Fort Hays State moved back into the D2Football.com Top 25 Poll on Monday (Sept. 21). The Tigers are No. 25 in the latest poll, joining two other MIAA schools. FHSU continued to receive votes for the third-straight week in the AFCA Top 25 Poll.
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The Tigers are coming off a 42-17 win over Pittsburg State this past Saturday, moving to 2-1 overall for the season. This is the second time the Tigers have been in the D2Football.com Top 25 this season as they held the No. 23 ranking following their season-opening win at Angelo State.
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Fort Hays State joined Northwest Missouri State (#5) and Emporia State (#13) in the D2Football.com Poll this week. In the AFCA poll, Northwest Missouri State is No. 7 and Emporia State is No. 12. The Tigers received 31 voting points in the latest AFCA poll.
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Below are the latest D2Football.com and AFCA Top 25 Polls for September 21, 2026.
D2Football.com Top 25 - September 21, 2026
| Rank |
School |
Record |
Prev |
| 1 |
Ferris State |
3-0 |
1 |
| 2 |
Harding |
3-0 |
2 |
| 3 |
Minnesota State |
4-0 |
3 |
| 4 |
Kutztown |
3-0 |
4 |
| 5 |
Northwest Missouri State |
3-0 |
5 |
| 6 |
Grand Valley State |
4-0 |
6 |
| 7 |
CSU Pueblo |
4-0 |
7 |
| 8 |
Western Colorado |
4-0 |
8 |
| 9 |
Central Washington |
1-2 |
10 |
| 10 |
Findlay |
3-0 |
12 |
| 11 |
Slippery Rock |
3-0 |
14 |
| 12 |
Minnesota Duluth |
3-1 |
15 |
| 13 |
Emporia State |
4-0 |
16 |
| 14 |
Western Oregon |
2-1 |
11 |
| 15 |
Northeastern State |
3-1 |
13 |
| 16 |
Augustana |
3-1 |
17 |
| 17 |
Indiana (Pa.) |
3-0 |
18 |
| 18 |
Davenport |
3-0 |
21 |
| 19 |
Valdosta State |
3-1 |
9 |
| 20 |
Benedict |
3-0 |
20 |
| 21 |
Northwood |
3-0 |
23 |
| 22 |
Carson-Newman |
4-0 |
22 |
| 23 |
Shepherd |
3-0 |
NR |
| 24 |
North Greenville |
3-0 |
NR |
| 25 |
Fort Hays State |
2-1 |
NR |
AFCA Top 25 Poll - September 21, 2026
| Rank |
School (1st votes) |
Record |
Pts. |
Prev. |
| 1 |
Ferris St. (31) |
3-0 |
775 |
1 |
| 2 |
Harding |
3-0 |
744 |
2 |
| 3 |
Kutztown |
3-0 |
702 |
3 |
| 4 |
Minnesota St. |
4-0 |
668 |
4 |
| 5 |
CSU Pueblo |
4-0 |
652 |
5 |
| 6 |
Grand Valley St. |
4-0 |
611 |
6 |
| 7 |
Northwest Missouri St. |
3-0 |
594 |
7 |
| 8 |
Western Colorado |
4-0 |
544 |
8 |
| 9 |
Findlay |
3-0 |
520 |
9 |
| 10 |
Slippery Rock |
3-0 |
468 |
11 |
| 11 |
Indiana (Pa.) |
3-0 |
425 |
12 |
| 12 |
Emporia St. |
4-0 |
385 |
17 |
| 13 |
Minnesota-Duluth |
3-1 |
373 |
14 |
| 14 |
Central Washington |
1-2 |
347 |
16 |
| 15 |
Benedict |
3-0 |
260 |
19 |
| 16 |
Carson-Newman |
4-0 |
255 |
22 |
| 17 |
Western Oregon |
2-1 |
253 |
10 |
| 18 |
Davenport |
4-0 |
223 |
24 |
| 19 |
Northeastern St. |
3-1 |
202 |
15 |
| 20 |
Augustana (S.D.) |
3-1 |
194 |
20 |
| 21 |
Newberry |
2-1 |
178 |
21 |
| 22 |
Valdosta St. |
3-1 |
125 |
13 |
| 23 |
Northwood |
3-0 |
114 |
25t |
| 24 |
Michigan Tech |
3-1 |
94 |
25t |
| 25 |
North Greenville |
3-0 |
93 |
NR |
Receiving Votes: Henderson St., 51; Shepherd, 39; West Alabama, 34;
Fort Hays St., 31; UT Permian Basin, 29; Northern St., 16; Virginia Union, 16; Walsh, 16; UNC Pembroke, 15; Ashland, 10; East Central, 7; Roosevelt, 6; Mars Hill, 5; Black Hills St., 1.
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