For five straight seasons, you could predict who would be at the top of the FCS world at the beginning of the season, and the end of the season. After half a decade of dominance in the FCS, the North Dakota State Bison have seen another one of their impressive streaks come to an end at the hands of James Madison.
After beating North Dakota State in the National Championship last season, the Dukes enter this season as the top dog in the rankings. North Dakota State enters one slot under them at No. 2.
It shouldn’t come as any surprise to those in the know, though. According to NBC Sports, the Dukes are returning the bulk of their championship winning roster.
Voters ultimately decided to vote heavily in their favor, with the Dukes receiving 136 of the available 163 first place votes.
Elsewhere, there are precious few surprised in the FCS preseason top 25. Both North and South Dakota continue to be forces to be reckoned with, and Youngstown State’s surprising run into the playoffs last season appears to be expected to carry over into this season.
The full preseason FCS Top 25 can be seen below.
STATS Preseason FCS Top 25
- James Madison
- North Dakota State
- Sam Houston State
- South Dakota State
- Eastern Washington
- Jacksonville State
- Richmond
- North Dakota
- Youngstown State
- Villanova
- Wofford
- Chattanooga
- New Hampshire
- Charleston Southern
- Central Arkansas
- The Citadel
- Lehigh
- Northern Iowa
- