We’re at about the midseason point of the 2025 FCS football season. It’s time to hand out some superlatives as we reflect on the season that’s been and look forward to what’s to come.
Surprise team — Tennessee Tech
Tennessee Tech was expected to be good as the preseason favorite to win the OVC-Big South, but did anyone think the Golden Eagles would be this dominant?
Tennessee Tech is outscoring opponents 283-59 in five games. That’s a margin of 224 points. TTU has scored no fewer than 35 points this year, and the defense has only allowed six touchdowns this year.
The offense leads the FCS with 56.6 points per game, and the defense ranks second only allowing 11.80 points per game. The offense is converting 52.8 percent of its third-down attempts (fifth-best in the FCS) while opposing teams are only converting 24.4 percent of third-down attempts (third-best in the FCS).
The defense has three pick-sixes, tied for the most in the FCS, and averages 3.20 sacks per game, the sixth-best in the FCS.
Some may point to Tennessee Tech’s competition level and strength of schedule so far, and those claims may be valid, as TTU’s four DI opponents in five games have only combined for four wins this year. However, the Golden Eagles have yet to play down to any of their opponents.
FCS RANKINGS: AFCA Coaches Poll | STATS PERFORM
Biggest disappointment — UIW
The biggest disappointment of the FCS season is UIW. UIW opened the season ranked No. 4 in the coaches poll and No. 5 in the STATS Perform Poll. The Cardinals are 2-4 after six games.
This is a team that appeared to reload with some of the top transfer portal talent in the FCS, but UIW is far from the team that made the FCS quarterfinals a year ago.
Top team unit — Delaware State’s run game
The top unit from a team in the FCS is Delaware State’s rushing attack. DSU is averaging 281.8 yards per game on the ground, 20 more than anyone else in the FCS. No team has more than DSU’s 22 rushing touchdowns, 14 of which have come in the red zone, good for second-best in the FCS.
Delaware State quarterback Kaiden Bennett has the fourth-most rushing touchdowns in the FCS with 9. Running back Marquis Gillis’ 611 rushing yards are the eighth-most in the FCS. Running back James Jones is averaging 9.3 yards per carry on 39 attempts, which leads the FCS.
Delaware State has also had nine different performances of 90-plus rush yards. The Hornets have only played six games.
After rushing for 281 yards and five touchdowns against a ranked Monmouth squad, this rushing attack proved it can go toe-to-toe with anyone in the FCS.
EVERYTHING HBCU: Schedule, scores, updates and more from the 2025 HBCU football season
Sleeper team — Southeastern Louisiana
Unranked Southeastern Louisiana is a sleeper team at 4-2 with zero FCS losses. The Lions haven’t played any quality FCS opponents yet, as Murray State, Mississippi Valley State and McNeese remain winless against FCS teams, and UTRGV is in its first year of competition ever.
It’ll likely stay that way for a while as SELA’s next three opponents — Northwestern State, Houston Christian and East Texas A&M — all have just one win each.
Barring an upset, Southeastern Louisiana should be undefeated against FCS teams entering the final three weeks of the season. They could challenge for a playoff spot if they finish with just one loss and don’t win the Southland’s automatic bid.
Best performance — QB Taron Dickens, Western Carolina
The best individual performance of the FCS season so far is the record-setting day from Western Carolina quarterback Taron Dickens. Dickens opened his day against Wofford by going 46-of-46 passing for 325 yards and three touchdowns to set a new record for consecutive completions in a single game.
The performance set an NCAA record across all divisions and firmly placed him in conversations for the Walter Payton Award (more on that later).
RECORD: WCU’s Taron Dickens sets NCAA record for most consecutive passes completed
Bounceback player — QB Andrew Body, Alabama State
Take yourself back to August of 2024. We were in the preseason of last college football season, and hype surrounded Texas Southern-to-Alabama State transfer quarterback Andrew Body as he took his All-SWAC talents across the conference.
Then Body got hurt, missing most of last season, while Alabama State ended up having to convert a wide receiver to quarterback.
Fast forward to the present, and you’ll see Body back healthy and balling out for the Hornets as one of the top players in all of HBCU football.
Andrew Body is completing 70 percent of his passes for 1,038 yards and 14 touchdowns, rushing for another 330 yards and a score. He’s the third-best quarterback in the entire FCS when it comes to passing efficiency, and he has Alabama State undefeated against FCS opponents in his bounceback year.
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Breakout performance — RB L.J. Phillips Jr., South Dakota
We always hear about “big shoes to fill” whenever a player gets hurt. How big would these hypothetical shoes be when a player has to replace a preseason FCS All-American running back like South Dakota running back Charles Pierre Jr.?
Running back L.J. Phillips Jr. would know the answer to that question after Pierre suffered an injury that knocked him out for the season after Week 2.
Phillips got his first start in Week 3 against Northern Colorado, and what a start it was. He ran for 301 yards and two touchdowns on 35 attempts. It was an amazing breakout debut as a starter for Phillips, and only a sign of things to come.
Phillips has since had two four-rushing-touchdown games and leads the FCS in rushing yards entering Week 7.
ROOKIES: Top 10 freshmen in FCS football after 4 weeks of action
Walter Payton Award winner prediction — QB Derek Robertson, Monmouth
20 of the last 21 Walter Payton Award winners have been quarterbacks. I think it’ll move to 21 of 22 in 2025, with Monmouth quarterback Derek Robertson taking home the Walter Payton Award this year.
Robertson leads the FCS with 22 passing touchdowns and 2,028 passing yards. He has seven more passing touchdowns and 391 more passing yards than any other quarterback in the nation. Barring injury or a lackluster string of games, Robertson should finish the season on top in both categories.
What sets Robertson apart this year is that Monmouth is winning games. The Hawks are ranked No. 11 in the coaches poll and No. 12 in the STATS Perform Poll, undefeated against FCS this year.
If Robertson keeps putting up big numbers and Monmouth keeps winning, he could become the first Walter Payton Award winner in Monmouth’s history.
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Buck Buchanan Award winner prediction — DE Joshua Stoneking, Furman
Seven of the last nine Buck Buchanan Award winners have been edge players, including each of the last five winners. I don’t see that trend changing in 2025. That’s why Furman defensive end Joshua Stoneking is my predicted winner.
The last three of five Buchanan winners have led the nation in sacks AND tackles for loss. Stoneking leads the FCS with 9.5 sacks and 13.5 tackles for loss. His sack total is three more than second-best, and his TFL total is two more than second-best.
Stoneking will also play in big-time matchups that will allow him to have pivotal moments to further boost his Buck Buchanan case. Furman only has one FCS loss and is a top contender in the SoCon.
At the midseason mark, the Buck Buchanan Award is Stoneking’s to lose.
