2026 FCS Season Top 25 Rankings Released Way Too Early

The 2025 FCS championship ended with a Nashville celebration, and the sport isn't waiting around to start the next conversation. As Craig Haley put it, "The 2025 FCS football season ended with a Nashville party, and it's getting an encore, so we're already looking at how perennial contenders will pound their chests again and conference title races will stay red hot." NCAA.com has already released its early Top 25 for 2026, spotlighting contenders fresh off the championship run and zeroing in on roster changes, transfers, and paths back to the playoffs. Spring developments are already in motion, and the teams below represent the most compelling storylines heading into the new season.

Haley was direct about the competitive reality: "Make no mistake, though, the national championship discussion doesn't feel much different heading toward the 2026 season." With that in mind, here are the 25 teams and storylines defining the early 2026 FCS landscape.

1. Rhode Island (Defending Champion)

The Rams are the team everyone is chasing. Defending champ Rhode Island still boasts the passing combo of Devin Farrell to Marquis Buchanan, one of the most dangerous aerial attacks in the subdivision. What makes Rhode Island genuinely scary heading into 2026 is the defensive backbone: linebackers Moses Meus and Rohan Davy are both coming off 100-plus tackle seasons. Adding a logistical wrinkle, the Rams will play their 2026 home games in Pawtucket, a venue change worth monitoring as spring practice approaches.

2. Perennial Contenders from Familiar Conferences

Haley noted that "the same conferences and teams keep making it to the FCS championship game," and that pattern shows no signs of breaking. The early Top 25 reflects that entrenched dominance, with the usual power conferences again stacking the upper half of the rankings before rosters are even finalized.

3. Villanova

The Wildcats, who reached the FCS semifinals in the most recent postseason, are making a significant jump: Villanova is joining Richmond in the Patriot League, departing the CAA. That conference move carries major implications for both Villanova's scheduling strength and its national perception heading into 2026.

4. William & Mary

William & Mary is also leaving the CAA for the Patriot League, joining Villanova and Richmond in what amounts to a significant reshaping of the mid-Atlantic FCS landscape. The departure of two programs of this caliber leaves a meaningful void in a conference that has historically been one of the subdivision's strongest.

5. The CAA's Realignment Problem

Losing FCS semifinalist Villanova and William & Mary in the same offseason is a blow that TheAnalyst describes plainly: "The CAA will take a step backward." The conference will need to reconfigure its identity and competitive balance with two established programs now playing elsewhere, making the CAA's 2026 trajectory one of the more fascinating subplots of the offseason.

6. Richmond in the Patriot League

Richmond's presence in the Patriot League gives that conference an immediate credibility boost as Villanova and William & Mary arrive. The Patriot League now positions itself as a serious contender to generate multiple playoff participants and deep postseason runs in 2026.

7. Duquesne

The Dukes enter 2026 looking like one of the NEC's most complete rosters. Duquesne appears solid at the skill positions, anchored by running back Ness Davis coming off a breakout season. The program has also been aggressive in the transfer portal, landing defensive line transfers Edmari Binion from Colorado State and DaShawn Fields from Morgan State, additions TheAnalyst describes as "influential."

8. Duquesne's Defensive Line Overhaul

The specific additions of Binion and Fields deserve their own attention. Bringing in two Power-conference-experienced defensive linemen to an FCS program in the same offseason is an aggressive roster-building move. If both transfers hit the ground running, Duquesne's front could be one of the most physically imposing in the NEC.

9. Central Connecticut State (CCSU)

CCSU has been right on the playoff doorstep, taking competitive first-round losses to Rhode Island in each of the last two seasons. The Blue Devils are replacing a significant number of contributors, but All-America cornerback Chris Jean provides genuine veteran leadership to what projects as a junior-led lineup. Jean's presence at a premium position gives CCSU a legitimate building block regardless of how much turnover surrounds him.

10. CCSU's Roster Rebuild

Beyond Jean, the depth of CCSU's roster turnover is a real question heading into spring. The program is "replacing a lot," per TheAnalyst, which means the spring evaluation period carries extra weight for Blue Devil coaches trying to identify which young players are ready to step into expanded roles before fall camp.

11. The NEC's Shrinking Playoff History

The Northeast Conference's playoff footprint is quietly disappearing. With Sacred Heart gone and Saint Francis nearing a potential 2026 drop to Division III, you would have to go back to 2012 to find the last current NEC member besides CCSU or Duquesne to appear in the postseason. That historical reality frames just how narrow the NEC's realistic playoff pipeline has become.

