College Sports Madness' Jason Groomes takes a quick look at what each team that finished in last year's Top 25, along with a handful of other teams, return heading into the 2020 FCS campaign. Each notes returning starters on offense and defense as well as a brief descrption of why that team could be in for a promising, or disappointing, 2020 season.
| Rk | Team | Conference | Note |
| 1 | North Dakota State | Missouri Valley | 9/5, offense will be tough as qb lance returns. Losing lb Cox to portal leads to questions on defense, but still the favorite. |
| 2 | James Madison | Colonial | 4/5, massive losses all over but rbs Agjei-obese & Hamilton are the nation's best combo. Defense needs to replace two best players. |
| 3 | Weber State | Big Sky | 9/8, qb Constantine in portal - that hurts. Otherwise, offense remains intact. Defense will be stout as always. K Tuttle is clutch. |
| 4 | Montana State | Big Sky | 9/7, whoever ends up at qb will have weapons to use. Defense should be capable of slowing down most oppnents. |
| 5 | Montana | Big Sky | 6/6, if qb play improves, might be best offense in fcs. Defense has losses but a few big pieces return. |
| 6 | Northern Iowa | Missouri Valley | 7/7, qb Mcelvain gets wr Weston / te Moore back at full strength. rb help? Defense might be best in fcs. DE Smith is a sack machine. |
| 7 | Austin Peay | Ohio Valley | 7/6, offense should still be good. Despite defensive losses, elite talent still returns. |
| 8 | Illinois State | Missouri Valley | 8/9, lose rb Robinson. Return qb Davis and top level defense. offensive continuity? |
| 9 | Sacramento State | Big Sky | 9/7, qb Thomson leads an excellent offense that can score with anyone. Losses on defense were key. Big sky schedule is very favorable. |
| 10 | South Dakota State | Missouri Valley | 6/9, triplets of Gibbs/Strong/Johnson as good as it gets. Defense is top 3 despite loss of lb Rozeboom. |
| 11 | Central Arkansas | Southland | 8/10, depth all over. QB Smith is poised for a huge year. Defense should be better with almost everyone back. |
| 12 | Kennesaw State | Big South | 8/7, triple option will be stout again. Defense could be even better, but will be hard to gauge with a weak overall schedule. |
| 13 | Monmouth | Big South | 8/9, replacing qb Behar and rb Guerriero are nearly impossible. The defense is solid across the board. all Big South contenders at home. |
| 14 | Nicholls | Southland | 6/6, reloading with jc talent. QB Fourcade is gone, a suitable replacement will be hard to find. Kicking game has been atrocious. |
| 15 | Albany | Colonial | ?/?, qb Undercuffler returns as soph. RB Mofor is a machine. Defense returns three with 100+ tackles. |
| 16 | Southeastern Louisiana | Southland | 6/6, team is replacing qb. Despite losses, team figures to be in the race. Nothing screams look at me, but no obvious glaring holes. |
| 17 | Villanova | Colonial | 10/7, offense should be awesome behind qb Smith. Defense is notorious for giving up points. if they get back to normal - look out! |
| 18 | Wofford | Southern | 4/7, offense losing important players to graduation. The defense should be good but has to wait for offense to catch up. |
| 19 | Southeast Missouri State | Ohio Valley | 8/6, new qb and replacing the o-line - scary. Defense has to replace major parts. Might be an uphill climb. |
| 20 | Central Connecticut State | Northeast | 6/8, strong o-line should help the transition from qb Winchester (grad). The defense will be good by NEC standards. |
| 21 | North Carolina A&T | Mid-Eastern | 8/8, everything is there offensively except a qb. Should still be class of MEAC. Defense should be near the top of the MEAC also. |
| 22 | San Diego | Pioneer | 7/8, a lot of the best components return for Toreros. Both lines will be best in PFL, which will help new starters. should win PFL again. |
| 23 | North Dakota | Missouri Valley | 6/8, possible freshman @ qb. Defense is largely intact and slightly above average. |
| 24 | Southern Illinois | Missouri Valley | 8/8, offense should continue to improve. Defense should do likewise though losing All-American safety Chinn hurts. |
