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It’s official!  The 12-0 Indiana Hoosiers team (football, not basketball) crushed nearly every opponent and have earned the final #1 ranking for the 2025 college football season. Other college football rating services made 12-0 Ohio State as their #1.  That’s quite understandable.  The Buckeyes are the defending national champions and have enjoyed another terrific season. However, the Buckeyes finished in second place in the SwampSwamiSports.com College Football Top 25 rankings for the 2025 regular season. My ranking system gave the edge to Indiana by virtue of the Hoosiers’ 30-20 road victory at 11-1 Oregon. By contrast, the Buckeyes’ toughest win of the season came last Saturday in Ohio State’s methodical 27-9 beatdown of 9-3 Michigan. The Big Ten has morphed into “The Big 18” teams.  That meant that Indiana and Ohio State will face a different set of conference opponents every season. Indiana handed Oregon its only loss of the season.  That’s why the Hoosiers are my #1 team as the regular season ends. Indiana and Ohio State are now the final two unbeaten FBS teams after 9-3 Texas handed Texas A&M its first loss of the season Friday night in Austin by a 27-17 final score. The Indiana Hoosiers will enjoy some unexpected home cooking this Saturday as they face the Buckeyes in the Big Ten championship game at 7PM (CST) on FOX.  Saturday’s game will be played (as always) at the home field of the NFL’s Indianapolis Colts. By this time next week, the FBS will have just one team with a perfect record heading into the College Football Playoffs. Congratulations to Indiana for being my top rated team in 2025! Why are 10-2 Alabama and 11-1 Georgia playing in the SEC Championship game instead of 11-1 Texas A&M or 11-1 Ole Miss? All four teams were 7-1 in SEC competition this season, but only two can play in Saturday’s SEC title game (3PM on ABC). Here are the SEC tiebreaker rules: A. Head-to-head competition among the tied teams. Alabama – won at Georgia 24-21 in late September.  Bama did not play either Texas A&M or Ole Miss this season.  Bama gets the nod over Georgia in a tiebreaker. Georgia – lost to Alabama 24-21.  The Bulldogs beat Ole Miss 43-35.  That win gives Georgia the advantage over Ole Miss.  The Bulldogs did not play Texas A&M this season.  Texas A&M – did not play Alabama, Georgia, or Ole Miss this year (odd, isn’t it?) Ole Miss – lost at Georgia (43-35) and did not play against Alabama or Texas A&M this season. In this first scenario, Alabama would eliminate Georgia (based on a head-to-head win) and Georgia would eliminate Ole Miss (another head-to-head win).  Texas A&M (which didn’t play any of the other three SEC teams with a 7-1 conference record this year) would still be “alive” at this point. B. Record against all common opponents among the tied teams. In the second tiebreaker scenario, Georgia beat Texas (35-10).  Texas A&M then lost to Texas 27-17 last Friday. Georgia’s win over Texas was enough to eliminate Texas A&M. How did 7-5 Duke make it into the ACC Championship game this Saturday? This year’s Atlantic Coast Conference football race was dominated early in the season by Georgia Tech and surprising Virginia.  The Yellow Jackets started 8-0 but faded by losing three of its final four games. The Virginia Cavaliers finished as the ACC’s #1 team by virtue of a 7-1 conference mark and a 10-2 overall record. This Saturday night at 7PM, the ACC Championship game features Virginia playing…7-5 Duke? Duke benefited from a weak conference schedule.  The Blue Devils’ six ACC wins came over teams with losing conference records. Duke was part of a massive five-way traffic jam for second place in the ACC at 6-2.  They were tied with 10-2 Miami (FL), 9-3 Georgia Tech, 8-4 SMU, and 8-4 Wake Forest. Somehow (I won’t try to explain this one), Duke won tiebreakers over Miami, G-Tech, SMU, and Wake Forest to emerge as the second place team. A win by Duke over Virginia on Saturday night would hand the ACC crown to the Blue Devils.  However, an 8-5 Blue Devils team would not receive an automatic invitation into the College Football Playoffs.  Other conference champions (such as the American or Sun Belt) could receive that slot in the playoff by virtue of having better season records. So, why do the Power Four Conferences (ACC, Big Ten, Big 12, and SEC) bother playing these conference championship games now? Television money, of course! This weekend’s reduced college football slate brings more TV eyeballs to the rather finite number of televised games.  That’s a bonanza for the networks (ABC/ESPN and FOX).  