Below are the Top 25 FCS preseason rankings based on the Sagarin rankings for the spring 2021 season. These rankings are amongst the 94 of the total of 127 schools participating in the spring schedule. Three-time defending champion North Dakota State is the preseason top spot with the team the Bison defeated in the last national title game in James Madison as the #2 spot.

The Missouri Valley Football Conference had the most Top 25 ranked schools in this poll with eight. The Colonial Athletic Association was second with five schools in the Top 25.

CSJ will show weekly rankings from the Sagarin rankings throughout the season and will have a final ranking after the national championship game in May.

Sagarin rankings provide the only rankings that actually ranks all Division I schools but our rankings will show just the FCS side of things and have been used for several years with his own computer ranking system to distinguish strength of schedule and strength of team when comparing teams.

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The following are the teams not participating in the spring schedule and how each participated in the fall. You can see the full 127 FCS school preseason Sagarin ranking in the link.

Big Sky

Sacramento State — No fall games. Not playing any games this spring.

Montana — No fall games. Not playing a full spring schedule.

Montana State — No fall games. Not playing a full spring schedule.

Portland State — No fall games. Not playing a full spring schedule.

Northern Colorado — No fall games. Not playing a full spring schedule.

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Big South

Campbell — Four fall games. Not playing any games this spring.

Hampton — No fall games. Not playing any games this spring.

North Alabama — Four fall games. Not playing any games this spring.

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CAA

Towson — No fall games. Not playing any games this spring.

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Ivy League

The conference as a whole has decided to not play a spring or fall schedule.

This includes all schools of Brown, Columbia, Cornell, Dartmouth, Harvard, Penn, Princeton, and Yale.

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OVC

Eastern Kentucky — Nine games in the fall.  Not playing any games this spring.

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Pioneer

Dayton — No fall games. Not playing any games this spring.

Marist — No fall games. Not playing any games this spring.

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Patriot

Georgetown — No fall games. Not playing any games this spring.

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MEAC

Bethune-Cookman — No fall games. Not playing any games this spring.

Florida A&M — No fall games. Not playing any games this spring.

North Carolina Central — No fall games. Not playing any games this spring.

Norfolk State — No fall games. Not playing any games this spring.

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MVFC

Indiana State — No fall games. Not playing any games this spring.

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NEC

Saint Francis — No fall games. Not playing any games this spring.

Central Connecticut State — No fall games. Not playing any games this spring.

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Southland

Abilene Christian — Six games in the fall.  Not playing any games this spring.

Central Arkansas — Nine games in the fall.  Not playing any games this spring.

Houston Baptist — Four games in the fall.  Not playing any games this spring.

Stephen F. Austin — Ten games in the fall. Not playing any games this spring.

SWAC

Alcorn State — No fall games. Not playing any games this spring.

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You can see the full Division I Sagarin rankings at The USA Today and at Jeff’s site itself.

In the rankings, you will see the the FCS rankings first and the overall Division I ranking to the right of the the FCS ranking.

The numbers show the ranking in the FCS Top 25 as well as the overall Division I ranking.

The Top 10 and Top 30 are the overall Division I Sagarin rankings.

The following are the individual FCS conference rankings and the overall rankings within overall ranking in Division I.