Rankings through games played Friday, October 2, and Saturday, October 3, 2026.
A week ago, Virginia Tech and James Madison were both 4-0. Now only the Dukes are. Virginia Tech missed a 36-yard field goal as time expired against Pitt. Virginia was run over in Tallahassee. Maryland led Nebraska 16-7 after one quarter and lost by 25. When the weekend was over, the region’s seven FBS programs had gone 2-5, with James Madison and Liberty the only ones to win.
The list covers every Division I program in D.C., Maryland, and Virginia, from Blacksburg to Lexington to Norfolk. Placement comes down to results, margins, the quality of the opponent, and recent form, in roughly that order.
1. James Madison (5-0)
The Dukes are the last unbeaten team in the region and the only one that has not had a bad afternoon. They beat Marshall 45-17 in the Thundering Herd’s Sun Belt opener. Marshall led 14-10 early in the second quarter, and then James Madison scored the final 28 points of the half to go up 38-14. Camden Coleman threw three touchdown passes, and George Pettaway ran for a career-high 206 yards and two scores. Five games in, the closest one was the seven-point opener against Liberty. JMU has outscored its opponents 224-66. The next test is a Saturday night trip to Georgia Southern, where the Dukes have never won in six tries at Paulson Stadium.
2. Virginia Tech (4-1)
The Hokies did almost everything right and still lost. Ethan Grunkemeyer threw for a career-high 434 yards, Virginia Tech outgained Pitt 499-295, and John Love’s 36-yard field goal try at the gun hooked wide left in a 35-33 loss at Lane Stadium on Friday night. Pitt forced at least four turnovers and came back from a 14-point deficit. It is a painful way to lose, but Pitt is 5-0, and the Hokies still own the best win in the region, the 35-26 victory at Maryland. They get a quick chance to answer at California on Oct. 10.
3. Liberty (4-1)
Liberty is the steadiest team in the region right now. The Flames opened Conference USA play with a 30-14 win at Delaware, and it was never close until the end. Kam Davis ran for 147 yards and two touchdowns, including a 56-yarder, and Liberty led 30-0 early in the fourth quarter before the Blue Hens scored twice in garbage time. That is four straight wins since the loss to James Madison, and Deshawn Purdie is quietly having one of the more efficient seasons of any quarterback in the area. The only knock is the lack of a signature win.
4. Virginia (3-2)
Whatever Virginia had going in September is gone. Florida State beat the Cavaliers 38-7, and it was lopsided in every way that matters. Ashton Daniels ran for five touchdowns, a Florida State quarterback record; the Seminoles recorded 10 sacks, and Virginia managed 37 rushing yards on 40 carries. The Cavaliers led 7-0 after one quarter and never scored again. They have now lost two of their last three, by 11 and 31 points, with a 42-3 win over Delaware in between. Syracuse visits Scott Stadium on Oct. 10, and Tony Elliott needs the version of this team that beat NC State, Norfolk State, and Delaware.
5. Richmond (5-1)
The Spiders keep winning, and this one took some nerve. They trailed Lafayette by 17 and still came back for a 40-31 win. Ashten Snelsire accounted for four touchdowns, three passing and one rushing. Richmond is 3-0 in the Patriot League and was ranked 17th and 24th in the two FCS polls heading into the game. The only loss is the 73-0 trip to NC State, a scheduling decision more than a verdict on the team. Fordham is next, on Oct. 10.
6. Morgan State (4-1)
Cameron Edge, an Eastern Michigan transfer who began his career at Maryland, threw for 444 yards and three touchdowns and ran for two more, including a 2-yard sneak with 36 seconds left to beat Villanova 38-35. The Wildcats lined up a 47-yard field goal to tie it as time expired and missed wide right. The Bears are 4-1 for the first time since 2009. Three of the four wins are over FCS opponents (North Carolina A&T, Towson and Villanova), and the fourth was a 55-0 rout of non-Division I Virginia-Lynchburg. The lone loss was a 70-7 paycheck game at Arizona State. Damon Wilson has this program moving the right way.
7. Maryland (2-3)
This one is hard to watch if you are a Terrapins fan. Maryland led 16-7 after one quarter, then watched Nebraska score 21 in the second to lead 28-23 at the half. Nebraska added 20 more in the second half without allowing a point. Safety Dwayne McDougle III returned an interception 81 yards for a touchdown, and AP called it a penalty-filled afternoon. In its last three games, Maryland has scored 52 points and allowed 137. The Terps are 0-2 in the Big Ten, coming off a 4-8 season, and Ohio State is next on the schedule.
8. Norfolk State (3-3)
Michael Vick’s first winning streak ended at Robert Morris, where the Spartans lost 33-31 on the Colonials’ homecoming. Norfolk State rallied from 17 points down and took a 31-27 lead with 3:27 left, its first lead since the opening quarter. Robert Morris answered with a 10-yard touchdown pass with 1:25 to play, and Marco Peery’s 52-yard field goal try as time expired hit the crossbar and bounced away. Da’Jean Golmond threw for 371 yards. This is still a better team than last year’s group, which finished 1-11, and three wins through six games is real progress. Virginia-Lynchburg visits for homecoming on Oct. 10.