Their sales staff is busy selling prime advertising slots to a male-dominated audience of shoppers during the crucial Christmas merchandising season. Believe it or not, the SEC is paid about $470 million for its entire slate of games televised by ABC and ESPN for this season.  That doesn’t count extra money from the College Football Playoffs. The “Bank of SEC” takes in about $31 million per week over a 15-week season (12 regular season games over a 14-week span plus this weekend’s championship game). An incremental $31 million payday for this weekend’s SEC Championship game is why we are being forced to wait another week prior to the beginning of the College Football Playoffs. A special consolation note to U-Mass Minuteman football fans The University of Massachusetts (U-Mass) joined the Mid-American Conference beginning July 1, 2025. After November 29, 2025’s final weekend of college football games, U-Mass is still searching for its first Mid-American Conference football victory.  They didn’t win a single game this season! The Minutemen even lost (at home) to FCS member Bryant University 27-26 in September. U-Mass lost its home finale on Saturday to 4-8 Bowling Green 45-14 as the only FBS team in America to finish 0-12. First-year coach Joe Harasmyiak said after the team’s final loss, “The record is the record.  It’s crappy.  It’s not acceptable.” Indeed!  There’s only one way to go next season, right?!!! Hey, Swami!  Aren’t you going to discuss the Lane Kiffin situation today? Come back on Tuesday for that.  Here’s a teaser to think about today. Why did Tulane and North Texas allow their current coaches (who are leaving for Florida and Oklahoma State respectively) to keep leading their current teams until season’s end, but the Ole Miss Athletic Director did not? Let’s reveal the FINAL SwampSwamiSports.com FBS College Football Top 25 rankings for the week ending November 29, 2025: The post Indiana Hoosiers Earn SwampSwami’s 2025 Top Spot! appeared first on SwampSwamiSports.com.

I have been providing a weekly ranking of my Top 25 NCAA Division I FCS small college football teams every week since early October.  Below are the SwampSwamiSports.com rankings (expanded to show some additional teams this week) through the week ending November 15, 2025: This is my first season covering the FCS group.  I am using the same guidelines which have served me well in determining a weekly Top 25 ranking list for the major college FBS football teams over the past seven years. There are only a few major media services which provide significant weekly coverage of the FCS smaller college football teams.  My weekly rankings (click here for my FCS methodology) give you the chance to compare my top teams  vs. the long-time American Football Coaches Association FCS Poll.   The website for the Coaches Poll indicated that 26 FCS Board of Coaches determine their weekly Top 25 rankings for the smaller division teams. This week, we agree on 17 teams in our Top 25 rankings Below are the eight teams in my latest poll which were left out of the Coaches’ Top 25: #8 – 9-2 Presbyterian College (Pioneer Football League) #14 – 8-2 Alabama State (SWAC)* #16 – 7-2 Dartmouth (Ivy League) #18 – 8-3 Sacred Heart (Independent) #21 – 8-3 UT-Rio Grande Valley (Southland) #23 – 8-3 Delaware State (MEAC)* #24 – 8-3 South Carolina State (MEAC)* #25 – 8-3 Prairie View A&M (SWAC)* Here are the eight teams in the Coaches’ Top 25 which differ from my rankings: #14 – 7-4 UC-Davis (Big Sky) #16 – 7-4 North Dakota (Missouri Valley) #17 – 7-4 Youngstown State (Missouri Valley) #18 – 7-4 Abilene Christian (United Athletic Conference) #21 – 8-4 South Dakota Coyotes (Missouri Valley) #23 – 8-3 West Georgia Wolves (United Athletic Conference) #24 – 8-3 Lafayette Leopards (Coastal Athletics Association) *Denotes teams/conferences which will not compete in the FCS playoffs.  Instead, the MEAC and SWAC winners will play each other in the Celebration Bowl in Atlanta. Who should be included in the 24-team FCS Playoff field? There is (of course) a national committee which will determine the 24 teams to be included in this year’s FCS playoffs.  The 2025 FCS Playoff Committee is comprised of one athletic director from each of the 11 FCS conferences which are participating in the playoff field.  This will be the first year for the Ivy League to send one or more representatives into the field. As previously noted, the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) and Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC) send their conference champions to compete in the Celebration Bowl for the HBCU title on December 13.  The MEAC and SWAC do not have a voting representative determining the 24 teams heading into the FCS playoffs beginning on November 29.    