The final full weekend of the FCS college football season is always made for the rivalry games.
It’s even better when two teams that are ranked in the Stats Perform FCS Top 25 square off.
There will be five such matchups within the national media poll on Saturday – one day before the announcement of the 24-team FCS playoff pairings.
Two of the games are Big Sky rivalries, including No. 3 Montana State (9-1) hosting No. 13 Montana (7-3) in the Brawl of the Wild, but not before the 121st all-time meeting receives a visit from ESPN’s iconic pregame show “College GameDay.” There’s also No. 2 Sacramento State (10-0) hosting No. 24 UC Davis (6-4) in the Causeway Classic.
In CAA Football, the Capital Cup pits No. 8 William & Mary (9-1) at No. 11 Richmond (8-2) for the 133rd meeting – the fourth-most played series between FCS programs. In the MVFC, No. 4 North Dakota State (8-2) will host No. 16 North Dakota (7-3) as that rivalry renews for the 115th time.
Ninth-ranked Samford (9-1) also will host No. 19 Mercer (7-3) in a key Southern Conference game.
Taking in all the festivities is No. 1 South Dakota State (10-1), which will be on a bye after its regular season ended with a 31-7 win over Illinois State, completing the Jackrabbits’ first-ever perfect run in the MVFC.
A national media panel selects the Stats Perform FCS Top 25. A first-place vote is worth 25 points, a second-place vote 24 points, all the way down to one point for a 25th-place vote.
(Punch the Ticket: FCS Conference Champions and Postseason Qualifiers)
Stats Perform FCS Top 25 (Nov. 14)
1. South Dakota State (10-1, 8-0 MVFC), 1,343 points (47 of 54 first-place votes)
Previous Ranking: 1; Week 11 Result: 31-7 win over Illinois State
2. Sacramento State (10-0, 7-0 Big Sky), 1,297 (7)
Previous Ranking: 2; Week 11 Result: 45-17 win at Portland State
3. Montana State (9-1, 7-0 Big Sky), 1,237
Previous Ranking: 3; Week 11 Result: 72-28 win at Cal Poly
4. North Dakota State (8-2, 6-1 MVFC), 1,190
Previous Ranking: 4; Week 11 Result: 21-18 win at Southern Illinois
5. UIW (9-1, 4-1 Southland), 1,047
Previous Ranking: 6; Week 11 Result: No game
6. Holy Cross (10-0, 5-0 Patriot), 1,030
Previous Ranking: 5; Week 11 Result: 36-29 win over Bryant
7. Weber State (8-2, 5-2 Big Sky), 996
Previous Ranking: 7; Week 11 Result: 45-7 win over Idaho State
8. William & Mary (9-1, 6-1 CAA), 989
Previous Ranking: 8; Week 11 Result: 45-12 win over Villanova
9. Samford (9-1, 7-0 Southern), 947
Previous Ranking: 10; Week 11 Result: 35-24 win at then-No. 11 Chattanooga
10. Jackson State (10-0, 7-0 SWAC), 873
Previous Ranking: 9; Week 11 Result: 27-13 win over Alabama A&M
11. Richmond (8-2, 6-1 CAA), 786
Previous Ranking: 12; Week 11 Result: 21-13 win at then-No. 17 Delaware
12. Furman (8-2, 6-1 Southern), 783
Previous Ranking: 13; Week 11 Result: 23-13 win at then-No. 14 Mercer
13. Montana (7-3, 4-3 Big Sky), 625
Previous Ranking: 16; Week 11 Result: 63-7 win over Eastern Washington
14. Elon (8-3, 6-2 CAA), 566
Previous Ranking: 18; Week 11 Result: 38-24 win at Hampton
15. Chattanooga (7-3, 5-2 Southern), 550
Previous Ranking: 11; Week 11 Result: 35-24 loss to then-No. 10 Samford
16. North Dakota (7-3, 5-2 MVFC), 458
Previous Ranking: 19; Week 11 Result: 28-19 win over South Dakota
17. Southeast Missouri (8-2, 4-0 Ohio Valley), 446
Previous Ranking: 20; Week 11 Result: 31-7 win at Eastern Illinois
18. New Hampshire (7-3, 6-1 CAA), 426
Previous Ranking: 21; Week 11 Result: 31-28 win over then-No. 22 Rhode Island
19. Mercer (7-3, 5-2 Southern), 402
Previous Ranking: 14; Week 11 Result: 23-13 loss to then-No. 13 Furman
20. Delaware (7-3, 4-3 CAA), 313
Previous Ranking: 17; Week 11 Result: 21-13 loss to then-No. 12 Richmond
21.(tie) Fordham (8-2, 4-1 Patriot), 275
Previous Ranking: 23; Week 11 Result: 45-10 win over Lafayette
21.(tie) Idaho (6-4, 5-2 Big Sky), 275
Previous Ranking: 15; Week 11 Result: 44-26 loss to UC Davis
23. Southeastern Louisiana (7-3, 4-1 Southland), 223
Previous Ranking: 25; Week 11 Result: 23-7 win over Northwestern State
24. UC Davis (6-4, 5-2 Big Sky), 217
Previous Ranking: Not Ranked; Week 11 Result: 44-26 win at then-No. 15 Idaho
25. UT Martin (6-4, 4-0 Ohio Valley), 46
Previous Ranking: Not Ranked; Week 11 Result: 20-3 win at Tennessee State
Dropped Out: Rhode Island (22), Princeton (24)
Others Receiving Votes (schools listed on two or more ballots): Rhode Island (6-4, 4-3 CAA) 38; Saint Francis (8-2, 6-0 NEC) 37; Austin Peay (7-3, 3-2 ASUN-WAC) 36; Eastern Kentucky (6-4, 2-2 ASUN) 27; Princeton (8-1, 5-1 Ivy) 26; Abilene Christian (7-3, 3-0 WAC) 16; North Carolina Central (8-2, 4-1 MEAC) 7; St. Thomas (9-1, 7-0 Pioneer) 6; Yale (7-2, 5-1 Ivy) 6; Florida A&M (8-2, 6-1 SWAC) 5
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Stats Perform FCS Top 25 Voters – Stats Perform: Craig Haley, Gary Reasons. ASUN: John Bednarowski, Brian Morgan. Big Sky Conference: Doug Kelly, Tyson Rodgers, Larry Weir. Big South Conference: Brian Cleary, Mark Simpson. CAA Football: Matt Harmon, Scott Klatzkin, Rob Washburn. Ivy League: Rick Bender, Craig Larson. Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference: Bill Hamilton, Maurice Williams. Missouri Valley Football Conference: Dom Izzo, Mike Kern, Randy Reinhardt. Northeast Conference: Sarah Boissonneault, Randy Brochu. Ohio Valley Conference: Mike Bradd, Kyle Schwartz. Patriot League: Eric Malanoski, Ryan Sakamoto. Pioneer Football League: Cody Bush, Jack Cronin. Southern Conference: Scott Keeler, Andrew Miller, Phil Perry. Southland Conference: Matthew Bonnette, James Dixon, Josh Manck. Southwestern Athletic Conference: Ronnie Johnson, Andrew Roberts, Jacob Shames. Western Athletic Conference: Eric Danner, Dennis Driscoll. National Representatives: Josh Buchanan, Zack Carlton, Riley Corcoran, Sam Herder, Emory Hunt, Kyle Kensing, Brandon Lawrence, Zach McKinnell, Brian McLaughlin, Jon Passman, Kent Schmidt, Lawrence Smith, Phil Sokol, Reggie Thomas, Ralph Ventre, Jamie Williams.