FCS has announced its preseason rankings, ranking the top 25 FCS football programs for the 2026 season. The playoffs only allow for 24 teams and the preseason rankings a rough estimate of who will take those 24 spots.
Let's see who will take the two dozen spots.
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First, let's take a look at how teams enter the FCS playoffs.
There are two main ways to earn a bid to the playoffs. The first is an automatic bid when teams win their eligible FCS conference. There are 11 eligible conferences: Big Sky, Big South-OVC, CAA, Ivy League, MEAC, MVFC, NEC, Patriot, Pioneer, SoCon, Southland, SWAC and United Athletic. It's simple - you win your conference, you go to the playoffs.
With 11 spots automatically filled, that leaves 13 spots. The FCS Playoff Selection Committee fills the remaining spots. They choose the top-performing teams that did not win their conference, based on various records throughout the season. After that, you have your 24 teams in the FCS Playoffs.
The FCS Preseason Poll only gives a little insight into the end-of-season playoffs.
The top 15 teams are shoe-ins for the playoffs. They include teams that have huge records and a history of winning in their conference.
Conference Winners Earn Automatic Bids
(1) Montana State, (4) Illinois State, (3) South Dakota State, (2) Montana, (5) Tarleton State, (6) UC Davis, (7) Villanova, and (8) Rhode Island are shoe-ins for the final after consecutively winning their conferences and having an overall winning record.
Villanova leaves the CAA and heads to the Patriot League, but will share the same amount of success in its new conference. They finished their season with an impressive 12-3 record, which will earn their spot in the playoffs.
(11) Lehigh University won the Patriot League in 2025, which placed them in the playoffs, but their 12-1 record would have been enough to earn a spot. If all goes as planned, they will be seen once again in the bracket.
Drake, Harvard, Prairie View, Central Connecticut State, (15) Tennessee Tech, (25) South Carolina State, (10)North Dakota State, (17) Mercer, Alabama State and (13) Stephen F. Austin are sure to win their respective conferences and write their names in the playoffs.
With 19 spots filled, 5 spots remain.
Second in Conference Play Still Earn Their Spots
Based on last year's standings and predictions for this year's season, (12) South Dakota is another name that will be heard a lot throughout the season. Under new head coach Matt Vitzthum, South Dakota is sure to be a dominant force this season.
In 2025 (14) Abilene Christian earned the #2 spot in the United Athletic Conference after a 9-5 overall record. Yale placed second in the Ivy League, beating Harvard's overall record of 9-3. (20) Southeastern Louisiana took only 1 loss in its conference to the undefeated SFA. These schools might not have won their conference but were among the highest overall records in 2025.
Taking the final spot in the playoffs is Monmouth from the CAA. They start their 2026 season against No. 15 Tennessee Tech but are ready to prove themselves as one of the best programs in the country under new coach Jeff Gallo.
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