Each of this year’s 11 participating conferences will send their league champion team to the FCS playoffs.  The other 13 teams are considered “At-large” and will be determined by the selection committee on Sunday, November 23. First, let’s predict the 11 Conference Champions.  “Come on down!” All rankings shown are from the SwampSwamiSports.com FCS Top 25 published on Monday, November 17, 2025: Missouri Valley – #2 North Dakota State Bison (11-0) – clinched last week Southern (So-Con) – #7 Mercer Bears (10-1) – clinched last week Southland – #11 Stephen F. Austin Lumberjacks (9-2) – clinched last week Here are my predictions for the other eight conference champions receiving automatic bids: Big Sky Conference – #3 Montana Grizzlies (11-0) Coastal Athletic Association – #10 Rhode Island Rams (9-2) Ivy League – #4 Harvard (9-0) Northeast Conference– #36 Central Connecticut State Blue Devils (7-4) Ohio Valley/Big South Alliance – #6 Tennessee Tech Golden Eagles (10-1) Patriot League – #1 Lehigh Mountain Hawks (11-0) Pioneer Football League – #28 Drake Bulldogs (7-3) United Athletic Conference – #31 Abilene Christian (7-4) Who should receive the other 13 “at-large” bids?  My personal belief is that the remaining 13 teams should be determined based on their performance on the field this season.  Wins and losses matter.  For example, a 9-2 team from Conference A has clearly sustained more on-field success than a 7-4 squad from Conference B. Determining the relative strength of schedule between teams at this level is even harder than evaluating the major college FBS teams.  Most fans are able to see the top major college teams on television several times during the football season. Let’s stick with my ranking system to select the following 13 teams to receive an At-Large invitation into Sunday’s FCS selection show (11AM CST on ESPNU): Tarleton State Texans (UAC – #5 ranking) – The 10-1 Texans won their first nine games of the year before losing 27-24 at Abilene Christian.  The Texans opened the season with an impressive 30-27 road win against 5-4 FBS member Army. Presbyterian Blue Hose (Pioneer and #8 ranking) – Presbyterian (9-2) plays in what is considered to be a relatively weak football conference.  However, the Blue Hose went to Macon, Georgia and gave the 10-1 Mercer Bears (champions of the So-Con) their only loss in 2025.  That’s good enough to justify a spot in my playoff field! Monmouth Hawks (CAA and #9 ranking) – The 9-2 Hawks lost one of their two games on the road at FBS member UNC-Charlotte 26-20.  When compared against fellow CAA member 8-2 Villanova, Monmouth wins my tiebreaker by virtue of their 51-33 drubbing of Villanova on September 20. Montana State Bobcats (Big Sky and #12 ranking) – Montana State is 9-2 heading into this weekend’s game with unbeaten Montana (11-0).  The Bobcats blew-out 7-3 UC-Davis 38-17 two weeks ago and receive my vote. Villanova Wildcats (CAA and #15 ranking) – Villanova (8-2) is red hot right now.  The Wildcats have won seven straight games heading into this weekend’s season finale against a very tough 8-3 Sacred Heart team.  Villanova’s only losses are to FBS member Penn State and at 9-2 Monmouth earlier this season. Dartmouth Big Green (Ivy League and #16 ranking) – Dartmouth is 7-2 with its only losses coming at 9-0 Harvard and 5-4 Penn.  If the FCS committee needs to be reminded, Dartmouth beat 7-2 Yale 17-16 earlier this season.  I expect Yale to lose at Harvard on Saturday.  If I’m wrong (it happens), then Yale should make the field, too. Sacred Heart Pioneers (Independent and #18 ranking) – The 8-3 Pioneers have played a fairly tough schedule.  Their three losses have come at 11-0 Lehigh (28-10), at 7-4 Central Connecticut State (42-35) and at 11-0 Montana (43-21).  Saturday’s season finale is at 8-2 Villanova. Another loss could knock Sacred Heart out of the playoffs, but their losses have come against likely FCS Playoff teams. Lamar Cardinals (Southland and #19 ranking) – Lamar (8-3) ran off seven straight wins earlier this season.  The Cardinals from Beaumont lost on Saturday at Southland Conference champion Stephen F. Austin 26-15 but hold my tiebreaker with wins over 8-3 Southeastern Louisiana and 8-3 UT- Rio Grande Valley. Southeastern Louisiana Lions (Southland and #20 ranking) – The 8-3 Lions lost two of their games on the road at FBS members Louisiana Tech and LSU.  The other loss came in a 14-12 thriller at 8-3 Lamar.  Southeastern has one of the top defenses in the FCS this year and has allowed less than 12 points per game to non-FBS opponents.  