West Georgia Would Be a Playoff Team if it was Possible
Few teams have had a more impressive start to the 2025 season than West Georgia. For a program that just moved up to the Division I ranks last year, the #25 Wolves are off to a blazing 3-0 start this year and just picked up a signature win in comeback fashion over East Tennessee State at home at Saturday. Unfortunately for them, UWG will be ineligible for the postseason this year regardless of how they finish as they are still in their transitionary
period. Under normal circumstances, however, this group certainly looks as though it would be able to make a push for the playoffs with the way they’re performing in the early going. Yes, the UAC portion of the schedule will present loftier challenges, but as of now there is plenty of reason to believe that West Georgia will be able to make some noise.
Northern Colorado Will Be a Thorn in the Big Sky
If a couple of things go the other way, Northern Colorado would be one of the stories of the FCS season. Last week the Bears lost a heartbreaker on the road to FBS Colorado State (in a game where there was some officiating controversy at the end) and then on Saturday they took #12 South Dakota to overtime in Vermillion before falling just short again. Despite their 1-2 record, UNC is playing at a clip that is a far cry from it has been over recent years and it seems like they might not be the Big Sky’s cellar dwellers any longer. There is still a long way to go for them to go to be a playoff-caliber squad but they certainly could be a bunch that gives some of their conference mates fits down the line this year.
Tarleton State Will Be a Top 4 Seed
Another week, another stellar showing from Tarleton State. The Texans are now 4-0 and every single one of their wins have been impressive from start to finish. Their most recent triumph was a 56-10 beatdown over UAC foe Central Arkansas on the road. The ground game continues to shine with another 241 yards as does quarterback Victor Gabalis who is now up to 11 touchdowns and no interceptions still. The defense is playing lights out to boot and TSU has firmly established itself as a team to beat this year and looks as though they’ll be pushing for a top playoff seed come end of November.
UTRGV Will Be on the Playoff Bubble
The new kids on the block just keep on winning and doing so in staggering fashion. UT Rio Grande Valley just demolished Division II Langston and put up video game numbers. The Vaqueros won going away 80-0 with 11 touchdowns, 751 total offensive yards and 27 first downs. While it is true that two of their three wins this year have come against non-DI competition, UTRGV is still playing some really good ball right now and 80 points is impressive no matter who it’s against. If they can keep this up as Southland play begins, they might just find themselves playing for a postseason spot as the season draws on. That would be quite the accomplishment for a team that just came into existence this year.
The SoCon Will Send Just One to the Playoffs and It Won’t Be Decided Until the End
The SoCon has been as tough to figure out this year as it has been in any in the past. Just one when it seems someone might be able to take the reins, they fall apart. ETSU blew an 11-point lead to West Georgia over the weekend and now it appears the Buccaneers may not be quite the favorite they once were. Preseason darling Mercer, who lost an ugly game to Presbyterian back in Week 1, tumbled far in the eyes of the voters but just picked up a hard-fought win over Wofford to start conference play 1-0. Chattanooga beat the breaks off of Stetson but hasn’t done much of anything else and Furman, after a bad loss to the very same Presbyterian team that got the Bears, just gutted out a win over Campbell. This league will be a dogfight to the end and right now there doesn’t seem to be anyone with a clear lead. It’s also hard to imagine the SoCon sending any at-large bids currently.
