FCS Top-25: Zach McKinnell's Week 5 Ballot

Zach McKinnell's Week 5 ballot for the FCS Stats Perform Top-25 after a chaotic week where eight Top-25 teams suffered losses.

I am honored to represent The Bluebloods as one of the 56 voters in the FCS Stats Perform Top-25 for the 2023 season. Each week I will release my official ballot and explain the biggest movers in our FCS Top 25 each week throughout the season.

Week 5 Top-25 Ballot

25. Eastern Kentucky (2-3)

Week 5: 33-22 win against North Alabama

24. Chattanooga (4-1)

Week 5: 23-13 win against Wofford

23. Florida A&M (4-1)

Week 5: 31-7 win against Mississippi Valley State

22. Austin Peay (3-2)

Week 5: 52-10 win against Lindenwood

21. Central Arkansas (3-2)

Week 5: 29-27 win against Southern Utah

20. William & Mary (4-1)

Week 5: 14-6 loss against Elon

19. Elon (3-2)

Week 5: 14-6 win against No. 5 William & Mary

18. UC Davis (3-2)

Week 5: 31-13 win against Cal Poly

17. Eastern Washington (2-3)

Week 5: 44-36 loss against No. 4 Idaho

16. UT Martin (4-1)

Week 5: 20-10 win against Tennessee State

15. Holy Cross (3-2)

Week 5: 38-28 loss against Harvard

14. UAlbany (3-2)

Week 5: 31-10 win against No. 16 Villanova

13. Harvard (3-0)

Week 5: 38-28 win against No. 6 Holy Cross

12. North Carolina Central (4-1)

Week 5: 49-48 win against Campbell

11. Delaware (3-1)

Week 5: Bye Week

10. Incarnate Word (3-1)

Week 5: Bye Week

9. North Dakota State (3-1)

Week 5: 24-19 loss against South Dakota

8. South Dakota (3-1)

Week 5: 24-19 win against No. 2 North Dakota State

7. Furman (3-1)

Week 5: Bye Week

6. Western Carolina (4-1)

Week 5: 49-14 win against The Citadel

5. Sacramento State (4-1)

Week 5: 31-30 win against Northern Arizona

4. Southern Illinois (4-0)

Week 5: 33-20 win against Missouri State

3. Montana State (4-1)

Week 4: 38-22 win against Portland State

2. Idaho (4-1)

Week 5: 44-36 win against No. 19 Eastern Washington

1. South Dakota State (4-0)

Week 5: 42-21 win against No. 12 North Dakota

Honorable Mentions: Montana (4-1), Eastern Illinois (4-1), North Dakota (2-2), Northern Iowa (2-2), Tarleton State (4-1), Weber State (3-2)

FCS Football Recap: Week 5 Takeaways

Analysis On Week 5 Ballot

Dropped: New Hampshire, Weber State, Villanova, Youngstown State

Added: South Dakota, Harvard, UAlbany, Eastern Kentucky

To say Week 5 was the most chaotic week of the 2023 season would still be an understatement. Eight ranked teams suffered losses, including six teams losing to unranked opponents. I believe these voting ballots should reflect the best teams in the country if the season ended today and be solely based on the performance of each team during the current season. Preseason expectations, brand recognition, historical success, and projections into the future should not impact voting each week. Too many voters use “hypothetical matchups” that have not happened to justify rankings, which fall victim to confirmation bias based on how that individual already feels about the two teams. Teams should only be judged based on the resume through the first five weeks of the season, which is how weekly rankings should work.

One of the weekend’s biggest upsets was South Dakota knocking off No. 2 North Dakota State on the road. The Coyotes jumped to No. 8 after being unranked last weekend, but this team has one of the best resumes in the FCS after the first five weeks of the season. South Dakota is 3-0 against FCS opponents and just picked up one of the best wins of the season on the road in the Fargodome. North Dakota State falls to No. 9, just behind the Coyotes, which seems fair given the game this weekend. The Bison are 3-1 against FCS competition, including two impressive wins against Central Arkansas and Eastern Washington, which is why this team is still a Top-10 program in the country right now.

Harvard shocked No. 5 Holy Cross as the Crimson forced five turnovers in an impressive 38-28 upset win. The Crimson were in control for most of this game and are only the second FCS team (South Dakota State) in two seasons to defeat the Crusaders. Harvard moves to No. 13 after being unranked, while Holy Cross drops to No. 15 in this week’s rankings. The Crimson entered the season with question marks at multiple positions, but have found an impressive offensive balance between Charles DePrima and Shane McLaughlin.

William & Mary drops to No. 20 after a loss to Elon, who makes the first appearance in the rankings at No. 19. The Tribe has looked elite defensively, but injuries to key players have hurt the offensive production. William & Mary’s schedule over the first five games ranks No. 79, which is the second-lowest among Top-20 teams in these rankings. The Tribe has failed to dominate lower-level opponents this season, which is why this team has continued to fall in my rankings for the past two weeks. Elon has rebounded from an early 0-2 start and picked up three consecutive conference wins, but I need to see more from this team before moving them into the Top 15.

UAlbany is another new addition to these rankings after a 31-10 win over No. 16 Villanova. The Great Danes are 3-0 against FCS competition, including two dominant wins over Villanova and Fordham. The only losses are to Marshall (21-17) and Hawai’i (31-20), in which UAlbany was competitive in both matchups. This program already picked up one Top-25 win and has navigated a Top-3o strength of schedule. I know some people will question this team after the first five weeks, but the Great Danes have an elite pass rush (Anton Juncai; AJ Simon) and one of the best young quarterbacks in the FCS (Reese Poffenbarger) which has this team in position to potentially win the CAA.

Idaho surpassed Montana State for the No. 2 ranking after picking up its second-ranked win of the season over Eastern Washington. The Vandals have looked impressive this season with two Top-25 wins, including a Top-5 upset over Sacramento State, and a dominant FBS win over Nevada. Idaho has the better resume compared to the Bobcats at this point of the season, but these teams meet on Oct. 28 to settle the debate on who is the biggest threat to the Jackrabbits.

There was a strong debate between Montana and Eastern Kentucky for the final spot in these rankings, but the Colonels have the stronger resume at this point of the season. The Colonels picked up a ranked win over SEMO two weeks ago and have played the eighth-most difficult schedule in the country, including two games against Power-Five opponents. The Grizzlies rebounded with a 28-21 win over Idaho State, but have yet to face a ranked opponent and have played the 85th-ranked schedule in the country. A win on the road over UC Davis will be enough for Montana to jump into the top 20 in next week’s rankings. 

Behind The Numbers: Week 5 FCS Football Review