12. Sacred Heart's New Identity

Sacred Heart is out of the NEC picture but is not going away quietly. The former NEC Football power went 8-4 as an independent in its most recent season, a record that signals the program remains competitive. The exact nature of Sacred Heart's next conference home warrants monitoring, but eight wins as an independent is a credible foundation.

13. Saint Francis and the Division III Question

Saint Francis is "nearing a 2026 drop to Division III," per TheAnalyst, which would further strip the NEC of historical depth. If that move is finalized, the conference's already-thin playoff history becomes even more concentrated around its two perennial contenders, CCSU and Duquesne.

14. Monmouth and the Jeff Gallo Era

One of the most significant coaching transitions in the subdivision this offseason belongs to Monmouth. Jeff Gallo becomes just the second head coach in program history, succeeding Kevin Callahan, who retired after an extraordinary 33 seasons leading the Hawks. The weight of replacing a 33-year institution while simultaneously trying to get Monmouth into the postseason for the first time in recent memory is the defining pressure Gallo faces.

15. Frankie Weaver's Breakout Finish

The reason Monmouth fans are genuinely excited despite the coaching change: quarterback Frankie Weaver. The freshman closed his debut season by throwing 11 touchdown passes with zero interceptions across the final three games. That finishing stretch from a first-year signal-caller is the kind of statistical burst that generates real 2026 expectations.

16. Monmouth's Playoff Motivation

The Hawks were left off the playoff field entirely in the most recent season, a frustration TheAnalyst notes has the program "motivated from being left on the playoff sideline." Combine that hunger with Weaver's trajectory and a new head coach eager to establish his own identity, and Monmouth is one of the more intriguing mid-tier teams to track through spring.

17. LIU's Program Milestone

Long Island University put together a 6-6 overall record with a 4-3 mark in conference play, which TheAnalyst identifies as the best FCS record in program history. Reaching .500 overall is not a glamorous headline, but for a program still building its FCS credibility, the milestone matters and gives the Sharks a genuine baseline to build from heading into 2026.

18. Chicago State's Start-Up Season

Chicago State is scheduled to play a start-up season in 2026, giving the program its first taste of FCS competition. There is an important asterisk: Chicago State's matchups against NEC opponents will not count in conference standings. The logistical and competitive realities of a true start-up campaign will shape how much the program can learn before playing games that actually matter in the standings.

19. UAlbany Under Tom Perkovich

UAlbany is among the programs worth tracking heading into 2026, with Tom Perkovich leading the program into what shapes up as a transitional moment in the CAA's realignment landscape. The Great Danes' positioning in the CAA during a year of significant conference flux makes their spring development especially important.

20. Hampton Under Van Malone

Hampton enters 2026 with Van Malone at the helm, and the Pirates land on the early radar of teams that could affect the mid-major FCS picture. Conference alignment and transfer activity through the spring will shape how competitive Hampton looks by the time fall camp opens.

21. New Hampshire Under Sean Goldrich

New Hampshire, guided by Sean Goldrich, is another program that figures into the broader CAA and northeastern FCS conversation. The Wildcats carry enough roster continuity to remain relevant in early projections, though spring evaluation will clarify exactly where they fit in the 2026 pecking order.

22. The Patriot League's New Power Dynamic

The arrival of Villanova, William & Mary, and Richmond's established presence collectively repositions the Patriot League as one of the FCS's most watched conferences in 2026. Multiple playoff bids from a conference that has steadily built its national reputation is now a realistic expectation rather than an outlier result.

23. Transfer Portal Activity Shaping the Top 25

The early Top 25 framework from NCAA.com explicitly identifies roster changes and transfers as central to how the rankings take shape. Duquesne's additions of Binion and Fields are the most concrete examples available, but every team in the upper half of the rankings is working the portal aggressively to address depth and specific positional needs before spring evaluation closes.

24. Rhode Island's Pawtucket Home Situation

Playing home games in Pawtucket rather than on campus introduces a variable worth watching for the defending champions. Neutral or off-campus venues can affect home-field atmosphere and recruiting visits, two factors that matter in a championship defense. Rhode Island's administration will need to manage that transition carefully to ensure it does not become a distraction during what should be a title-contending season.

25. The 2026 Season's Central Question

As Craig Haley observed, "If you've noticed the same conferences and teams keep making it to the FCS championship game, take heart — at least a new state was thrown into the mix this past season." Rhode Island's title brought a new state into the championship conversation, but the fundamental structure of FCS power has not shifted dramatically. The 2026 season will test whether that Nashville party produces a dynasty or an opening for one of the contenders stacking up behind the Rams to finally break through.