They are definitely in my 2025 playoff field! UT – Rio Grande Valley Vaqueros (Southland and #21 ranking) – In case you are counting, this would be the fourth Southland Conference team in the FCS playoffs.  This is UTRGV’s first full season in the FCS, so I fully expect the playoff committee to shun them.  Not me.  The Vaqueros’ only three losses came on the road against playoff-bound Stephen F. Austin, Lamar, and Southeastern Louisiana. Illinois State Redbirds (Missouri Valley and #22 ranking) – Illinois State (8-3) lost its opener at FBS #8 ranked Oklahoma.  The Redbirds’ other two losses came – at home – to 11-0 North Dakota State (33-16) and 7-4 Youngstown State (40-35).  Illinois State is on a four game winning streak heading into Saturday’s home finale against 6-5 rival Southern Illinois.  They must beat the Salukis to get into the playoffs. Lafayette Leopards (Patriot and #26 ranking) – The 8-3 Leopards are playing at home Saturday in “The Rivalry” game against the 11-0 Lehigh Mountain Hawks.  If Lafayette wins, they’re in the playoffs as Patriot League champs and Lehigh will still receive an at-large bid. Should Lafayette lose on Saturday, they are at risk of being left out of the playoff field.  The Leopards’ “best win” came over 6-5 Richmond 35-28.  Another four-loss team with a better resume is likely receive this spot. West Georgia Wolves (UAC and #27 ranking) – West Georgia (8-3) has been omitted from my FCS Top 25 most of this season for good reason. The Wolves have swept teams with lousy records but lost all three games to tougher competition.  West Georgia (located in Carrollton or about 45 miles west of Atlanta) lost games at 7-4 Austin Peay, at home to 7-4 Abilene Christian, and at 10-1 Tarleton State. The Wolves’ weak non-conference schedule may be a hard sell to the FCS playoff committee. Let’s include two “stand-by” teams with the best chance to shout “Pick me!” to the FCS playoff committee: UC Davis Aggies (Big Sky and #29 ranking) – UC-Davis (7-3) had its season opener at So-Con champion Mercer canceled due to possible tropical storm conditions in Georgia.  The Aggies have one less victory than other competitors affected my rankings (eight wins beats seven in the SwampSwamiSports.com rankings).  Having only three losses, though, helped to elevate UC-Davis over the 18 FCS teams which have four defeats through last weekend’s games.  The UC Davis Aggies must beat conference rival Sacramento State (7-4) on Saturday to have a chance at securing a playoff spot. South Dakota Coyotes (Missouri Valley and #30 ranking) – The 8-4 Coyotes concluded their season last week on November 15.  South Dakota lost a “money game” at FBS opponent Iowa State to start the season.  They dropped to 0-2 after losing another road game at 8-3 Lamar (20-13).  The Coyotes can point to a win over likely Pioneer Conference champ 7-3 Drake (42-21) and a pair of 7-4 MVC foes in South Dakota State and North Dakota. Best of luck to all of the FCS teams this weekend!  Happy Thanksgiving!  The post Predicting all 24 FCS Playoff Teams! appeared first on SwampSwamiSports.com.

Do you remember the half-hour cartoon show called “The Jetsons”? The futuristic 1962 prime-time half-hour cartoon became ABC’s very first color television program shown by the network.  After a one-year run in the evenings, reruns of “The Jetsons” remained on Saturday mornings for decades. The show’s premise involved a space-aged middle-class office worker named George Jetson and his family (including the family dog, Astro) as they dealt with issues of the day (which were remarkably like today’s). One particular episode introduced an extremely smart and sophisticated computerized robot “genius” named UniBlab.  The president of George Jetson’s company president bought UniBlab to improve efficiency and reduce the number of workers (including, of course, George Jetson). Artificial intelligence (AI) is now doing the same thing to many jobs today.  Let’s return to that subject a bit later. All Hail to “King” Kiffin and his SEC Court This week’s college football coaching carousel has one particular man being flown around and treated like a king in both Baton Rouge, Louisiana and Gainesville, Florida. Ole Miss football coach Lane Kiffin already makes $9 million per year.  His 10-1 Rebels are a virtual lock to play in their first College Football Playoff game in December. The Ole Miss Rebels have this week off as they prepare for a regular season finale against intrastate rival Mississippi State in the Egg Bowl game a week from Friday in Starkville. Coach Lane Kiffin was already the toast of Oxford, Mississippi.  