2026 Kutztown vs Assumption

D2 Football Rankings 2026: Northwest Missouri, GVSU Rise After Week 0

D2 Football Rankings 2026: Northwest Missouri, GVSU Rise After Week 0

See the latest D2 football rankings for 2026 after Week 0, as Northwest Missouri State, Grand Valley State and Western Oregon climb the FloCollege Top 25.

Sep 1, 2026 by R. R. Ellis
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No. 9 Northwest Missouri State vs Texas A&M - Kingsville | D2 Football Full Game Highlights Aug 293:02

Safe to say a week can make a world of difference. 

Only seven of the Top 25 didn't play a game in Week 0, and everyone else basically had a party. No. 1 Ferris State started slow against Pitt State, but ended up beating the Gorillas 42-14, which drops the Kansas team down to 19. Feels like deja vu, but I would expect them to work their way back up the rankings as they did last season. 

Harding and Kutztown remain in stasis, though we have the Golden Bears' game this week against Assumption on deck, and broadcast on FloCollege. Northwest Missouri State dismantled Texas A&M-Kingsville. They land at No. 5 and I don't think they are quite done moving up. 

Three big movers are Slippery Rock (affectionately referred to as Slimey Pebble by FloCollege staff), GVSU, and Western Oregon. Two of those teams are yearly powerhouses, and another is the westernmost D2 football team in the league. In fact, the Wolves campus sits farther west than Los Angeles, San Francisco and nearly the entire state of California.

The bottom third of the Top 25 is just pure chaos, and will probably continue to to exist within that hurricane until the middle of the season when things even out. 

See the full FloCollege Top 25 Rankings below, ahead of Week 1 of the D2 football season. 

D2 Football Rankings 2026: Week 0 Top 25

  1. Ferris State (1-0)
  2. Harding (0-0)
  3. Kutztown (0-0)
  4. CSU Pueblo (1-0)
  5. Central Washington (0-0)
  6. Northwest Missouri State (1-0)
  7. Minnesota State (1-0)
  8. Indianapolis (1-0)
  9. Western Colorado (1-0)
  10. Grand Valley State (1-0)
  11. Findlay (0-0)
  12. Augustana (SD) (1-0)
  13. Ashland (0-0)
  14. Newberry (0-0)
  15. Western Oregon (1-0)
  16. Northeastern State (1-0)
  17. Slippery Rock (1-0)
  18. Frostburg State (0-0)
  19. Pittsburg State (0-1)
  20. Michigan Tech (1-0)
  21. Kentucky State (1-0)
  22. Benedict (1-0)
  23. Upper Iowa (1-0)
  24. East Stroudsburg (1-0)
  25. UNC Pembroke (1-0)

Also receiving votes: 

Northwood, Wayne State (Neb.), Valdosta State, Lenoir-Rhyne, Minnesota Duluth, Minnesota State Moorhead, Assumption, Virginia Union, Catawba, Johnson C. Smith.

Previous Rankings: 

How The FloCollege D2 Football Rankings Are Determined

The FloCollege Division 2 football rankings are driven by a mix of objective data and input from voters.

Ranking factors include:

  • Voter Points
  • Wins
  • Margin of Victory
  • Away Wins

D2 Football Week 1 Schedule On FloCollege

Here's every Division 2 football game happening on FloFootball this week.

Thursday, Sep 3

Friday, Sep 4

Saturday, Sep 5

How To Watch D2 Football In 2026

Hundreds of Division 2 football games will stream live on FloCollege and the FloSports app. 

Game replays, highlights and breaking news will also be available on both platforms.

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