9. Navy (1-3)
The Midshipmen lost 14-9 at Air Force, their third straight defeat and their first three-game losing streak since 2021. Navy’s defense shut out the Falcons in the second half, but the offense converted just one of 11 third downs. All three losses, to Florida Atlantic, UAB and Air Force, came by eight points or fewer, which suggests this team is better than its record and also that it keeps finding ways to lose. Tulsa comes to Annapolis on Oct. 10.
10. Howard (2-3)
The Bison finally got one. Howard beat Hampton 27-13 at Audi Field in the Battle of the Real HU, snapping a three-game losing streak and taking the rivalry for a second straight year, the first time they have done that since 2011 to 2014. The defense sacked Hampton six times and led 17-10 at the half. First-year coach Ted White now has wins over Alabama A&M and Hampton, and a respectable 28-21 loss to Richmond on the ledger.
11. William & Mary (2-4)
This is a long way down from where the Tribe stood two weeks ago, when they were ranked No. 21. Holy Cross beat them 41-14 at Zable Stadium. William & Mary opened with a 75-yard touchdown from Winston Watkins to Khylil Johnson on its first play, and then did very little else. Holy Cross scored 24 straight, outgained the Tribe 389-251, and ran for 203 yards to W&M’s 31. That is four straight losses after a 2-0 start, by margins of 24, 25, 55, and 27 points.
12. Old Dominion (1-4)
Georgia State scored 42 straight points after an opening Old Dominion field goal and won 42-10, with Cameran Brown throwing a school-record six touchdown passes. The lone bright spot for the Monarchs was Devin Roche’s 78-yard punt return for a touchdown, the longest in program history. At 0-2 in the Sun Belt, with losses to Virginia Tech, East Carolina, James Madison and now Georgia State, the early promise from the opener against Norfolk State is long gone.
13. Georgetown (0-4)
The Hoyas fell behind Cornell 14-0 and never really recovered in a 35-14 loss at Cooper Field. Garrett Bass-Sulpizio accounted for four touchdowns for the Big Red, and Cornell sacked Georgetown five times. Georgetown found a bit of life late with a 10-play, 64-yard touchdown drive, but it was too little. Remember that the Hoyas lost to Richmond by three and to Columbia in overtime, so this program has been closer to winning than 0-4 suggests. Bucknell visits Cooper Field on Oct. 10, a good shot at the first win.
14. Towson (0-6)
Towson lost by a single point. The Tigers put up 40 on the road at Monmouth and dropped a 41-40 decision after missing an extra point that would have tied it. They led 20-17 at the half before a 71-yard pick-six by freshman Amori McNeil broke a 27-27 tie in the fourth quarter. Towson’s six losses have come by 3, 27, 36, 15, 5, and 1 points, so three of them were decided by five points or fewer. This is the closest winless team in the region to a win. Stony Brook visits on Oct. 10.
15. Hampton (1-5)
Howard’s defense dominated the second half, holding Hampton to 59 offensive yards before its final drive, and the Pirates dropped their fifth straight. Van Malone’s team scored a 32-yard touchdown on a pass to Nare Means late in the first half and little else. Hampton’s lone win came in the opener against non-Division I Virginia-Lynchburg. Against Division I opponents, it has been outscored 206-57.
16. VMI (0-6)
Mercer, ranked No. 21, rolled up 658 yards and beat VMI 54-3 at Foster Stadium on a rainy Saturday. The Keydets’ only points came on a 49-yard field goal by Jack Joyce in the first quarter, and Mercer led 27-3 at the half. VMI is 0-2 in the Southern Conference and has scored 57 points all season while allowing 250. Wofford is next.
What to watch next weekend
- James Madison at Georgia Southern in a Saturday night game on ESPN2 or ESPNU. The Dukes have lost all six trips to Paulson Stadium, including a 28-14 loss there in 2024.
- Virginia Tech at California, looking to bounce back from the Pitt loss.
- Maryland at Ohio State, with the Terps trying to stop a three-game slide.
- Virginia hosts Syracuse after getting run out of Florida State.
- Richmond at Fordham, a chance to push its Patriot League record to 4-0.
- Georgetown (0-4) hosts Bucknell and Towson (0-6) hosts Stony Brook, two of the region’s best shots at a first win.
Sources: Scores, records and game details come from AP recaps and box scores published by ESPN and CBS Sports, along with the official athletics sites and game releases for James Madison, Virginia Tech, Pitt, Liberty, Delaware, Virginia, Florida State, Richmond, Morgan State, Villanova, Maryland, Nebraska, Norfolk State, Robert Morris, Navy, Air Force, Howard, Hampton, William & Mary, Holy Cross, Old Dominion, Georgia State, Georgia Southern, Georgetown, Cornell, Towson, Monmouth, VMI and Mercer, as well as Fox Baltimore, HBCU Sports and the Pitt and Virginia Tech athletics departments. Records and schedules reflect information available as of October 4, 2026.
Leave a comment