The school’s athletics director has offered the football coach a very generous contract extension which currently is awaiting Kiffin’s signature – if he wants to remain the football coach at Ole Miss. November is a big season for hunters. Two of the SEC’s “Big Name” hunters are trying to bag a very expensive trophy named Lane Kiffin during this week’s open season on football coaches. LSU (which fired Brian Kelly) and Florida (ditto for Billy Napier) are openly courting Lane Kiffin to leave northern Mississippi and lead their SEC football programs next season. Both schools are expected to dangle upwards of $12 million per season to lure “King” Kiffin away from multitudes of his loyal subjects in Oxford, Mississippi. A fool and his money…??? At what point will major college football programs learn their lesson about signing coaches to long-term multi-million dollar contracts which require the payment of tens of millions of dollars if the deal doesn’t work out? There are plenty of wealthy benefactors at the University of Florida and LSU.  Ole Miss has its share of big money supporters, too. Most every major college football program today has wealthy alumni and fans who will gladly fork-over the money with one string attached. The new coaching hire must bring about the required return on investment made by the big rollers. It’s called, “Our team must make it into the College Football Playoffs and compete for a national championship nearly every year!” But what if it doesn’t? A little over a year ago, Penn State won its first game in the first 12-team College Football Playoffs.  The Nittany Lions clobbered SMU 38-10 in Round 1.  They beat Boise State 31-14 in Round 2.  PSU then lost a squeaker to Notre Dame 27-24 in the national semifinals. By any measure, Penn State had a fantastic season in 2024. Did the team’s success in 2024 help Coach James Franklin keep his job this fall? Penn State fired its 12th year head football coach in October after the Nittany Lions lost three straight games following a 3-0 start.  During his tenure with Penn State, Coach James Franklin’s teams won 70% of their games in what has become known recently as “Unhappy” Valley. James Franklin wasn’t unemployed for very long. Earlier this week, Coach Franklin found a new coaching home as he will lead Virginia Tech’s football program in 2026. Yes, it is true that Coach James Franklin still hasn’t won a national championship. Then again, neither has Virginia Tech. Neither had coach Brian Kelly (Western Michigan, Cincinnati, Notre Dame, and LSU). Ditto for coach Billy Napier (UL-Lafayette and Florida). This week’s rock star head coach (Lane Kiffin) hasn’t come close to winning a national championship, either Lane Kiffin is the well-traveled 50-year old son of legendary NFL defensive guru Monte Kiffin. The younger Kiffin played quarterback at Fresno State.  He quickly became a top college football assistant coach.  Kiffin worked his way up into the offensive coordinator position at the University of Southern California beginning in 2005. In 2007, the NFL’s Oakland Raiders hired 31-year old Lane Kiffin to become the youngest head football coach in franchise history.  After going 4-12 in his first NFL season, Kiffin was fired by Oakland the following season after a 1-3 start. Lane Kiffin returned to college football in 2009 as the head coach at the University of Tennessee.  After posting a 7-6 record during his first season in Knoxville, Lane Kiffin shocked Vol Nation by leaving to take the top job at USC in January, 2010. Coach Kiffin had three seasons of mild success with the Trojans before he was fired in late September, 2013 after losing two straight conference games early in his fourth season at USC.  Ironically, future LSU head coach Ed Orgeron replaced Kiffin as the interim head coach for the USC Trojans for the remainder of that regular season. Coach Nick Saban hired Lane Kiffin to become Alabama’s offensive coordinator a few months later in January, 2014. Kiffin performed well enough to be offered the head coaching job at Florida Atlantic University in Boca Raton (Fort Lauderdale area) beginning in 2017. The FAU Owls went 11-3, 5-7, and 10-3 before Lane Kiffin was hired by Ole Miss beginning with the 2020 football season. Lane Kiffin is now in his sixth year with the Rebels.  His Ole Miss football teams have produced a 74% winning percentage with four ten-win seasons in six years. Despite that success, Lane Kiffin’s Ole Miss Rebels have not played in either the SEC Championship game or the College Football Playoffs. At least not yet. So, why does everyone want Lane Kiffin? This is purely a supply vs. demand problem. There are ten FBS college football teams searching for a new head coach.  