STEPHENVILLE, Texas — A day after earning the No. 1 spot in both of the major FCS polls, Tarleton State was slotted No. 2 in the FCS Playoff Committee's initial top-10 ranking.
 
On Tuesday during the College Football Live broadcast aired on ESPN 2, the Division I Football Championship Committee released their FCS Top-10 rankings. This is the first snapshot of where the teams rank through Week 7. The second release, following Week 10, will be Thursday, Nov. 5, during the College Football Live broadcast at 1 p.m. CT on ESPN 2.
 
The Texans were slotted No. 2 behind Montana State, with Youngstown State at No. 3, Stephen F. Austin at No. 4, South Dakota State at No. 5, North Dakota at No. 6, Northern Arizona at No. 7, South Dakota at No. 8, Austin Peay at No. 9 and Harvard at No. 10. This year in selecting at-large teams, the FCS championship committee will consider each team's won-lost record, their strength of schedule, Regional Advisory Committee rankings/feedback and games reviewed by the committee on video. A secondary tool are four metrics that may be considered, all including only games from the current season (KPI, Massey Ratings and ESPN's two Football Power Indexes).
 
The 2026 championship field will consist of 11 automatic qualifiers and 13 at-large selections with the FCS Selection Show airing Sunday, Nov. 22 at 11 a.m. CT on ESPNU.
 
The 2027 FCS Championship game will be held Jan. 11, 2027, at FirstBank Stadium on the campus of Vanderbilt.  The Ohio Valley Conference and Nashville Sports Council will serve as co-hosts. Tickets are available now at NCAA.com.