October 4th, 2026 7:00am
Texas A&M-Kingsville celebrates a come-from-behind win over West Texas A&M
By Chuck Bitner, D2Football.com
For the first time this season, we had a fairly routine week in the Top 25. Only three ranked teams lost, compared to 10 last week. Here is a rundown of what happened around the Top 25, followed by the rest of the national roundup. (And please remember, this is not an attempt to cover every game played.)
No. 1 Ferris State hit the road to the UP for their first GLIAC contest of the season. The Bulldogs turned the ball over on downs on their first possession but then scored five straight touchdowns to build a 35-0 halftime lead. The second half wasn’t as crisp, but they cruised home with a 42-0 win and allowed only 176 yards of offense to Northern Michigan. The Bulldogs’ six touchdowns were scored by six different players.
No. 2 Harding faced an unbeaten East Central team that was making a case for a spot in the rankings. The Tigers hung around for more than half the game trailing just 14-7 in the third before Harding began to pull away. Jeff Regan and Andrew Miller both went over 100 rushing yards and both scored twice in the 42-21 victory.
The rest of the top five won comfortably. No. 4 Kutztown overwhelmed Shippensburg 59-7. No. 3 Minnesota State routed a Concordia St. Paul team that had recent momentum, 59-6. No. 5 Grand Valley State throttled Wayne State, 69-3. Laker receiver Kellen Reed (a name to be familiar with as we open conversations about Harlon Hill candidates) had five receiving touchdowns, including the first four scores of the day.
In the RMAC No. 6 CSU Pueblo and No. 7 Western Colorado took care of their business. The Thunderwolves put up 827 yards of offense in a 72-7 win at Adams State. Western met more resistance from New Mexico Highlands. The Cowboys actually raced out to a 17-0 lead but it was all Western after that. Once they recovered, the Mountaineers got out of Las Vegas with a 52-24 win. Josiah Roy threw five TD passes in the come from behind win.
No. 10 Emporia State tangled with a feisty MoWest team coming off a win last week. The Griffons put up 610 yards of offense, led by 494 through the air, but it wouldn’t be enough. Emporia was able to keep them at arm’s length long enough to get home with a 34-22 victory and stay perfect on the year. MoWest’s Crew Myers and Austin Adair both had over 100 yards receiving. Myers went for 175 and a touchdown on nine catches.
No. 13 IUP needed late game dramatics (again) and OT (again) to beat Edinboro on the road, but they did. Edinboro’s Nate Baker hit a 51-yard field goal as time expired to send the game to OT but the Crimson Hawks won it the second period by converting the two-point play. They haven't all been pretty, but IUP remains unbeaten.
No. 14 Davenport spoiled homecoming at Saginaw Valley State by racing out to a 23-0 lead. The Cardinals got one the board seconds before the halftime break and rallied in the fourth, but it was too little and too late. The Cards closed the game with a 20-0 run but they were down by 30 at that point. Cephus Harris had another great day rushing for 262 yards and three scores.
No. 15 Northeastern State played at home for the first time since August 28, but didn’t get the result they wanted. UT Permian Basin went on a 24-0 run in the middle stages of the game and held on for a 38-27 road win. The Falcons’ defense produced five takeaways, all interceptions of NSU’s standout QB Donnie Smith.
No. 18 North Greenville was involved in the earliest kickoff of the day at rival UNC Pembroke and it may have been the best game of the day. The game began at 11am in an attempt to avoid weather that was expected later in the day. The Trailblazers fell behind 21-0 just 16 minutes into the game but rallied to tie at 21 by halftime. It was back and forth the whole second half with the game coming down to a two-point play. UNC Pembroke scored with 0:34 remaining. That left NGU with a 42-41 lead with the PAT to come. UNCP went for two points and the win, but the NGU defense held and survived the onsides kick to keep their perfect record intact.
No. 20 Western Oregon will likely fall from the rankings after suffering a third straight loss, all in LSC play. This time it was a road contest at a surging Midwestern State team. Learn the name Kaden Brown. The Mustang QB has had a phenomenal first half of 2026, averaging 376 passing yards per game. MSU is 4-1 and 3-0 in the LSC. They visit Central Washington next.
No. 21 Central Missouri pulled one out of the fire with a late drive that included two fourth down conversions. The Mules kicked a field goal with 0:07 left to beat Central Oklahoma, 33-31. Jordan Pachot passed for 450 yards for UCM. UCO Coach Adam Dorrel was incensed with the officiating and had to be restrained by assistants while attempting to confront officials after the game had ended.
No. 22 Mars Hill needed four overtime periods, but they staved off the curse of the newly-ranked team by winning their homecoming 42-40 over Tusculum. The Lions trailed by ten points late in the fourth but managed to tie the game with a 52-yard field goal and then found a way in the extra frames. Lukas Kachilo passed for 324 yards with four TDs.
