BILLINGS — The Football Championship Subdivision playoff committee released its midseason top-10 rankings Thursday, with Montana State checking in at No. 2 and Montana at No. 6.
Per the NCAA, this is the first time the committee has released in-season playoff rankings since 2019.
The Bobcats and Grizzlies have matching 6-1 overall records. Defending national champion South Dakota State (7-1) is slotted at No. 1. The full top-10 rankings are as follows:
1. South Dakota State (7-0)
2. Montana State (6-1)
3. Furman (6-1)
4. South Dakota (6-1)
5. Delaware (6-1)
6. Montana (6-1)
7. Idaho (5-2)
8. Sacramento State (5-2)
9. Western Carolina (5-2)
10. Incarnate Word (6-1)
“This is a snapshot of where the committee ranks the top 10 today, based on our review of each team’s resume,” Kent Haslam, chair of the committee and the athletic director at Montana, was quoted on the NCAA's website.
“There will be a lot of impactful games played the next few weeks, so things are likely to change. We thought providing transparency would be helpful to the FCS community.”
Among the criteria the committee used are won-lost record, strength of schedule, the American Football Coaches Association poll, and the STATS Perform poll.
Montana State travels to Idaho this week for what is a consequential matchup in the chase for the Big Sky Conference title, as well as the postseason pecking order. Montana, which knocked off Idaho two weeks ago, hosts Northern Colorado.
The NCAA Division I Football Championship playoff bracket will be made up of 10 automatic qualifiers and 14 at-large teams. The playoffs will begin Saturday, Nov. 25. The FCS postseason selection show is Nov. 19 and will air on ESPNU.
