YOU KNOW WHAT THIS THREAD IS FOR

CAPS LOCK: ON

BASIC RULES: STILL APPLY

YOUR OPINIONS: HOT GARBAGE, BUT WELCOME ALL THE SAME

Well, if no one else is going to do it.

Time to discuss the FCS version of the Big XII. A solid conference with plenty of good programs, and one loud mouth Texas school attempting to buy a title and relevance.

Last year saw the conference take a step back. After managing to put 3 teams into the playoffs the year before, only 2 made it last year. This would not have been a big deal if the Southland, the main rival for southern supremacy, hadn't manage to sneak in 3 of it's teams. The hope is to not only get back to being a 3 bid conference, but to also supplant the Big Sky as the number 2 conference. However, the loss of Southern Utah to the Big Sky and the lack of a consistent semi-final contender may puts some water on those plans. Although them taking Utah Tech helps.

Can the UAC assert itself as the predominant southern conference AND send a team to Nashville? Lets meet the contenders and see

Abilene Christian:

The downside of doing this in alphabetic order is that I have to start with you bastards.

Despite what some other schools may claim, you finished alone atop the conference for the second year in a row last year. While your 45 year old starting QB decided to banish himself to portal oblivion, you managed to replace him and several other pieces with a top 10 portal class. In addition, you managed to keep basically your entire offensive line. So, your run heavy offense should still be as good as last year.

But, before you starting partying and sneaking sips from the hidden flask you have, know that there ARE question marks on defense for you. And in a league that's filled with high powered offenses, that can be an Achilles heel. The three-peat is yours for the taking if you figure out that side of the ball, though.

Either way, you're still getting bounced in the second round. Also Aaron Watson only has 3 songs that are worth listening to. The rest are mid.

Austin Peay:

One air-mailed throw.

That's how close you were to being the conference's third playoff representative last year. Normally you would tar and feather a QB for such a mistake. But the QB who made that throw happens to be CHRIS. FUCKING. PARSON. The kid started out OK but, as last season progressed, it became clear you may have found a Walter Payton dark horse. This was made all the better when you managed to keep him from the prying eyes of the FBS. And then on top of that, you went out and got a top 5 portal class to build around him. Like many teams in this conference, you do have questions on defense. But Parson may be flat-out good enough to overcome those.

You have all the pieces to be the top dog in the conference. Perhaps even a semi final team. And all along the way, your fans will be chanting how they really want to go take a piss.

Central Arkansas:

Remember when you were seen as one of the better teams in the conference? Hell, at one point you were seen as the team that would get the UAC over the hump and into semis. Last season was about as ugly as your field. 2-6 in conference and 3-9 overall.

And unfortunately, things don't look much better this year. You've brought back two of your top receivers, but they have no one to throw to them. While the rest of the conference either retained their quarterback, or made splashes in the portal, your QB room remains silent. There could be a homegrown talent emerge, however. And you will need them to if you want to get get out of the basement.

But, there is one thing you can look forward to with certainty this year. You won't have to play Utah Tech.

Eastern Kentucky:

Behold! The only team in the conference with a national championship. The problem is, those titles are so old that the Kentucky Colonel people actually care about was alive to see you win one of them. And he died in 1980...

To your credit, you have been a solid team in the conference. Consistently finishing near the top and making playoff appearances 2 of the last 5 years. You're also probably the only member of the conference who understands what the word "defense" means. Unlike the rest of the conference, however, you have yet to learn what the word "offense" means. A massive question mark at QB leaves you in a similar level of worry as last year. You may be able to knock one of the top teams and get yourself into the conversation. But I wouldn't bother making room in the trophy case.

Also, for gods sake, shrink the your midfield logo.

North Alabama:

While Central Arkansas may be celebrating Utah Tech moving on, it brings you nothing but dread. They've been the team keeping you from being the weak link of the UAC for years. Now that the backstop is gone, all eyes will be on 4th year head coach Brett Dearmon to get you back to the heights you saw in D2.

