Each week, we will break down the FCS national poll vote by FanBuzz CFB writer Brian McLaughlin, an annual participant in the poll of note — the STATS/Perform national poll.
The top three situation has been a lightning-rod discussion topic all year, and it got even worse this weekend when Montana State lambasted ranked Weber State in Utah. NDSU and SDSU were both idle, as most MVFC teams usually are during this week of play each year just prior to conference play.
Take your pick: You can't jump MSU over SDSU at this point because SDSU beat MSU (albeit it was very close in Brookings). NDSU has decisively beaten two teams I have ranked on my ballot — Eastern Washington and Central Arkansas. We'll need more data to unravel this, but the good thing is all three of these teams play tough schedules in October and November and that will settle the debate.
The big discussion topic though is Montana. Are the Griz (3-1) for real? Well, for now, I had to drop them — because I couldn't justify ranking 1-3 Northern Arizona: The team the Griz just lost to. But Montana will still be on the radar, as it could very well win 7 or 8 games this year and be in the playoff discussion. We shall see.
The others I dropped for now?: Mercer and Campbell. They're both 2-2 and can rebound, though — and honestly? The pickins' are pretty slim outside the top 25. I'll be keeping an eye on Youngstown, Chattanooga, Fordham (with an FBS win), FAMU, and Illinois State in the next week and will be ready to move them into the top 25 vote if they prove they belong next week.
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BMAC'S WEEK 4 FCS POLL VOTE
EDITOR'S NOTE: Folks, remember — an FBS loss or a D-2 win does not have an effect on an FCS team's position in the postseason picture. The playoff committee throws those results out.
NOTE: FanBuzz national Group of Five college football editor Brian McLaughlin has had a vote in the STATS-Perform FCS National Poll and end-of-year awards since 2016.
(*) - Has a FBS win
| RK | TEAM | REC. | FCS |
| 1 | NDSU | 3-0 | 3-0 |
| 2 | SDSU | 3-0 | 2-0 |
| 3 | Montana St | 3-1 | 3-1 |
| 4 | Idaho * | 3-1 | 2-0 |
| 5 | Wm & Mary | 4-0 | 4-0 |
| 6 | Furman | 3-1 | 3-0 |
| 7 | Sac St * | 3-1 | 2-1 |
| 8 | SIU * | 3-0 | 2-0 |
| 9 | Holy Cross | 3-1 | 3-0 |
| 10 | East. Wash | 2-2 | 2-1 |
| 11 | Villanova | 3-1 | 3-0 |
| 12 | Delaware | 3-1 | 3-0 |
| 13 | UIW | 3-1 | 2-0 |
| 14 | West Carolina | 3-1 | 3-0 |
| 15 | UC Davis | 2-2 | 2-1 |
| 16 | Weber St. | 2-1 | 1-1 |
| 17 | UNI | 1-2 | 1-1 |
| 18 | UT Martin | 3-1 | 3-0 |
| 19 | Austin Peay | 2-2 | 2-1 |
| 20 | New Hamp | 2-2 | 2-1 |
| 21 | North Dakota | 2-1 | 2-0 |
| 22 | East. Illinois | 3-1 | 3-0 |
| 23 | N.C. Cent | 3-1 | 2-0 |
| 24 | Harvard | 2-0 | 2-0 |
| 25 | Cent. Ark. | 2-2 | 1-1 |