On the other side of the coin, freshly-ranked No. 24 Kentucky State surrendered 61 points on the road at Edward Waters and took their first D2 loss of the season. Edward Waters QB Tavion Faulk was 32-40 for 498 yards and 4 TD.
Outside the Top 25
Texas A&M-Kingsville trailed 21-0 at home in the third quarter but rallied with four unanswered touchdowns to stun West Texas A&M 28-21. After punting on six of their first seven drives, the Javelinas offense came to life, closing the game with scoring drives of 87 and 80 yards.
Pitt State is finally in the win column in 2026 but it sure looked doubtful. The Gorillas trailed by three touchdowns at halftime but rallied to beat Nebraska-Kearney in OT, 34-27.
Walsh earned their first ranking in the AFCA poll since joining Division II, but the Cavs lost a tough road game to Thomas More. They did erase an 11-point deficit late in the game to force a tie at 21, but the Saints had one last drive in them and walked it off with a field goal as time expired.
Assumption may have reasserted themselves as the team to beat in the Northeast 10. They beat rival Bentley 29-27 to move to 2-0 in league play.
The biggest threat to Assumption may come from Franklin Pierce. The Ravens won their third straight contest with a 35-24 win over AIC. They’re 3-1 overall and 2-0 in the NE10.
Wayne State was able to grind out a 17-14 win over Winona State to improve to 5-1. The real winner in this game was third down, with Winona converting just 2 of 14 ries and Wayne coming through only twice from fifteen opportunities.
West Liberty did it again. The Hilltoppers rallied from two touchdowns behind in the fourth quarter to extend their meeting with West Virginia State to OT. They won it with another Hunter Patterson walk-off TD, 41-38. West Liberty is 5-1 overall and 3-0 in the MEC.
Concord knocked off MEC preseason favorite Frostburg State, 41-31. Devin Kargman had four passing touchdowns and 310 yards for the Mountain Lions.
Tiffin put up only 197 yards of offense in their road contest at Ashland, but it would be enough to get out of town with a 14-9 victory. For their part, the Tiffin defense limited Ashland to under 300 yards and also forced two takeaways. The Dragons are now 4-1 overall and remain unbeaten in G-MAC play.
Augustana trailed at the half in the annual Key to the City game, but the Vikings were nearly perfect in the second half, pulling away for a 37-20 win. It was their fourth straight win in the series.
Bowie State finally played at home for the first time in 2026 and the Bulldogs won their second straight. They beat Shaw 34-29 to move to 2-3 overall but 2-1 against D2 opponents.
Lock Haven moved the PSAC West division this year and so far, the Bald Eagles are prefect in divisional play. They won a pivotal matchup with Clarion, 38-35 with a walk-off field goal as time expired.
Elsewhere in the PSAC West, California was a no-show in their shutout loss to Seton Hill. The Vulcans managed just 22 yards of total offense and five first downs. Seton Hill’s defense forced 10 punts and two turnovers.
South Dakota Mines continued their winning ways. The Hardrockers beat Fort Lewis to jump to 5-1 for the first time in a decade. The annual Black Hills Brawl - one of the top rivalries in Division II sports - awaits after the bye week.
Southeastern Oklahoma State improved to 4-1 with a win over Arkansas Tech. The only loss of the season for the Savage Storm is a one-score setback to Ouachita.
Mckendree won a burner of a contest over Quincy, 46-43 in OT. The teams combined for over 1,000 yards of offense. Quincy quarterback Bradyn Little was a stellar 33-49 for 429 yards and 4 TD in the loss. McKendree’s Jerry Richardson averaged 9.0 yards per carry and scored twice for McKendree.
Carson-Newman trailed most of the day at Lenoir-Rhyne but the Eagles tied the game in the fourth quarter and secured the win by holding the home team to a field goal in the first OT. Joshua Adams then walked it off with a two-yard touchdown.
Roosevelt’s perfect start came to an end with a visit from Michigan Tech. The Huskies jumped out 14-0 early and never looked back. Roosevelt punched back at times but never got within two scores the rest of the day. The road win should put Michigan Tech back into the Top 25 conversation.
Catawba had lost eight straight meetings with Wingate heading into their home contest on Saturday night. The Indians broke that streak with an impressive 35-24 win.
Missouri S&T looked like they might get their first win of the year at Upper Iowa, but the Peacocks forced OT with a field goal in the final minute and then secured the win with a two-point PAT in the second OT.
Savannah State got their first win of the year and also the first in the career of head coach Thomas Howard. The Tigers outlasted Allen 38-36.
UVA Wise knocked off Newberry 48-38 for their first win of the season. Thomas McCoy led a big night for the offense with 137 receiving yard and three touchdowns.
UIndy snapped a four game losing streak with a win over William Jewell.
There was a lot more, but will call it at that. We'll see you Sunday night at 8pm, eastern for Inside D2Football.