| Rank | Team | Comments | Prior |
| 1 |  | South Dakota State | Jackrabbits beat Illinois State convincingly, ending their regular season. Only question now is whether they'll be a #1 or #2 seed in the playoffs. | 1 |
| 2 |  | Sacramento State | Hornets are still undefeated after Portland State. Come home for date with UC-Davis. A win will all but guarantee at top 2 seed and home field in playoffs. | 2 |
| 3 |  | Montana State | Bobcats got Cal Poly out of the way. Now, what everybody in FCS is looking forward to, "The Brawl of the Wild." Montana comes visiting next. | 3 |
| 4 |  | North Dakota State | Bison went to Southern Illinois, effectively ending their playoff hopes and locking themselves in as a seed. Host North Dakota to finish. Important for both. | 4 |
| 5 |  | Incarnate Word | Cardinals had the week off. They're going to the playoffs, 100%. A win over Northwestern State may garner a seed. | 6 |
| 6 |  | Holy Cross | Crusaders beat Bryant handily. Now the focus is on perfection at Georgetown. A win should lock in a seed, but they're playoff bound regardless. | 5 |
| 7 |  | Samford | Bulldogs went to Chattanooga and won, clinching the SoCon and its automatic bid. A home win vs. Mercer will all but assure themselves of a playoff seed. | 7 |
| 8 |  | William & Mary | Tribe beat Villanova and likely locked a playoff spot. A win at Richmond probably clinches a seed. Even with that, they may not win the CAA - weird. | 8 |
| 9 |  | Weber State | Wildcats had no problems with Idaho State. They finish at Northern Arizona, hoping a win can squeeze them into the national seed picture. | 9 |
| 10 |  | Furman | Paladins went to Mercer and secured a huge win. A home win vs. Wofford will lock an at-large. Even if they lost, they're likely still invited. | 11 |
| 11 |  | Richmond | Spiders should feel good about the playoffs after beating Delaware. A home win over William & Mary clinches the CAA and probably gets them in the seeds. | 16 |
| 12 |  | Elon | Phoenix had a little trouble at Hampton, but got it done. Speaking of which, their regular season is done. A playoff bid is a 99% certainty. | 18 |
| 13 |  | Jackson State | Tigers won a relative struggle over Alabama A&M. A win at Alcorn State will leave them perfect before playing the SWAC Championship game. | 13 |
| 14 |  | Southeast Missouri | Redhawks creamed Eastern Illinois. A home win over Murray State gets a share of OVC title. But the automatic may be decided by a coin flip. Seriously! | 21 |
| 15 |  | North Dakota
| Fightin' Hawks took down South Dakota, securing a 7th win (important for playoffs). A win at NDSU would lock them in, but they should still be 80% safe. | 23 |
| 16 |  | Chattanooga | Mocs lost at home to Samford, giving up control of the SoCon. They're not gonna want to lose at Western Carolina. Don't give The Committee any reasons. | 12 |
| 17 |  | Idaho | Vandals could not stop the red hot UC-Davis team. A real mystery team. Would beating Idaho State be enough to get into the playoffs? Gonna be close. | 10 |
| 18 |  | Montana
| Grizzlies destroyed Eastern Washington. Been dominate over most non-playoff opponents. They'll go to Montana State with their playoff lives on the line. | 24 |
| 19 |  | Southeastern Louisiana | Lions play their traditional Thursday finisher at Nicholls with the Southland auto on the line. A loss may not be totally damning, but they don't wan to risk it. | 25 |
| 20 |  | New Hampshire | Wildcats won at home over Rhode Island, saving their bacon. A win at Maine gets them a share of the CAA title and likely a playoff spot. A loss? Uh-oh! | NR |
| 21 |  | Mercer | Bears lost at home to Furman and may need to beat Samford at home to make the playoffs. Strangely, Gardner-Webb winning the Big South might help. | 14 |
| 22 |  | UC Davis | Aggies are on fire. Winners of five in a row, but only good win was at Idaho. A win this week at Sacramento State should clinch. A loss and they're out. | NR |
| 23 |  | Delaware | Blue Hens go to Villanova needing a win for the playoffs. They have a FBS win over Navy, but those two non-con MEAC wins don't hold much weight. | 19 |
| 24 |  | Fordham | Rams hurt Lafayette's defensive averages, picking up a win. The resume has no big wins, which is why they've dropped. Need style points vs. Colgate. | 17 |
| 25 |  | Abilene Christian | Wildcats seem like they might be the best team of the ASun-WAC conglomerate, but who really knows? The Alliance seems to be made up along the way. | NR |