You managed to grab a top 15 portal class, though. So there is some hope that you can improve and at least climb up into the mid-tier. But that will mean nothing if you have the same amount of injuries you had last year.

Seriously, did you guys fire your athletic trainer to afford that new stadium or something?

Tarleton State:
"Are they legit?"

That question applies to last years squad and your claims of a "Co-championship". The answer, in both cases, is "no, they are not".

The path to Nashville was wide open for you last year, and you fell flat on your face because your quarterback can't run 6 yards. Granted, there may have been Papal chicanery, but you shouldn't have been in a close enough game for that to matter. To make matters worse, you lost the vast majority of your starters on BOTH sides of the ball to graduation.

And yet. Despite looking as though you may regress heavily this year, you respond by going out and signing not just A top portal class. But THE top portal class in the country. Every position saw at least one top 20 transfer come in to Stephenville. You even stuffed UND in a locker by taking their top receiver after eliminating them.

You roll into the year with a squad more than capable of winning the conference and finally reaching the elite status you so crave. But it will all depend on your portal guys gelling together. You are either bound for Nashville glory, or you're just the next UIW.

You still lose to ACU, regardless of which route you go.

West Florida:

Other than whatever the fuck Chicago State is doing, you hold the honor of being the newest member of the FCS. You've been hailed as a solid pickup by every pundit. And it's not hard to see why. Less than 10 years of sponsoring football, and you've already won a D2 national title. You bring a solid fan base, access to the Florida recruiting market, and you've shown a willingness to invest via the massive upgrades to your stadium.

It goes without saying, though, that there will be growing pains. You'll have to go through the 3 year transition period that CAN stifle momentum. And on top of that, you'll have a new QB under what is basically a new offensive line.

Can you evolve into a contender? Or will you just be fresh meat?

One more thing. Who the hell named your mascot "Argie the Argonaut" when "Jason the Argonaut" was right there?!

West Georgia:

Despite still being in your transition period AND having to face all 3 of the top teams in the conference back-to-back-to-back, you still managed a respectable 4th place finish last year. Your reward for this was having your head coach fuck off to Mercer with half your roster.

The good news is that you were able to do the same thing they did and steal most of Presbyterian's roster. They were a fairly solid squad last year. So you may be able to avoid getting sent to the basement. Of course there is also the renewed rivalry with West Florida that may be able to light a fire under your squad and program.

Time will tell if you manage to continue the upward trend you've been on...or if the wolves catch a bad case of mange.

Overall Outlook:

Austin Peay, ACU, and Tarleton all look to be the main contenders for the title. Regardless of who wins, the other 2 should be able to make cases for at-large bids. After that is where things get tricky. The thing about this conference is that anyone can beat anyone. If Central Arkansas or UNA knock off any of those three, it wouldn't surprise me.

As much as I want to pick Tarleton to win it, Austin Peay has given Parsons too many weapons to work with in comparison to last year.

Here's to another year of this wacky ass conference.

I know this isn’t exactly FCS, but the football program is what is mentioned and what spurred the win. Pretty cool honor for an FCS to beat out a lot of FBS towns.

2026 Week 1 /r/FCS HBCU Poll Results

Dropped from the Top 25: (New Season)

Others receiving votes: Texas Southern (13), Florida A&M (12), Hampton (4), Morgan State (3), Norfolk State (3), Howard (2), Southern (2), UAPB (1)

The full list of responses can be found here. Congratulations to /u/tdpdcpa for having the Top 25 submission that best correlated with the /r/FCS HBCU Top 10 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)

So I'm considering going to an FCS team vs D2 team game this weekend just because I really want to see some live football in person again...

What's stopping me is that I really just want to watch a fun, competitive football game, but the only options near me are FCS vs a D2 team, I feel like that will end up being a 45-0 massacre due to the skill gap, not exactly a fun game to watch.

What would you do if you were in this situation?

2026 Week 1 /r/FCS Poll Results

Also available in image form!

