The FCS schedule isn't easing into Week 4.
Four ranked Big Sky teams will take over Saturday night, Youngstown State gets absolutely no relief after a battle, and the Ivy League wastes no time turning its attention toward conference play.
After a Week 3 that shook up the rankings and gave several contenders their first real tests of the season, the next slate brings another round of games that could reshape the national picture.
Here are three things to know about the FCS Week 4 schedule.
Oh -- if you like ranked FCS matchups, this Saturday has plenty of them.
Saturday Night Belongs To The Big Sky
Go ahead and clear your late-night schedule.
Four ranked Big Sky teams will play in two games separated by just 30 minutes Saturday night, featuring three teams ranked inside the top 10 of the latest AFCA FCS Coaches Poll.
No. 4 Montana travels to No. 9 UC Davis for a 10 p.m. ET kickoff before No. 17 Northern Arizona visits No. 1 Montana State at 10:30 p.m. ET.
And all four have something to play for.
Montana is looking for a response after Oregon State handed the Grizzlies their first loss of the season. The 52-19 defeat knocked Montana from No. 2 into a tie for No. 4 in the AFCA poll.
UC Davis, meanwhile, enters at 3-1 after rolling past Stetson 45-7 and has a chance to make some noise in the Big Sky race with a ranked win at home.
Then there's Montana State.
The defending national champions are still No. 1 and still undefeated, but Central Connecticut came awfully close to changing both of those things.
The Bobcats trailed CCSU 21-7 in the third quarter before rallying for a 35-30 win. It was easily Montana State's biggest scare of the young season.
Now No. 17 Northern Arizona gets its shot at the top-ranked team in the country.
Two games. Four ranked Big Sky teams. Good luck going to bed early.
Youngstown State's Schedule Has Absolutely No Chill
Apparently, playing No. 3 in Week 3 wasn't enough.
Youngstown State went to South Dakota State last week and pushed the Jackrabbits in a 27-20 loss. South Dakota State climbed to No. 2 in the latest AFCA poll afterward, while the Penguins fell four spots from No. 9 to No. 13.
Their reward? Another ranked Dakota team.
No. 12 South Dakota visits Stambaugh Stadium at 2 p.m. ET Saturday in the Coyotes' Missouri Valley Football opener.
That makes consecutive games against South Dakota State and South Dakota for a Youngstown State team whose 2-2 record probably deserves a little context.
The Penguins' two losses have come against an FBS opponent in Kent State and the now-No. 2 team in the FCS. They also hung 70 points on Duquesne earlier this season.
South Dakota presents another major test.
The Coyotes are 3-1, with their only loss coming on the road against FBS Boise State. They're also 3-0 against FCS competition and enter Youngstown looking for their third consecutive win in the series.
Youngstown State already is 0-1 in MVFC play.
It's only September, but falling to 0-2 in this conference is a hole nobody wants to start digging.
The Ivy League Wastes No Time
Welcome back, Ivy League. We missed you.
Now get ready for conference play.
Harvard and Brown both opened their seasons with wins last week, and they'll immediately turn around and face each other Friday night.
No. 25 Harvard visits Brown at Centreville Bank Stadium in Pawtucket, Rhode Island, at 7 p.m. ET in the first Ivy League game for both teams.
Harvard opened the post-Jaden Craig era with a 31-7 win over New Hampshire, while Brown enters 1-0.
Then No. 18 Yale gets its first Ivy League game Saturday when it visits Cornell at 1 p.m. ET.
The Bulldogs opened their season by beating Holy Cross 38-28 behind a huge passing performance, while Cornell will try to bounce back from a 20-7 season-opening loss to Colgate.
And Penn gets one of the more interesting nonconference tests involving an Ivy League team this weekend.
The Quakers host No. 7 Lehigh at Franklin Field at 1 p.m. ET. Lehigh is 4-0 and the defending Patriot League champion, while Penn is playing its home opener during the 150th season of its football program.
Archived Footage On FloCollege
Video footage from all games will be archived and stored in a video library for FloCollege subscribers to watch for the duration of their subscriptions.
Watch The 2026 College Football Season On FloCollege
FloCollege is the home of the best FCS, Division II and Division III football action all season long.
Don't miss the latest college football action by bookmarking the FloCollege schedule page for the latest games.
Join The College Football Conversation
- Follow us on Twitter @FloCollegeFB
- Follow us on Instagram @FloCollegeFootball
- Follow us on TikTok @FloCollegeFootball
- Watch us on YouTube
- Like us on Facebook