The now 50-year old Lane Kiffin has acquired a great deal of experience and (perhaps) a bit of humility in his coaching journeys. Kiffin has also admitted that he is a recovering alcoholic for nearly five years.  He has become closer than ever to his family since taking the job at Ole Miss in 2020. Lane Kiffin is what I would call an “old soul” to be such a relatively young major college football coach.  His ability to recruit top players and assistant coaches for his staff have helped to make him the nation’s biggest coaching “get” on the market. However, Lane Kiffin will become the most hated man in the state of Mississippi for at least the next decade if should accept the top job at either Florida or LSU soon. Which brings us back to The Jetsons Why pay tens of millions of dollars to the next football coach (and an expensive assistant coaching staff) at Florida, LSU, Penn State, etc. if the new coach has such a small chance of succeeding? Remember 2022, Gator Nation?  Fans were giddy about their SEC title possibilities after they hired a former Nick Saban assistant coach named Billy Napier to become Florida’s newest head football coach. Ditto for LSU after they wrangled Coach Brian Kelly away from Notre Dame to coach for the Tigers starting in 2022. How did those deals work out for you? Rapid advancements in artificial intelligence (AI) could mean that (let’s say) Grok from Twitter might have a high statistical chance of replicating the success of most major college football coaches in game planning and play-calling. We already know that most major college football teams (especially Lane Kiffin’s Ole Miss Rebels) lean heavily on advanced analytics and statistical models to make key decisions – especially on certain “down and distance” play calls. What if a college football team which rarely posts winning seasons (such as the UL-Monroe Warhawks) was to hire a cheaper and smaller group of under-30 coaches and fully utilize AI to find and sign key players, develop weekly game plans, and recommend play calls during the game? The money saved on the team’s coaching staff could be rolled into paying for better players. What would a struggling college football team have to lose by trying such an approach? The continued bidding war for both football coaches and players may put the proverbial nail in the coffin for a number of current FBS programs – even with the increased revenue from television and media deals. Perhaps hiring Coach AI UniBlab to run your favorite team may be coming sooner than you think! The post Ready for an AI College Football Coach yet? appeared first on SwampSwamiSports.com.

The NCAA Division I FCS (smaller college) football teams have just one week remaining in the regular season. This Sunday at 11AM CST, the FCS Playoff Committee will announce the 24 teams which will participate in this year’s playoffs beginning on Friday, November 28. There are three FCS teams which have already locked-up a place in the playoff field by virtue of clinching their conference races last weekend.  The remaining 21 places in the field will be determined after this Saturday’s games conclude. Three down and 21 more to go! Congratulations to North Dakota State, Mercer, and Stephen F. Austin for securing the first three invitations to late November’s FCS playoffs. Defending FCS champion North Dakota State is now 11-0 and has a two-game lead in the Big Sky Conference with only one game remaining.  Bison head coach Tim Polasek is likely hearing overtures from some of the 11 major colleges seeking a new football coach.  Can Coach Polasek and his very talented herd of Bison remain focused, run the table, and close out a perfect season with yet another FCS title? The red-hot 9-1 Mercer Bears of the Southern Conference own a two-game lead over their closest competitor, Western Carolina.  Mercer clobbered UT-Chattanooga 63-17 Saturday to wrap-up a spot in the FCS playoffs for the third straight season.  The Mercer Bears from Macon, Georgia have won nine games in a row and have tallied 38 or more points in their last eight contests.  The coachless Auburn Tigers of the SEC will try to end the Bears’ winning streak this Saturday (1PM on the SEC+ Network) at Jordan-Hare Stadium in eastern Alabama. Surprising Stephen F. Austin disposed of Texas rival Lamar University 26-15 Saturday night to claim its first Southland Conference football title since 2010.  The Lumberjacks have sawed through nine straight opponents to move to 9-2 and grab their spot in the upcoming FCS playoffs.  