FCS CONFERENCE · 2026 SEASON

OVC

#21 overall#10 in FCSRR50 +9.6Upper strength +10.98 teamsTop 25 teams 0

VERDICT BEGINS · 2026

OVC

The OVC season is underway. FCS Playoff picture is still open.

FCS8 teamsRace: FCS PlayoffLeader: UT Martin

OVC · 2026 Season

Three Things to Watch

The FrontrunnerUT Martin's Title Defense

UT Martin sit atop the OVC midway through 2026 (+10.7), going 1–2 in 2026. Until someone closes the gap, every other team in this conference is chasing them.

The ChallengerGardner-Webb: Closing the Gap

At +10.5, Gardner-Webb sit at 0–3 — the most realistic challenger in the OVC. The gap to the frontrunner is 0.3 power points, a margin that one strong head-to-head result can erase.

Wild CardCan Lindenwood Break Through?

Lindenwood sit at 1–2 and rank outside the top two in OVC power — but their offensive efficiency numbers suggest a team capable of an upset. If they can improve on this season's inconsistency, the playoff run conversation changes.

Conference Standings · OVC · 2026

Standings

# Team Conf Overall Pwr Last 5
1Lindenwood1–01–2+10.4
2UT Martin0–01–2+10.7
3Western Illinois0–01–2+9.3
4Southeast Missouri State0–01–2+9.1
5Eastern Illinois0–01–2+8.2
6Gardner-Webb0–00–3+10.5
7Tennessee State0–00–3+9.0
8Charleston Southern0–11–2+8.7

Conference record determines standing. Power = neutral-field pts vs. all-level average. Last 5 = most recent game results.

Projected Standings · OVC · 2026

Win Projection

Odds of winning at least N conference games from current power ratings — full slate played out, not locked to results. AVG = expected wins; W–L = most-likely record.

# Team W–L PWR AVG ≥7≥6≥5≥4≥3≥2≥1
Favorites
1UT Martin4–3+1.33.7182756819599
2Gardner-Webb4–3+1.03.6172654809599
Challengers
3Lindenwood4–3+0.93.71828578296✓
4Western Illinois3–4-0.23.4152047759399
The Field
5Tennessee State3–4-0.43.5162249779499
6Southeast Missouri State3–4-0.43.4152046749399
Rebuilding
7Charleston Southern3–4-0.83.4152047759399
8Eastern Illinois3–4-1.33.351844739299

Conference Power · FCS

Where We Stand

# Conference Avg Power vs Focal Top Team
1MVFC
+11.6
2–3Illinois State
2Big Sky
+11.0
—Montana State
3UAC
+10.7
0–2Tarleton State
4Southland
+10.6
—Stephen F. Austin
5SWAC
+10.3
0–2Prairie View A&M
6MEAC
+10.2
—South Carolina State
7Coastal Athletic
+9.9
0–1Rhode Island
8Southern
+9.9
1–1Tennessee Tech
9Patriot
+9.7
—Lehigh
10OVCYou are here
+9.6
—UT Martin
11NEC
+9.0
—Robert Morris
12Pioneer
+8.9
—San Diego
13Ivy
+8.3
—Harvard

Round-robin power = strength of schedule-adjusted conference average, points vs. all-level average team. Record = OVC's record vs. that conference across all games this season.

OVC reads like a weekly gauntlet. The middle of the league is strong enough that contenders do not get many breathers.

Conference Snapshot

RR50+9.6
Upper Strength+10.9
Median Power+9.4
Resume Pulse39.9
Avg ATS39.6%
Wins vs Market-0.15
Top-to-Middle Gap1.5
Combined Record6-18

`RR50`, `Upper Strength`, and `Median Power` are shown on the same public power scale as the rest of the site: points on a neutral field versus the average all-level NCAA team. Very small affiliations are gently regressed toward their subdivision baseline so a one-team outlier does not hijack the entire conference board.

OVC Team Board

The league stack, sorted by predictive strength. Power is shown as neutral-field points versus the all-level average team, while resume is shown on a 0-100 season score.

Rank Team Record Power Resume ATS Wins vs Market Recent Form
#170 UT Martin 1-2 +10.7 23 0-3 -0.60 1-2 over the last 3 (L1 W1 L2)
#180 Gardner-Webb 0-3 +10.5 49 2-1 -0.38 0-3 over the last 3 (L1 L1 L2)
#182 Lindenwood 1-2 +10.4 29 0-2 -0.19 1-2 over the last 3 (W1 L1 L2)
#212 Western Illinois 1-2 +9.3 37 1-1 -0.05 0-2 over the last 2 (L1 L2)
#214 Southeast Missouri State 1-2 +9.1 25 2-1 +0.30 1-2 over the last 3 (W1 L1 L2)
#218 Tennessee State 0-3 +9.0 46 1-2 -0.77 0-3 over the last 3 (L1 L1 L2)
#228 Charleston Southern 1-2 +8.7 52 2-1 +0.25 1-2 over the last 3 (L1 L1 W2)
#237 Eastern Illinois 1-2 +8.2 59 1-2 +0.24 1-2 over the last 3 (W1 L1 L2)