College Football: Ranking All 15 FCS Conferences

FCS football has 14 different conferences, plus a group of four independents. 

Eight weeks through the season, the contenders are beginning to separate from the pretenders, and a solid picture of the strengths and weaknesses of each conference is beginning to come into focus. 

Following are the power rankings for all of the FCS conferences, including the independents.

15. FCS Independents

None of the FCS Independents are ranked in the latest poll, nor are any in the "others receiving votes" category. 

Well, at least South Alabama and Texas State have overall winning records, even if it's not by much.

14. Northeast Conference

Albany was in the "others receiving votes category," and Duquesne, Sacred Heart and Bryant also have winning records.

13. Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference

Norfolk State and Florida A&M both received votes in the latest poll.  Over half of the teams in the MEAC currently have winning records, but most of those are a mediocre 5-3.

12. Pioneer Football League

Jacksonville, Drake and San Diego all received votes in the latest poll.

11. Ivy League

Harvard was No. 20 in the polls, while Brown and Penn also received votes.

10. Big South Conference

Liberty is currently ranked No. 22 in the polls, and its only losses have come against an FBS opponent and two FCS teams ranked in the top 15.

9. Patriot League

There may only be one team from the league that was either ranked or received votes, but it is definitely a good one.  Lehigh is currently ranked No. 7 in the polls.

8. Southwestern Athletic Conference

Jackson State, led by prolific passer Casey Therriault, is ranked 14th.  Alabama State also received votes in the latest poll.

7. Southland Conference

Sam Houston State is the No. 5 team in the polls right now.  Central Arkansas and Northwestern State also received votes in the poll.

6. Great West Conference

For only having five teams, the conference has a very strong presence in the polls. South Dakota and North Dakota are both in the top 25, while Cal Poly and Southern Utah also received votes.

5. Ohio Valley Conference

Tennessee Tech and Jacksonville State are both top 25, and Eastern Kentucky also received votes.

4. Big Sky Conference

Montana State is the No. 2 team in the polls, while Montana is No. 8 and Portland State also received votes.

3. Southern Conference

Appalachian State, Georgia Southern and Wofford are all ranked in the top 10, but the only other conference team who got any votes at all was Furman.

2. Missouri Valley Football Conference

North Dakota State is the No. 1 team in the polls. Northern Iowa, Indiana State and Illinois State are all top 25, while Youngstown State also received votes.

1. Colonial Athletic Association

It's pretty ridiculous when a single conference accounts for seven of the top 25 teams. 

Maine, New Hampshire, Old Dominion, James Madison, Towson, Delaware and William & Mary were all ranked in the poll, and UMass also received votes.  This is easily the deepest conference in FCS football.