SFA finishes on the road Thursday night (6:30PM on ESPN+) to play the struggling 1-10 Northwestern State Demons with the rivalry’s 7-foot wooden trophy called “The Chief” going home with the victor. Let’s review some of the “Win and you’re in” games coming on Saturday Coastal Athletic Association – The 9-2 Rhode Island Rams have never won the regular season title in the CAA. They have a chance to finish with a perfect 8-0 conference record at home this Saturday (11AM CST on ESPN+) with a victory over the struggling 2-9 Hampton Pirates.  A win gives the Rams a ticket into the FCS playoffs.  An upset loss by Rhode Island would open the door for 9-2 Monmouth and/or 8-2 Villanova to become involved in a complicated tiebreaker to determine the CAA champion. Ivy League – It’s hard to believe, but this is the first season in which the Ivy League champion will be participating in the FCS playoffs.  Historically, the Ivy League wanted its student/athletes to concentrate on academics (gasp!) as final exams occur during the FCS playoff season. Boston’s famed Fenway Park baseball stadium will host “The Game” this Saturday (11AM CST on ESPNU) between 9-0 Harvard and 7-2 Yale.  This annual football contest was first played in 1875. Saturday’s winner also claims the Ivy League’s first guaranteed spot in the FCS playoffs.  Pressure, anyone? Northeast Conference – The Central Connecticut State Blue Devils are 7-4 coming off Saturday’s 38-33 loss to Duquesne in Pittsburgh. The Blue Devils are 5-1 in conference action and control their chances to reach the FCS playoffs for the first time since 2019.  A home win on Saturday (11AM CST on ESPN+) against the 5-6 Mercyhurst Lakers will give the NEC title to Central Connecticut.  If the Blue Devils lose, a tiebreaker may be needed with Duquesne. Ohio Valley/Big South Alliance – Tennessee Tech’s perfect 10-0 start ended last Saturday after the fast-improving SEC Kentucky Wildcats prevailed 42-10 in Lexington. The Golden Eagles return home to Cookeville on Saturday to face rival UT-Martin (6-5 overall but 6-1 in conference). Saturday’s winner receives an automatic bid into the FCS playoffs.  The game also marks Tennessee Tech’s final Ohio Valley Conference football game as the Golden Eagles fly into the Southern Conference next season in 2026. Patriot League – This weekend of big games wouldn’t be complete without the annual game pitting Lehigh (11-0) against Lafayette (8-3).  The game called “the Rivalry” has been played since 1884.  This year’s “Rivalry #161” takes place on Saturday at 11:30 AM CST (on ESPN+) in Easton, Pennsylvania. Lafayette’s Leopards are at home and will try to ruin the season for the unbeaten Mountain Hawks from nearby Bethlehem.  The winner takes home the Patriot League title and its automatic bid into the FCS playoffs. Pioneer Football League – The 7-3 Drake Bulldogs have surrendered only 10 points per game over its last seven games.  They are playing exceptional defense!   Drake controls its own fate to receive an automatic FCS playoff bid if the Bulldogs are able to take down Morehead State (6-5 overall and 4-3 in conference) on Saturday at 12Noon CST (ESPN+). Presbyterian College is 9-2 and still has a chance to take the top spot if (a) Drake loses and (b) the Blue Hose de-“feet” (ha ha!) Marist (5-6) on Saturday. United Athletic Conference – Abilene Christian’s upset of formerly unbeaten Tarleton State a few weeks ago has provided the Wildcats a one-game lead in the UAC. A win this Saturday by Abilene Christian (now 7-4) at Central Arkansas (3-8) would give ACU the UAC automatic playoff bid.  If da’ Bears are able to spring an upset in Conway, Arkansas, Tarleton State (currently 10-1) would win the league title with a home victory over 7-4 Austin Peay. The MEAC and SWAC have their own title on the line in December Winners of two FCS conferences featuring historically black colleges and universities (HBCU) will face-off in Atlanta on December 13 for the annual Celebration Bowl. The victor in this Saturday’s MEAC final regular season game between 8-3 South Carolina State at 8-3 Delaware State will receive an invitation to Atlanta to play in the Celebration Bowl. The SWAC holds its title game between the East Division winner vs. Prairie View A&M (the newly-crowned West Division champ) on Saturday, December 6.  That winner receives the other invitation to play in December’s Celebration Bowl. Alabama State’s Hornets (Montgomery, AL) and Jackson State’s Tigers share the SWAC’s East Division lead.  Both teams have identical 8-2 overall and 6-1 conference records.  Jackson State defeated Alabama State 38-34 earlier this season and may prevail in a tiebreaker.   Let’s reveal the latest SwampSwamiSports.com FCS Top 25 rankings for the week ending Saturday, November 15, 2025: The post Drama Galore as FCS Regular Season ends Saturday appeared first on SwampSwamiSports.com.

