FCS Briefing: ETSU Stays Atop SoCon Power Rankings

By THOMAS STOKES

SoCon Power Rankings 

Most Southern Conference teams are halfway through their schedule.  One team, ETSU, remains undefeated and for that reason the Bucs are still atop our rankings. But, after that, where do the other teams stack up? 

1. ETSU – Another week in the top spot as the Bucs showed the ability to recover from a bad start, and a 10-0 deficit, to put away The Citadel 34-16 on the road. Special teams and defense were the names of the game over the weekend, as they returned a fumble and a blocked punt for touchdowns. The Bucs now have this week off before starting the second half of their season before heading to VMI Oct. 24.
2. Tennessee Tech – On a rainy day in Cookeville, Tech did enough to win against Furmanm, 20-15. With what looks like a weak group of FCS Playoff bubble teams, if the Golden Eagles continue to win, they are for sure an at-large team. Hopefully they don’t end up with a tough MVFC opponent in the first round again.  
3. Mercer – The Bears jump up to third after naming JP Pickles the starting quarterback going into this weekend’s game at Samford. Former ETSU QB Jaylen King just committed way too many turnovers to keep the job. What if Mercer wins out between now and then? Looking down the road if Mercer continues winning, the Nov. 21 season finale between ETSU and Mercer could be for the conference title. ETSU has not won in Macon since 2018, which is the Bucs’ only win at Mercer since football was revived.
4. Chattanooga – Samford should have put up more of a fight against a Mocs team that only has a rushing offense. Chattanooga didn’t allow this game to be a trap game like it would have in seasons past. With a couple of upsets from teams set to play ETSU, the Mocs could make things interesting in the SoCon race, but must find a passing game.
5. Wofford – The only team that played out of conference on Saturday and the Terriers won 16-0 against CAA upstart Elon, even without QB Ethan Drumm,  would not be available for them. Wofford plays at winless VMI Saturday, then is off, then faces Samford. Those are two very winnable games Wofford needs to take as it tries to fight its way back into the race for the SoCon auto bid. 
6. Western Carolina – Off this week, the Catamounts’ remaining schedule would be considered the easiest remaining: three of the last five games come against teams below WCU in the standings in Furman, Samford, and The Citadel. If the Catamounts can find a way to beat Wofford and Chattanooga, they are right back in the SoCon title race if upsets happen in front of them. 
7. Furman – After upsetting Mercer last month, a win over Tennessee Tech would have kept the Paladins in the discussion for the conference championship, but once again Furman couldn’t score. The defense played well, holding a good Golden Eagles offense to only 20 points. It will be interesting to see what the Paladins do in the offseason to try to find any kind of offense for 2027. 
8. Samford – The Bulldogs did not give the Mocs any fight. Finishing with 20 yards of rushing won’t win games on any level of football. The upcoming schedule is tough, so Samford could finish with just one win in 2026.
9. The Citadel – The Citadel started off great against ETSU but coughed the game up after huge mistakes at key times. Until you get to the Silver Shako against VMI, I don’t see the Bulldogs winning another game. They face way too many of the top half teams in the conference. 
10. VMI – The Keydets had an off week and now finish off thae season that they soon will want to forget. The 2021 spring conference champions hope 2027 will be a lot better than this year has been to them. 

FCS Viewing Guide 

(Rankings are Stats FCS and all times are Eastern)

#19 Northern Iowa vs #6 Youngstown State 

Northern Iowa comes into the week ranked after another upset win at home, beating North Dakota 24-17. This will be a key game for the Panthers, who have to win to stay in the running for the conference auto bid. This will also be their first road conference game of the year. UNI’s schedule is loaded but I could see a win in just one of the three upcoming games with Youngstown, South Dakota State, and South Dakota being enough to get the Panthers in as an at-large with seven wins.  The Penguins are coming off a lopsided 57-24 win against Indiana State. In that game Beau Brungard broke the school record for rushing touchdowns by a quarterback. This is a must win game if Penguins look to stay in the conversation for a top-8 seed, with Illinois State and North Dakota still looming on the schedule. 

Dayton vs Butler 

For the first time this year let’s take a look at the Pioneer League. These two teams have one loss overall, so they are looking to fight for the automatic bid for the playoffs. Butler is undefeated in conference play, joining Marist as the only other team. This game will be played at Butler, which has a legendary stadium – the Bud and Jackie Sellick Bowl. When it was built in 1928, it hosted 36,000 fans, making it one of the largest stadiums in the nation at the time. The stadium has seen some great teams on this field as it hosted Notre Dame many moons ago, for example. Now the stadium only holds one-sixth the capacity of what it once did but it still should be on the bucket list of FCS enthusiasts just for history. Butler’s only loss is to defending champion Montana State earlier in the year. Since then, the Bulldogs have reeled off four straight wins, two in conference. This is a much bigger game for Butler than it is for Dayton, which even with a win, still will need some help to secure its conference automatic bid to the playoffs. 

FCS Playoff Committee Poll Preview

This coming Tuesday, the FCS Playoff Committee releases its first Top 10 poll; this will show what the committee is thinking when it comes to the top eight seeds. I took a deep dive into the polls released the past three Octobers, and where those ten teams ended up in that season. It will be interesting to see who is in the first poll on Tuesday.

2023: 

1. South Dakota State – Ended the season as the No. 1 1 seed for the playoffs 
2. Montana State – Dropped down to the 6th seed 
3. Furman – Dropped down to the 7th seed 
4. South Dakota – Rose to the 3rd seed 
5. Delaware – Went unseeded 
6. Montana – Rose to the 2nd seed
7. Idaho – Rose to the 4th seed
8. Sacramento State – Went unseeded 
9. Western Carolina – Missed the playoffs  
10. Incarnate Word – Missed the playoffs 

2024: 

1. North Dakota State – Dropped to the 2nd Seed 
2. Montana State – Rose to the 1st Seed 
3. South Dakota State – Exact Seed 
4. South Dakota – Exact Seed 
5. UC Davis – Exact Seed 
6. SEMO – Unseeded 
7. Idaho – Dropped to 8th seed 
8. Mercer – Rose to 7th seed 
9. UIW – Rose to 6th Seed 
10.  Montana – Dropped to 14th seed 

2025: 

1. North Dakota State – Exact Seed
2. Montana State – Exact Seed 
3. Montana – Exact Seed
4. Lehigh – Dropped to 5th Seed 
5. Tarleton State – Rose to 4th Seed
6. South Dakota State – Dropped to 14th seed
7. Tennessee Tech – Dropped to 13th Seed 
8. Monmouth – Missed playoffs
9. Harvard – Went unseeded 
10. UC Davis – Missed playoffs