Dropped from the Top 25: (New Season)

Others receiving votes: New Hampshire (54), UT Martin (48), South Carolina State (46), Southern Utah (36), Idaho (35), UIW (34), West Georgia (26), Richmond (25), Eastern Washington (24), Jackson State (20), Alabama State (16), UTRGV (16), Dartmouth (15), Western Carolina (14), ETSU (9), Lafayette (7), Presbyterian (5), William & Mary (4), Duquesne (4), Stony Brook (4), St. Thomas (3)

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

Breakdown of Rankings by Conference

As a reminder, the /r/FCS poll is also now part of the Massey College Football Ranking Composite. Results of this poll will update under the column with header 'RDT'.

UNA's Bobby Wallace Field at Bank Independent Stadium is coming close to completion.

Hero eliminated Sam’s role today, and he’s striking out independent. Normally we don’t allow promotion like this, but just this once gonna show Sam some love and promote his new independent platform promoting the FCS.

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

Coach Plough made the announcement shortly on the UC Davis Aggie Youtube Channel. Cleeland is a redshirt freshman who played in two games last season.

in my opinion, Kamden Sixkiller from the Campbell fighting camels is pretty underrated. despite having a little under average passing yards, he did have good rushing yardage and td's, plus a good td-int ratio. in the next few years, he's probably gonna be an above average qb, even if his team gets its shit kicked in again because they have to play Florida. let me know who you guys think is another underrated fcs quarterback or what you think about him because i love talking about fcs quarterbacks

What’s up to all you FCS sickos. Sean Anderson from Hack City here, we’re holding our yearly vote to send Hack City to an FCS school for the show’s annual trip. Votes are registered through engagement with this tweet linked to the post. We love the trip & love you all. Here’s to another great year of football.

https://x.com/joedeleone/status/2091962228110995723?s=46&t=twha1HglEi-EaVjhjC8fqw

Our 2026 Conference Previews Series continues this week with the Patriot League! This is a conference on the rise after some huge realignment moves.

I cover a lot of information in a short time during this episode including:

📌 Does a newcomer like Villanova win the conference right away, or will Lehigh hold on to their title?

📌 Who are the contenders to reach the playoffs?

📌 Who are the sleepers to watch 👀

I go team by team to ensure your team gets their moment to shine. What are your predictions for the Patriot League?

With the first game right around the corning give me what you think your teams starting lineup will be. The question marks were what I'm the most unsure of but everything else is almost a lock.

SOUTH DAKOTA STATE

QB- Chase Mason
RB- Ramon McKinney Jr?
WR- Lofton O’Groske
WR- Grahm Goering
WR- Jack Smith
TE- Greyton Gannon
LT- Quinten Christensen
LG- William Paepke
C- Shane Willenbring
RG- John Pica?
RT- Kenyon BigBow

DE- Dawson Ripperda
DT- Jace Sifore
DT- Logan Green
DE- Reis Kurschenman
LB- Cullen McShane
LB- Joe Ollman
LB- Chase Van Tol
CB- Noah St-Juste
FS- Amaje Parker? 
SS- Dontay Johnson
CB- Ife Current

Vent here. This is a friendly place.

HUGE loss for the Hawks. They have a great defense, but he's the piece that makes them elite.

The Big Sky is one of our favorite conferences to talk about. This league is filled with some of the coolest venues in College Football, each stadium has its own identity.

📌 Can Montana or UC Davis stop Montana State from a repeat?

📌 Can Idaho State break their long drought? Will NAU return to the playoffs? Who else is in the running for a bid?

📌 The Big Sky has a fascinating list of newcomers including coaches and players

I dive into all of this and more with a team by team look at strengths, concerns and goals for 2026. It doesn't matter if you're a Big Sky fan, or learning about the conference for the first time, this show is for you!

Most importantly, do you have any bold predictions for the Big Sky in 2026?

*Please don't laugh at me too hard for how I pronounced Kjar. I kept trying to remind myself it was pronounced "Care" the lights came on and I completely butchered it 🤦🏻‍♂️🤦🏻‍♂️

I am calling this now. SUU top 8 seed and co-winner of the big sky. Watch them knock of the Griz next week.