Unbeaten Texas A&M is really, really looking forward to this Saturday’s “cupcake” college football game against struggling 1-10 FCS member Samford.  The Southern Conference Bulldogs from Birmingham, Alabama should be a much tastier morsel than last week’s early delivery from the SEC bakery in Columbia, South Carolina. The 3-6 South Carolina Cream Puffs (I mean, Gamecocks) were supposed to show-up in College Station on Saturday and bow down to the mighty 10-0 Aggies.  The folks in Las Vegas established the Aggies as a 17 ½ point home favorite and expected Texas A&M to cruise an 11th straight victory in 2025. I noticed that Coach Mike Elko’s name was scrolling along the bottom of ABC’s television coverage during the game on Saturday.  The A&M football coach had just signed a six-year contract extension worth more than $11 million per season after guiding the Ags to a sterling 10-0 start in 2025. Ever heard of the term “Battered Aggie Syndrome”? Texas A&M fans have a tendency to become overly excited about their football team.  Sadly, the past few decades have seen the fast-starting Aggies fade coming down the home stretch of nearly every football season. The Aggies have never won the SEC title since joining the league in 2012.  They have never appeared in the BCS nor College Football Playoffs. Texas A&M’s last national championship came in 1939. After years of football disappointment, a significant portion of the Texas A&M football fan base coined the phrase “Battered Aggie Syndrome”. They get excited early in the season and become depressed as the team falters late. It’s much the same as Peanuts character Charlie Brown after Lucy pulls the football away from him just before he gets to kick it. You know what’s going to happen to good ol’ Chuck every time. This year’s Texas A&M football team came into Saturday’s game 10-0.  The coach had just received a very expensive six-year contract extension (another story for another day). What could possibly go wrong? Plenty. South Carolina showed-up and played their finest first half of the football season. Texas A&M served the visiting team a first half assortment of tasty football-flavored turnovers such as two interceptions and a timely fumble recovery.  South Carolina played nearly flawlessly during the opening first two quarters and took full advantage of A&M’s generous Texas-sized home field hospitality. The gracious Aggies allowed their Carolina visitors to jump to a shocking 30-3 halftime lead.  Many in the Texas A&M’s crowd of more than 100,000 suddenly wondered why they didn’t wear their sad “Battered Aggie Syndrome” T-shirts to this football game. Texas A&M’s now wealthier football coach Mike Elko looked in shock as he departed Kyle Field for the locker room after the first half ended. Meanwhile, Coach Shane Beamer may have dropped a few hints at halftime that his South Carolina Gamecocks team should reciprocate some of that generous Texas hospitality during the second half of play. The Gamecocks listened and switched places with the Aggies in the second half. Texas A&M rolled-off 28 straight points to beat South Carolina 31-30 to complete the biggest comeback in school history. Carolina coach Shane Beamer is still employed as I write this on Monday, November 17.  The coach would be due nearly $28 million if South Carolina’s athletics boosters felt the desire to make Coach Beamer the 12th FBS coach fired this football season. The SEC Bakery offers a variety of pastries available this Saturday Check out this list of “Who made this schedule?” for some SEC teams this weekend: Texas A&M (11-0) hosts FCS Samford (1-10) Georgia (9-1) tackles American Athletic Conference member UNC-Charlotte (1-9) Alabama (8-2) is at home for FCS Eastern Illinois (4-7) LSU (6-4) plays host to Sunbelt Conference Western Kentucky (8-2)* South Carolina (3-7) is home for the Sunbelt’s Coastal Carolina (6-4)* *This game was EXPECTED to be an easy home contest but may not turn out to be The 11th game of the season has become “cupcake” week in the SEC after the league started playing a 12-game schedule.  Many teams want their final game of season to end with a historic rivalry contest. Next week’s final week of the SEC regular season features grudge matches such as Alabama vs. Auburn, Georgia taking on Georgia Tech, Ole Miss at Mississippi State, and Texas hosting Texas A&M. That leaves lonely Week #11 available for non-conference action. The reason Samford, Eastern Illinois, and the others accept invitations to play in in such games is to collect +/- $1 million in financial guarantees just for showing up. There were a few other close calls last weekend involving some top teams In addition to Texas A&M’s good fortune in the second half against South Carolina, a few other top-rated teams were fortunate to come out on top. Ole Miss (now 10-1) trailed “coachless” Florida 24-20 heading into the fourth quarter in Oxford Saturday night.  The Rebels scored two fourth quarter touchdowns to escape with a 34-24 win over a tough group of 3-7 Florida Gators. Georgia Tech (now 10-1) was on the verge of losing to 1-10 Boston College last Saturday in Beantown.  A short field goal with 11 seconds remaining lifted the Yellow Jackets to a 34-32 win over BC and kept Georgia Tech’s College Football Playoff hopes alive. Meanwhile, the 8-2 Michigan Wolverines nearly became an upset victim on Saturday, too.  Big Blue turned the ball over three times to the Northwestern Wildcats (now 5-5), but a field goal on the game’s final play lifted Michigan to a 24-22 win.  Michigan visits 4-7 Maryland this week before hosting archrival 10-0 Ohio State on the Saturday after Thanksgiving. It’s time to check out the brand new SwampSwamiSports.com College Football Top 25 rankings for the week ending Saturday, November 15, 2025: The post FBS Top 25 + The SEC Bakery Reopens this Saturday! appeared first on SwampSwamiSports.com.

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