WACO, Texas – Fort Hays State Football continued to receive votes in the latest AFCA Top 25 Poll released on Monday (Sept. 14). The Tigers received 18 voting points, the seventh-highest among the receiving votes list. Fort Hays State plays host to Pittsburg State this Saturday (Sept. 19) at 7 p.m.
This is the second-straight week the Tigers are receiving votes in the poll. FHSU briefly held the No. 25 ranking nationally in the AFCA poll for the week prior to the game with CSU Pueblo on September 3. The Tigers were No. 23 in the D2Football.com Poll that week, but the loss to then No. 5/9 ranked CSU Pueblo pushed the Tigers back down into the receiving votes list of the AFCA poll.
Fort Hays State's opponent this week, Pittsburg State, is 0-3 to start the season. The Gorillas were ranked No. 4 in the AFCA preseason poll, then fell to No. 10 after a loss to top-ranked Ferris State in their season opener. A loss to Emporia State pushed the Gorillas down to No. 25 in the AFCA poll the following week, and then a one-point loss at West Alabama last week took the Gorillas completely out of the poll.
Representing the MIAA in both the AFCA and D2Football.com Polls this week are Northwest Missouri State at No. 7/5 and Emporia State at No. 17/16. Both teams are still unbeaten, ESU at 3-0 and NWMSU at 2-0. Joining FHSU in the receiving votes list of the AFCA Poll is Central Oklahoma and Central Missouri.
Below is the AFCA Top 25 Poll for September 14, 2026.
| Rank |
School |
Record |
Pts. |
Prev |
| 1 |
Ferris St. (31) |
3-0 |
775 |
1 |
| 2 |
Harding |
2-0 |
744 |
2 |
| 3 |
Kutztown |
2-0 |
705 |
3 |
| 4 |
Minnesota St. |
3-0 |
668 |
4 |
| 5 |
CSU Pueblo |
3-0 |
653 |
5 |
| 6 |
Grand Valley St. |
3-0 |
629 |
6 |
| 7 |
Northwest Missouri St. |
2-0 |
589 |
7 |
| 8 |
Western Colorado |
3-0 |
546 |
8 |
| 9 |
Findlay |
2-0 |
505 |
10 |
| 10 |
Western Oregon |
2-0 |
463 |
12 |
| 11 |
Slippery Rock |
2-0 |
438 |
13 |
| 12 |
Indiana (Pa.) |
2-0 |
402 |
14 |
| 13 |
Valdosta St. |
3-0 |
374 |
16 |
| 14 |
Minnesota-Duluth |
2-1 |
342 |
15 |
| 15 |
Northeastern St. |
3-0 |
295 |
18 |
| 16 |
Central Washington |
0-2 |
281 |
9 |
| 17 |
Emporia St. |
3-0 |
258 |
24 |
| 18 |
West Alabama |
3-0 |
210 |
NR |
| 19 |
Benedict |
2-0 |
206 |
21 |
| 20 |
Augustana (S.D.) |
2-1 |
162 |
22 |
| 21 |
Newberry |
1-1 |
125 |
11 |
| 22 |
Carson-Newman |
3-0 |
122 |
NR |
| 23 |
Frostburg St. |
1-1 |
109 |
23 |
| 24 |
Davenport |
3-0 |
107 |
NR |
| 25t |
Michigan Tech |
2-1 |
45 |
20 |
| 25t |
Northwood |
2-0 |
45 |
NR |
Receiving Votes: Lenoir-Rhyne, 43; UT Permian Basin, 37; Northern St., 35; California (Pa.), 29; Henderson St., 24; Ashland, 18;
Fort Hays St., 18; UIndy, 18; North Greenville, 14; Virginia Union, 11; Shepherd, 10; Black Hills St., 6; Central Oklahoma, 5; Wayne St. (Neb.), 3; Central Missouri, 2; Walsh, 2; Colorado Mesa, 1; Concord, 1.
