Welcome back, college sports fans. It is August! We are just 25 days away from the first college football games of the season! And we have finally reached the end of the FCS portion of the GCR’s preseason strength of schedule (PS-SOS). As a reminder, Division I (D1) is made up of the FBS (Football Bowl Subdivision) and the FCS (Football Championship Subdivision). The FBS is further divided into the Core 4 (ACC, Big 12, Big Ten, SEC, and Notre Dame) and the Group of 6 (American, Conference USA, MAC, Mountain West, Pac 12, Sun Belt, and UCONN). The FCS got its name when it was the highest-level NCAA league that held a playoff, a 24-team gauntlet won by Montana St over Illinois St last year. The FBS used bowl games and the BCS before creating a 4-team playoff that’s now grown to 12 teams.
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The 14 FCS conferences have now each had their own post in this countdown starting with the least-challenged, the Pioneer League (25th at a mean PS-SOS of 3.341), then the SWAC (24th at 3.396), the MEAC (23rd at 3.563), the Southland Conference (22nd at 3.626), the Big South/Ohio Valley Conference (21st at 3.672), the CAA (20th at 3.808), the FCS Independents (19th at 3.844), SoCon (18th at 3.989), the UAC (17th at 4.013), the Missouri Valley Conference (16th at 4.021), the Big Sky Conference (15th at 4.044), the NEC (14th at 4.064), and the Ivy League (13th at 4.146).
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As a reminder, PS-SOS is taken from the GCR’s 2025 final Score (a combination of strength of schedule and performance metrics) overlaid on each team’s 2026 schedule. Adjustments are made for away and neutral site games. The scale is such that one can view the PS-SOS for any team and think of it as “how many games, on average, did (will) my opponent’s win assuming all FBS all neutral site games). The strongest individual PS-SOS metrics float around 10.000 while the weakest hover around 3.000. In the FCS, the top and bottom score belong to the two FCS Independent teams: Merrimack (5.32 for 139th overall) and Chicago St (2.36 for 266th) in their first ever football season.
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But today is about the final FCS conference in the countdown, the 10-team Patriot League (PAT). The PAT used to be a bottom dweller whose champion would be 6-5 in a normal year, but the recent additions of Richmond, Villanova, and William & Mary have boosted their conference profoundly. Coming in at a 4.237 mean PS-SOS, they top their subdivision and take the crown. The biggest annual event for this conference is the annual Lafayette/Lehigh game which is the most-played rivalry in college football. The matchup began in 1884, and this season’s game will be the 162nd playing. Lafayette holds the all-time edge at 82-74-5. In the table below, (4) indicates a challenge against a Core 4 team, (G) indicates a fight against a Group of 6 opponent, and (F) indicates a non-conference FCS game. There are no neutral site games scheduled, and no PAT team plays a game against a non-D1 (Div II, Div III, NAIA) opponent. With no further ado, we are proud to present the 2026 Patriot League.
| Team Conf Rank | Home Field | 2025 Record (Rank) | 2026 PS SOS (Rank) | Home Games | Away Games | Hardest | Easiest |
| Fordham Rams (1) | Bronx, NY | 1-11 (258) | 4.54 (145) | Colgate, Stony Brook (F), Richmond, Villanova, Lafayette, Georgetown | North Dakota St (G), Coastal (G), William & Mary, Lehigh, Bucknell, Holy Cross | at Coastal (7.32) | Colgate (3.08) |
| William & Mary Tribe (2) | Williamsburg, VA | 7-5 (186) | 4.53 (146) | Delaware St (F), Fordham, Holy Cross, Georgetown, Lafayette, Bucknell | Villanova, Lehigh, Duke (4), NC Central (F), Colgate, Richmond | at Duke (11.44) | Fordham (1.54) |
| Holy Cross Crusaders (3) | Worcester, MA | 3-9 (199) | 4.47 (150) | Lehigh, Yale (F), Bucknell, Richmond, Villanova, Fordham | Colgate, Miami OH (G), Lafayette, William & Mary, Harvard (F), Georgetown | at Miami OH (8.27) | Fordham (1.54) |
| Colgate Raiders (4) | Hamilton, NY | 5-7 (211) | 4.38 (154) | Holy Cross, Cornell (F), Georgetown, William & Mary, Lafayette | Fordham, C Michigan (G), Villanova, Harvard (F), Richmond, Lehigh, Bucknell | at C Michigan (8.02) | at Fordham (1.77) |
| Bucknell Bison (5) | Lewisburg, PA | 5-7 (223) | 4.36 (158) | Villanova, Penn (F), Lafayette, Fordham, Colgate | Richmond, VMI (F), Pittsburgh (4), Georgetown, Holy Cross, Lehigh, William & Mary | at Pittsburgh (10.88) | Fordham (1.54) |
| Richmond Spiders (6) | Richmond, VA | 7-5 (198) | 4.29 (163) | Bucknell, Georgetown, Furman (F), Colgate, Lehigh, William & Mary | Howard (F), NC St (4), Lafayette, Fordham, Holy Cross, Villanova | at NC St (11.02) | at Fordham (1.77) |
| Villanova Wildcats (7) | Villanova, PA | 12-3 (148) | 4.22 (166) | William & Mary, Colgate, Morgan St (F), Lehigh, Richmond, Georgetown | Bucknell, Louisville (4), Long Island (F), Fordham, Lafayette, Holy Cross | at Louisville (11.65) | at Fordham (1.77) |
| Lafayette Leopards (8) | Easton, PA | 8-4 (183) | 4.17 (171) | Marist (F), Holy Cross, Richmond, Villanova, Lehigh | Georgetown, UCONN (G), Columbia (F), Bucknell, Fordham, William & Mary, Colgate | at UCONN (9.31) | at Fordham (1.77) |
| Lehigh Mountain Hawks (9) | Bethlehem, PA | 12-1 (118) | 3.76 (212) | William & Mary, Dartmouth (F), Fordham, Bucknell, Colgate | Holy Cross, Georgetown, Penn (F), Cornell (F), Villanova, Richmond, Lafayette | at Villanova (5.26) | Fordham (1.54) |
| Georgetown Hoyas (10) | Washington, DC | 6-6 (189) | 3.66 (224) | Lafayette, Lehigh, Columbia (F), Cornell, Bucknell, Holy Cross | Richmond, Colgate, William & Mary, Fordham, Villanova | Lehigh (5.80) | at Fordham (1.77) |
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That’s it for today. Tune in tomorrow (Monday, August 3rd) for the GCR’s jump into the FBS. Thank you for reading and sharing with others. We are growing quickly because of your support! Until next time, JoJo and G
