FRISCO, Texas – UIW opened the season as No. 7, Southeastern came in at No. 15, and McNeese was receiving votes were selections from the Southland Conference in the Stats Perform FCS Preseason Top 25 Poll, presented by FedEx Ground and unveiled on Monday.
UIW, a national semifinalist a year ago, enters the Top 10 in the preseason for the first time in school history. SLU topped the Southland Conference preseason poll and placed a league-high 17 student-athletes on the preseason All-SLC teams released last month. The Cardinals and Lions shared the conference title a season ago.
McNeese finished last season with three consecutive wins and earned seven votes to earn a spot in receiving votes.
South Dakota State received all 56 first-place votes in the national media poll to outdistance fellow Missouri Valley Football Conference power North Dakota State. The Jackrabbits dethroned the Bison, who had won nine of the previous 11 titles, 45-21 in the 2022 national championship game in Frisco.
A national media panel selects the Stats Perform FCS Top 25 Poll. A first-place vote is worth 25 points, a second-place vote 24 points, all the way down to one point for a 25th-place vote.
1. South Dakota State (14–1, 8–0 Missouri Valley), 1,400 points (56 first-place votes)
2023 Season Opener: Aug. 31 vs. Western Oregon
2. North Dakota State (12–3, 7–1 Missouri Valley), 1,329
2023 Season Opener: Sept. 2 vs. Eastern Washington (in Minneapolis)
3. Montana State (12–2, 8–0 Big Sky), 1,294
2023 Season Opener: Sept. 2 vs. Utah Tech
4. William & Mary (11–2, 7–1 CAA), 1,172
2023 Season Opener: Aug. 31 at Campbell
5. Holy Cross (12–1, 6–0 Patriot), 1,113
2023 Season Opener: Sept. 2 vs. Merrimack
6. Furman (10–3, 7–1 Southern), 1,035
2023 Season Opener: Aug. 31 vs. Tennessee Tech
7. UIW (12–2, 5–1 Southland), 935
2023 Season Opener: Sept. 2 at UTEP.
8. Idaho (7–5, 6–2 Big Sky), 932
2023 Season Opener: Aug. 31 at Lamar
9. Samford (11–2, 8–0 Southern), 885
2023 Season Opener: Aug. 31 vs. Shorter
10. Sacramento State (12–1, 8–0 Big Sky), 881
2023 Season Opener: Aug. 31 at Nicholls
11. New Hampshire (9–4, 7–1 CAA), 798
2023 Season Opener: Sept. 2 at Stonehill
12. Southeast Missouri (9-3, 5–0 Ohio Valley), 768
2023 Season Opener: Sept. 2 at Kansas State
13. Weber State (10–3, 6–2 Big Sky), 744
2023 Season Opener: Aug. 31 vs. Central Washington
14. Montana (8–5, 4–4 Big Sky), 711
2023 Season Opener: Sept. 2 vs. Butler
15. Southeastern Louisiana (9–4, 5–1 Southland), 710
2023 Season Opener: Sept. 2 at Mississippi State
16. UC Davis (6–5, 5–3 Big Sky), 513
2023 Season Opener: Aug. 31 at Texas A&M-Commerce
17. North Dakota (7–5, 5–3 Missouri Valley), 479
2023 Season Opener: Sept. 2 vs. Drake
18. Richmond (9–4, 6–2 CAA), 387
2023 Season Opener: Sept. 2 vs. Morgan State
19. North Carolina Central (10–2, 4–1 MEAC), 330
2023 Season Opener: Sept. 2 vs. Winston Salem State
20. Mercer (7–4, 5–3 Southern), 293
2023 Season Opener: Aug. 26 vs. North Alabama
21. Rhode Island (7–4, 5–3 CAA), 169
2023 Season Opener: Aug. 31 at Georgia State
22. Delaware (8-5, 4-4 CAA), 166
2023 Season Opener: Aug. 31 at Stony Brook
23. Northern Iowa (6-5, 5-3 Missouri Valley), 155
2023 Season Opener: Sept. 2 at Iowa State
24. Eastern Kentucky (7-5, 3-2 ASUN), 137
2023 Season Opener: Sept. 2 at Cincinnati
25. Gardner-Webb (7-6, 5-0 Big South), 129
2023 Season Opener: Sept. 2 at Appalachian State
Others Receiving Votes (schools listed on two or more ballots): Central Arkansas (5–6, 3–2 ASUN) 110, Chattanooga (7-4, 5-3 Southern) 84, Jackson State (12-1, 8-0 SWAC) 71, Southern Illinois (5–6, 4–4 Missouri Valley) 66, Youngstown State (7-4, 5-3 Missouri Valley) 66, Florida A&M (9-2, 7-1 SWAC) 65, UT Martin (7–4, 5–0 Ohio Valley) 65, Elon (8-4, 6-2 CAA) 61, Austin Peay (7-4, 3-2 ASUN) 40, Fordham (9-3, 5-1 Patriot) 28, Yale (8-2, 6-1 Ivy) 18, Villanova (6-5, 4-4 CAA) 8, McNeese (4-7, 2-4 Southland) 7, Abilene Christian (7-4, 3-1 WAC) 6, St. Thomas (10-1, 8-0 Pioneer) 6, Saint Francis (9-3, 7-0 NEC) 5