Herder Ballot 11/3

[rocklobster]

FCS Top 25: Sam Herder’s Ballot For The Week Of 11-3-2025

Check out Sam Herder's Top 25 ballot and reasoning for the Stats Perform FCS Top 25 for the week of Nov. 3, 2025.

herosports.com

I agree with the top 4, but the rest of it is a crap shoot. So many teams into top 10 lost. Very interested in Idaho's ballot this week.

 

[uofmman1122]

It really does feel like it's
1. NDSU
2-3. Montana schools
4-25. playing for the chance to lose to NDSU in Fargo.

 

[GottaluvGriz]

Hard to argue much with his top 4 or 5. I could see the pollsters going with Lehigh over Tarlenton for 4th. Not disagreeing that the Texans are probably better than Lehigh.

 

[mthoopsfan]

Didn’t Tarleton lose? What are they doing up there? They aren’t that good.

 

[rocklobster]

Didn’t Tarleton lose? What are they doing up there? They aren’t that good.

True, but everyone lost this week. The question is, are they better than Lehigh and Tennessee Tech? I think they were given credit for a close game, and of course , everyone loves them because they beat Army. How would you rank the top 10? It's a dilemma.

 

[CDAGRIZ]

Someone help me out because I probably pay less attention to non-Griz FCS than most. Working off the Coaches’ (non-blogger) Pole:

#2 Tarleton’s only loss was close the road.
#4 Bobs’ only FCS loss was at home.

Why, again, is it so obvious that Tarleton should drop below the Bobs? Are polestars just abandoning pole inertia for the “who we think is better” model at this point in the season?

 

[HelenaHandBasket]

It really does feel like it's
1. NDSU
2-3. Montana schools
4-25. playing for the chance to lose to NDSU in Fargo.

Griz or Cats could find themselves in that 4-24 group

 

[Proud Griz Man]

It really does feel like it's
1. NDSU
2-3. Montana schools
4-25. playing for the chance to lose to NDSU in Fargo.

I like your posts 1122, and we generally agree.

If South Dak State gets their #1 quarterback I still believe they are a contender. So I think the last line should be / could be "5-24 playing for a chance to be sacrificial lambs at Fargo, Bozeman, Missoula"

 

[uofmman1122]

Griz or Cats could find themselves in that 4-24 group

Sure, it's just how it feels right now, not what I think it'll end up.

But if you want my opinion, if we end up 11-1 with a loss to the cats, I don't see us dropping lower than #3.

 

[NDSUSR]

#2 Tarleton’s only loss was close the road.
#4 Bobs’ only FCS loss was at home.

Why, again, is it so obvious that Tarleton should drop below the Bobs?

They got beat bad by Abilene Christian. The team that UIW beat 38-7

 

[alabamagrizzly]

They got beat bad by Abilene Christian. The team that UIW beat 38-7

Kicking a game winning FG as time expires is beating someone bad? Have the standards really sunk that low in No Dickota?

 

[IdaGriz01]

They got beat bad by Abilene Christian. The team that UIW beat 38-7

Actually, no. They lost on a FG as time expired. Otherwise, the game would have gone into overtime. Still, your basic point is valid: Abilene Christian is not that strong a team.

See someone beat me to it.

 

[griz4life]

Again, Herder offering his ballot as a Cliff's Notes guide to every participant who doesn't follow FCS outside of their own team/conference is malpractice.

Tarleton losing to the No. 24 team and falling no further than SDSU did after losing to No. 1 NDSU is absurd. They shouldn't be in the top 15.

 

[mthoopsfan]

Lehigh is 9-0. Has a couple decent conference games remaining. Holy Cross, Colgate and Lafayette, the last 2 on road. Layfayette is 5-3 and were down 10 - 13 to Oregon St a few weeks ago, before getting blown out in second half. Beat Sacred Heart by 10 on Sept 6. Beat Columbia, Penn and Yale. Columbia is bad. Penn and Yale are 5-2 and decent. Lost 34-13 to Idaho last year in 2d round of playoffs.

 

[mthoopsfan]

Again, Herder offering his ballot as a Cliff's Notes guide to every participant who doesn't follow FCS outside of their own team/conference is malpractice.

Tarleton losing to the No. 24 team and falling no further than SDSU did after losing to No. 1 NDSU is absurd. They shouldn't be in the top 15.

I agree in Tarleton. I assume they will fall more in the actual poll. That is silly.

 

[GriznMN]

No. 24/25 ACU beat No. 2/2 Tarleton State - and only drops 2?
Indiana State beat No. 4/5 SDSU - and SDSU only drops to #12?
Idaho State beat No. 6/6 UC Davis
South Dakota beat No. 8/10 North Dakota - yet UND rises to #7?
UIW beat No. 14/14 Lamar - and Lamar drops out?
Idaho beat No. 19/21 Northern Arizona - and NAU doesn't drop out?
Southern Utah beat No. 22/24 Austin Peay - and Austin Peay doesn't drop out?

I love Sam Herder. He's a great comic.

 

[IdaGriz01]

I agree on Tarleton. I assume they will fall more in the actual poll. That is silly.

Personally, looking over their lame schedule, I've never thought the Texans deserved even a top-10 ranking ... but there they were/are. Thus, many pollster obviously think they're pretty good. Will that make a difference? My poll guesses say it will ... but I would love to be wrong.

 

[CDAGRIZ]

Actually, no. They lost on a FG as time expired. Otherwise, the game would have gone into overtime. Still, your basic point is valid: Abilene Christian is not that strong a team.

See someone beat me to it.

Didn’t SDSU beat MSU at home? I don’t think SDSU looks all that great.

 

[IdaGriz01]

Didn’t SDSU beat MSU at home? I don’t think SDSU looks all that great.

They don't now, without their QB1, Chase Mason. If he can't come back, I think they will continue to lose games and drop.

 

[Copper Griz]

Didn’t SDSU beat MSU at home? I don’t think SDSU looks all that great.

Didn’t SDSU beat MSU at home? I don’t think SDSU looks all that great.

Early season game. SDSU also had their starting QB. It clearly made a difference. Once their QB went down, so did their performance and potentially their season.