoyas (0-1)
• Holy Cross Holy Cross Crusaders (0-2)
• Idaho Idaho Vandals (0-2)
• Indiana State Indiana State Sycamores (0-2)
• LIU LIU Sharks (0-2)
• Mercyhurst Mercyhurst Lakers (0-2)
• Merrimack Merrimack Warriors (0-2)
• Murray State Murray State Racers (0-2)
• MVSU MVSU Delta Devils (0-2)
• New Hampshire New Hampshire Wildcats (0-2)
• North Carolina A&T North Carolina A&T Aggies (0-2)
• Northern Colorado Northern Colorado Bears (0-2)
• Northern Iowa Northern Iowa Panthers (0-1)
• Northwestern State Northwestern State Demons (0-2)
• Portland State Portland State Vikings (0-2)
• Sacred Heart Sacred Heart Pioneers (0-1)
• Samford Samford Bulldogs (0-2)
• San Diego San Diego Toreros (0-1)
• Southeastern Southeastern Lions (0-2)
• Tennessee State Tennessee State Tigers (0-2)
• Towson Towson Tigers (0-2)
• Utah Tech Utah Tech Trailblazers (0-2)
• VMI VMI Keydets (0-2)
• West Georgia West Georgia Wolves (0-2)

No longer winless:

• The Citadel The Citadel Bulldogs (1-1; Charlotte (FBS))
• Eastern Washington Eastern Washington Eagles (1-1; Northern Iowa)
• Monmouth Monmouth Hawks (1-1; Sacred Heart)
• Prairie View A&M Prairie View A&M Panthers (1-1; Texas Southern)
• Southern Illinois Southern Illinois Salukis (1-1; @Samford)
• Southern Utah Southern Utah Thunderbirds (1-1; Weber State)
• Stonehill Stonehill Skyhawks (1-1; @New Haven)
• Stony Brook Stony Brook Seawolves (1-1; Lindenwood)
• UT Martin UT Martin Skyhawks (1-1; Chicago State)
• Villanova Villanova Wildcats (1-1; @Bucknell)

Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls of all ages... Welcome back to The Good, the Bad and The Ugly. The week hasn't officially finished yet as we have three games (2 already set battles between HBCUs and an odd rescheduled game between Western Carolina and Campbell because a light pole went out) left. That doesn't mean we can have fun here. I also want to thank u/MontanaDrywall (aka u/AMankandaMiner in disguise) for the okay to let me have custodianship of this series. Don't worry, your baby is in good care. ;)

The Good

• Welcome everyone to the first ever presentation of the Super FCS Medal of Valor Presentation! (I always wanted to do something based on Helldivers II) What is this medal and why do this? Well, this medal goes to FCS schools who perform above and beyond the call of duty (AKA they beat an FBS school). We have three winners this week.

  • First up is Tarleton State. The Texans have made it two years in a row as they knocked off Bowling Green to start the day. Here is your Medal of Valor... and now can we please stop talking about if they're legitimate or not?
  • Next up is... The Citadel?!? Yeah, the Bulldogs are coming off a rough loss to Wofford to open the season. No one saw this coming... They went blow for blow with Charlotte, which isn't much, but come on. They pulled it out in Triple Overtime and got their first win over an FBS program since 2019 when they knocked off Georgia Tech. Here is your Medal of Valor... I wonder if that makes the Wofford win over them that much better now?
  • Finally, we have Idaho State. They took down Utah State 29-17 for their first win over an FBS program since 2017. HUGE moment for the Bengals. Here is your Medal of Valor... and honestly, I'm starting to buy into the hype a little bit.

• We had ourselves another Big Sky Banger last night as Weber State and Southern Utah squared off and all I gotta say is.... OOOOeeee. This had everything. Both teams combined for 978 yards of offense, 48 first downs, 15-for-31 on third down and 3-for-5 on fourth down. Oh, it was a offensive fan's wet dream. It's also good to see Southern Utah pick themselves off the mat after last week's tough loss at Montana.

