# FCS college football season developments

> Live situation record from CLSTR: https://clstr.news/situations/20261017-fcs-college-football-season-developments
> Updated: 2026-10-17T09:27:26.000Z. Sources: 8. Developments: 2.

In early October, South Dakota State secured a 31-14 road victory against Illinois State. Following a dominant second half where the Jackrabbits scored 21 unanswered points, the team was positioned to claim the No. 1 ranking in the Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) polls.

By Week 7, the rankings saw significant shifts as No. 11 North Dakota upset the top-ranked South Dakota State with a 21-10 victory. North Dakota quarterback Jerry Kaminski threw two touchdown passes, connecting with Cameron Weir for 35 yards and Deng Deng for 12 yards. The North Dakota defense played a decisive role by forcing multiple punts and turnovers on downs.

Other notable results in the Top 25 included Idaho defeating No. 7 Montana 42-35, Cornell winning against No. 4 Lehigh 48-38, No. 12 Austin Peay defeating West Georgia 24-10, and No. 15 Tennessee Tech securing a 49-20 victory over Eastern Kentucky.

## Timeline

### 2026-10-17: North Dakota upsets No. 1 South Dakota State 21-10

No. 11 North Dakota upset top-ranked South Dakota State 21-10 in Week 7 of the FCS football season, led by two touchdown passes from Jerry Kaminski.

4 sources. https://clstr.news/cluster/fcs-football-week-7-north-dakota-upsets-no-1-south-dakota-state

### 2026-10-04: South Dakota State defeats Illinois State 31-14

South Dakota State defeated Illinois State 31-14, using a dominant second-half defensive performance to move toward the No. 1 ranking in the FCS.

4 sources. https://clstr.news/cluster/south-dakota-state-defeats-illinois-state-31-14

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Cite as: FCS college football season developments. CLSTR, https://clstr.news/situations/20261017-fcs-college-football-season-developments