McNeese, Nicholls, Southeastern La. receive votes, two Southland teams ranked in FCS preseason Top 25

FRISCO, Texas – Defending Southland Conference champion Sam Houston State is ranked at the No. 3 spot for the upcoming season, STATS FCS announced Monday.

Sam Houston State is one of two Southland schools earning a top 25 spot, alongside Central Arkansas at No. 15.

The Bearkats are coming off an undefeated season in the Southland, finishing 2016 with a 9-0 conference record. They defeated Chattanooga at home in the second round of the FCS Playoffs before falling on the road in Harrisonburg, Va., to eventual national champions James Madison – the preseason No. 1 pick. Sam Houston State earned seven first-place votes.

Central Arkansas enters the upcoming season at the No. 15 spot, coming off an 8-1 Southland record in 2016. The Bears’ one loss was on the road at Sam Houston State in their regular-season finale, 59-23. UCA returns the majority of its league-best defense from a season ago, which held opponents to 21.69 points per game and 72.8 rushing yards per game.

McNeese (261), Nicholls (21) and Southeastern Louisiana (20) also received votes in the preseason poll.

A national panel of sports information and media relations directors, broadcasters, writers and other dignitaries select the STATS FCS Top 25. 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.

The Top 25 will be released every Monday afternoon during the regular season, except for Sunday morning, Nov. 19, prior to the selection of the 24-team FCS playoff field. A final Top 25 will follow the FCS championship game, which will be held Jan. 6 in Frisco, Texas.

STATS FCS Top 25
Preseason Rankings
Rank School Votes Prev
1 James Madison (0-0) 4034 (134) NR
2 North Dakota State (0-0) 3874 (19) NR
3 Sam Houston State (0-0) 3610 (7) NR
4 South Dakota State (0-0) 3385 (2) NR
5 Eastern Washington (0-0) 3270 NR
6 Jacksonville State (0-0) 3081 (1) NR
7 Richmond (0-0) 3041 NR
8 North Dakota (0-0) 2871 NR
9 Youngstown State (0-0) 2658 NR
10 Villanova (0-0) 2628 NR
11 Wofford (0-0) 2543 NR
12 Chattanooga (0-0) 1995 NR
13 New Hampshire (0-0) 1741 NR
14 Charleston Southern (0-0) 1710 NR
15 Central Arkansas (0-0) 1685 NR
16 Citadel (0-0) 1545 NR
17 Lehigh (0-0) 1369 NR
18 UNI (0-0) 924 NR
19 Samford (0-0) 893 NR
20 Illinois State (0-0) 876 NR
21 Grambling State (0-0) 692 NR
22 Fordham (0-0) 604 NR
23 Cal Poly (0-0) 427 NR
24 Albany (0-0) 418 NR
25 Western Illinois (0-0) 367 NR

Others: North Carolina Central (326) , Weber State (322) , Northern Arizona (307) , McNeese (261) , San Diego (250) , Montana (215) , North Carolina A&T (198) , Kennesaw State (154) , Liberty (134) , Tennessee State (102) , UT Martin (90), South Dakota (87) , Harvard (36) , Saint Francis U (31) , Delaware (27) , Princeton (23) , South Carolina State (22) , Nicholls (21) , Southeastern Louisiana (20) , Southern Utah (17) , Penn (14) , Duquesne (14) , Stony Brook (13) , Maine (11) , Montana State (6) , Mercer (6) , Southern Illinois (5) , Alcorn State (4) , William & Mary (4) , Eastern Illinois (3) , ETSU (3) , Wagner (3) , Eastern Kentucky (2) , Indiana State (1) , Bethune-Cookman (1) , Dayton (1)