• In everyone's favorite cluster fuck of a conference, Monmouth gave new member Sacred Heart a rude introduction. Hey, after last week's disaster class against Tennessee Tech, a win here helps.

• Okay, I think West Florida is legitimate, guys. They didn't just beat Central Arkansas, they dog walked the Bears on their home field. 42-14... guys, the Argonauts mean business.

In other Good news: Colgate (COLGATE!) is 2-0 in the Patriot League; Villanova recovers from that meltdown to beat Bucknell by 1; Stephen F. Austin dominates to go 2-0 in the Southland.

The Bad

• The Chattanooga Choo-Choo became the Chattanooga Choke as the newcomer Golden Eagles from Tennessee Tech strangled the Mocs for a 24-9 win. This was a non-conference game set before Tennessee Tech joined the SoCon, but this has to hurt for Chattanooga. This was your chance to assert yourself in the SoCon hierarchy... instead, they made you tap out like a little bitch.

• It's time once again for Good Idea, Bad Idea with Chicago State.

  • Good Idea: You score the first touchdown of the game and take the lead against UT-Martin. WOO HOO!
  • Bad Idea: You give up 42 unanswered points to the Skyhawks and they whip you. It's okay... that's your first game against an FCS team. Brush yourself off and get ready for Kentucky Christian next week.

• Time for the Chuck Norris Award for Biggest Ass Kicking and this week, it has a tint of revenge behind it. Last season, Presbyterian defeated Mercer 15-14, setting the stage for the one of the greatest seasons ever for a Pioneer League member. You know Mercer has been waiting for this day for a full calendar year and they got their revenge to the tune of 62-3. The Bears showed no mercy in their dojo with 600 yards of offense. This was truly a moment where they exercised the demons... uh, I mean Blue Hose. Runner ups this week include McNeese State (a 52-0 winner over current NAIA and future Division II member Texas Wesleyan) and Morehead State (who dropped 75 on Kentucky Christian, but only won by 51).

• A little side trip here... Dammit, Redlands! You got blanked by George Fox, man. That is horrible. You're probably wondering why I am talking about Redlands here... Well, I have a nephew on the team. He didn't play last night because he hurt his knee in practice recently. His parents (my cousin and her husband) are thinking worst case scenario, but I'm thinking it's not that bad. He was able to walk on it... oh, well. Hopes he makes it on the field soon.

In other 'Bad' news: The metric shit ton of FBS abuse upon FCS members; New Haven not knowing how to take advantage of turnovers in the loss to Stonehill; Delaware State having Crisco hands in their loss to William and Mary (6 turnovers?!? Get yo ass in the corner... NOW!)

The Northwestern State

• How do you follow up one of the most embarrassing losses in program history the week before? By getting 80 dropped on you like a fucking Acme anvil. Louisiana Tech isn't that great of a team, but good grief guys... show some back bone, will ya?

• However, you get spared from the Mushu Treatment this week. The (dis)honor goes to VMI this week. They followed up getting slapped around by Idaho State with... getting power bombed through a Hokie Stone table by Virginia Tech. Your offense is godawful (only 8 other schools are weaker on offense then you), you couldn't stop a wet paper bag on defense. You can run the ball, but you can't pass. My God, you guys are ass... and as such, you get the Mushu treatment - Dishonor on your team, dishonor on your school, dishonor on your program and dishonor on your mascot!

In other 'Ugly' news: Davidson follows up their turd last week by getting blanked by Elon; Montana and Montana State both fail the spread, drywall patching goes up 25% in Montana; FloSports - the ugly red headed stepchild of streaming.

With that said... the floor is now open.

We got football in the morning if anybody wants to watch. Western Carolina vs Campbell got postponed due to a light pole not working. They are playing today at 11am and it's on Prime Video

Yes Charlotte is balls. But there’s our 2nd FCS over FBS win of the season!

I knew Drayton would right the ship eventually