Two familiar HBCU powers are in the FCS top 25 as they enter week 5 of the season. South Carolina State has been a fixture in the FCS polls since the start of the season, but Jackson State has joined them in the top 25, sitting at 23 behind Harvard University and ahead of Campbell. Meanwhile, South Carolina State moved up from No. 14 last week to No. 12 this week. Alabama State, Prairie View A&M, and Delaware State each received votes in the poll.
South Carolina State has had a dominant start to the season, including two shutout victories over Division II opponents, South Carolina State and Savannah State, and a dominant victory over a rebuilding Florida A&M team. Perhaps the season's most impressive win came from Chennis Berry in South Carolina State's narrow victory over Furman. Furman entered the game ranked after beating SoCon powerhouse Mercer University.
South Carolina State ultimately showcased its dominance once again, winning 20-17. They then faced off against Bethune-Cookman in Daytona Beach, Florida, on Saturday and left with a 31-21 victory. Now they're heading back to Orangeburg to host the Citadel in one of their last two out-of-conference matchups.
Jackson State has a similar early-season resume. After a narrow opening-season win over Tennessee State, they had dominant performances against Division II contenders Edward Waters University and Tuskegee University. On Saturday, they beat Marshall Faulk's Southern University Jaguars 35-17 in the Boombox Classic. Now they head for a high-stakes matchup with Alabama A&M, who enters the game with a 4-1 record.
Article Continues BelowThe full rankings are below.
| 1 | Montana St. (25) | 5-0 | 625 | 1 |
| 2 | South Dakota St. | 4-1 | 590 | 2 |
| 3 | Tarleton St. | 4-0 | 568 | 3 |
| 4 | Montana | 4-1 | 550 | 4T |
| 5 | Stephen F. Austin | 5-0 | 521 | 6 |
| 6 | Lehigh | 5-0 | 484 | 7 |
| 7 | North Dakota | 4-1 | 467 | 8 |
| 8 | Tennessee Tech | 4-0 | 429 | 10 |
| 9 | Austin Peay | 4-1 | 420 | 11 |
| 10 | Youngstown St. | 3-2 | 386 | 13 |
| 11 | Illinois St. | 4-1 | 370 | 4T |
| 12 | South Carolina St. | 5-0 | 329 | 14 |
| 13 | Lamar | 3-1 | 322 | 15 |
| 14 | Idaho St. | 4-0 | 311 | 16 |
| 15 | UC Davis | 3-2 | 236 | 9 |
| 16 | South Dakota | 3-2 | 223 | 12 |
| 17 | Richmond | 4-1 | 196 | 19 |
| 18 | West Florida | 3-1 | 193 | 20 |
| 19 | Northern Arizona | 3-2 | 175 | 17 |
| 20 | Colgate | 4-1 | 155 | 23T |
| 21 | Mercer | 3-2 | 117 | 23T |
| 22 | Harvard | 2-0 | 82 | 25 |
| 23 | Jackson St. | 4-0 | 72 | NR |
| 24 | Campbell | 4-1 | 71 | NR |
| 25 | Southern Illinois | 3-2 | 57 | NR |