Jan 19, 2025, 6:00 PM UTC
Dream Bowl
2023 Delaware vs Hampton

FCS Football Rankings For Week 8 On Oct. 16: Delaware Football Up To No.7

FCS Football Rankings For Week 8 On Oct. 16: Delaware Football Up To No.7

The FCS Football rankings have UD Football up to No. 7, the highest-ranking CAA program in Week 8. William And Mary and UNH Football are also ranked.

Oct 16, 2023 by Joe Harrington
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The Delaware Blue Hens continued to climb the FCS Football Rankings as the Blue Hens moved to No. 7 in the Week 8 poll on Oct. 16. 

Delaware Football beat North Carolina A.T. 21-6 in Week 7 to improve to 5-1 on the year. The Blue Hens remained the highest-ranked CAA program in the poll. 

Delaware travels to Hampton this week looking to improve to 4-0 in conference play. The lone loss this season came at Penn State, a top-10 FBS program. Delaware’s pursuit of a CAA title was given a boost with their win over defending co-champion New Hampshire in late September, 29-25. The unbalanced schedule means the Blue Hens avoid the other defending co-champion, and the next highest-ranking team, William & Mary. 

The Tribe, who was idle last week, dropped to No. 13 in the rankings. William & Mary has lost back-to-back games after starting 4-0 and not falling out of the top five of the rankings. But an upset loss to Elon and a valiant, but unsuccessful, upset bid over Virginia ended in a 27-13 loss. William & Mary faces Towson this week.

2023 Delaware vs Hampton


New Hampshire out-lasted UAlbany 38-31 last week to remain in the rankings at No. 22. UNH is 3-3 on the season, the only .500 team in the rankings. 

Rhode Island, No.22 last week, dropped from the rankings after its 24-17 loss to Richmond. Meanwhile, Villanova could be poised to return to the rankings at some point after finishing just outside the top 25. 

South Dakota State remained No.1 in the rankings and is 6-0. They face No. 12 Southern Illinois this week. 

FCS Football Rankings In Week 8 (Oct. 16)

  1. South Dakota State (26) 6-0    650    
  2. Montana State 5-1    623    
  3. Furman 5-1    570    
  4. Sacramento State 5-1    566    
  5. Incarnate Word 5-1    511    
  6. Montana 6-1    495    
  7. Delaware 5-1    464    
  8. Idaho 5-2    418    
  9. North Dakota 4-2    409    
  10. North Carolina Central 5-1    408    
  11. Holy Cross 4-2    365    
  12. Southern Illinois 5-1    349    
  13. William & Mary 4-2    335    
  14. Western Carolina 5-1    329    
  15. North Dakota State 4-2    320    
  16. South Dakota 5-1    305    
  17. Harvard 5-0    234    
  18. Florida A&M 5-1    227    
  19. UT Martin 5-1    190    
  20. Chattanooga 5-2    151    
  21. Central Arkansas 5-2    120    
  22. New Hampshire 3-3    81    
  23. UC Davis 4-3    67    
  24. Austin Peay 4-2    59    
  25. Illinois State 4-2    58    

Others receiving votes: Fordham 47, Villanova 38, Lafayette 21, Youngstown State 17, Northern Iowa 6, Eastern Kentucky 6, Rhode Island 6, Pennsylvania 2, Portland State 1, Mercer 1, UAlbany 1

Dropped from rankings: Youngstown State 20, Rhode Island 22, Weber State 23

FCS Playoffs 2023 Outlook

Twenty-four teams will advance to the FCS playoffs in 2023.  Ten of those teams will automatically qualify for the playoffs via conference titles. Those conferences are: 

  • Big Sky 
  • Big South/Ohio Valley 
  • Coastal Athletic Association 
  • Missouri Valley Football Conference
  • Northeast
  • Patriot League
  • Pioneer Football League
  • Southern
  • Southland
  • United Athletic Conference

The Ivy League does not enter the FCS playoffs, meaning No. 17-ranked Harvard won't be in the field. If the season ended on Oct. 16., South Dakota State would likely be the overall No.1 seed and Delaware would be the CAA automatic qualifier. 

When Do The 2023 FCS Playoffs Start?

The first round of the FCS playoffs are scheduled for Nov. 25. 

When Is The 2024 FCS National Championship Game?

The FCS National Championship is at 2 p.m. on Jan. 7 at Toyota Stadium in Frisco, Texas. The game will be on ABC. 

How To Watch FCS Football 

FloFootball and the FloSports app is home to CAA college football and more. FloFootball will also be home to game replays and highlights 

For more action, including all the CAA conference games, check out the FloFootball schedule page.

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