| 25 | Furman | Southern | 8/6, rbs Wynn and Abrams form great duo. Defense needs to improve to previous standards. |
| Delaware | Colonial | 8/9, veteran squad. Was outsacked by opponents 37-6, needs fixed. RB Knight will be the workhorse as a soph. | |
| Elon | Colonial | 7/8, qb Cheek is a fine player. Running game is weak. If defense can fill two key losses, should be good. | |
| Maine | Colonial | 8/8, all starters lost on defense were on the line. Offensive line should be tough, but consistency improvement overall is the key. | |
| New Hampshire | Colonial | 8/7, offense needs to score more. Defense has to replace 2 cb and 2 lb, so pass defense needs addressed first. | |
| Richmond | Colonial | 9/8, offense has to replace both wr. Overall, the team is experienced but needs to take the next step. | |
| Towson | Colonial | 7/7, many injury returnees but qb Flacco is a huge loss. Team should be good enough to finish in middle of pack. | |
| Eastern Washington | Big Sky | 4/7, qb Barriere retuns but little else on offense. Defense needs vast improvement. Most tough games at home. | |
| Northern Arizona | Big Sky | 8/9, replacing qb Cookus is top priority. Defense needs to find its teeth. Overall, very experienced group. Excellent kicking game. | |
| Portland State | Big Sky | 6/5, team is young but o-line is experienced. QB Alexander has to lead. S Adams is an All-American, needs some help. JC transfers? | |
| UC-Davis | Big Sky | 9/8, veteran team but qb Maier is gone. Offense has all other pieces though. Defense needs to toughen, especially against the run. | |
| Samford | Southern | 7/8, qb needs to step up. Team overall was -13 in turnovers, both sides contributing. Pass defense in particular needs a shot in the arm. | |
| The Citadel | Southern | 9/9, only missing pieces on offense are line. The triple option should flourish. Defense takes advantage of offense holding ball, look out. | |
| Virginia Military | Southern | 7/6, all the offensive weapons are there. The defense has been horrendous. Any improvement could lead to a inning record. | |
| Chattanooga | Southern | 8/9, a lot of returnees, so improvement from 6-6 seems likely. LB Boeck needs to lead defense. Finding a qb is utmost important. | |
| Eastern Kentucky | Ohio Valley | 9/6, even with a good numbers of returners, those lost were their best at many positions. Consistent qb play is a must. | |
| Jacksonville State | Ohio Valley | 7/5, qb Cooper needs to bring this team along with his level of talent. Defense was average in 2019. Improvement there will help. | |
| Houston Baptist | Southland | 7/9, the offense should be there. QB Zappe led conference in yds/td. If the defense can just get to avg, a winning record should follow. | |
| Incarnate Word | Southland | 7/4, similar to Houston Baptist. QB Copeland is very good. Defense is inexperienced and returnees underperformed. | |
| Sam Houston State | Southland | 5/7, offense is lagging behind the defense now. QB Schmid has to take the next step. | |
| Charleston Southern | Big South | 7/8, offense should improve with most pieces together for another year. D-line is very good on the edges, as is the kicking game. | |
| Robert Morris | Northeast | 6/8, entire o-line returns. Can the weapons gel quickly? Defense returns experience but loses leadership. | |
| St. Francis | Northeast | 8/9, can the running game improve to get the offense to the next level? Defense might be best in NEC. | |
| South Carolina State | Mid-Eastern | 7/8, qb Davis enters soph season as MEAC ROTY in 2019. DT Perry causes havoc inside. Figures to be in the MEAC race all season. | |
| Florida A&M | Mid-Eastern | 7/7, despite ineligibility in 2019, Rattlers look strong again. New qb will have ample weapons, but need more rushing. | |
| Drake | Pioneer | 8/9, most starters back in PFL. For most part, best team not named USD. Safety Warner is an INT machine. | |
| Princeton | Ivy | 6/8, wide open Ivu should be theirs with league's best defense. O-line should protect new qb and rb Eaddy will benefit also. |
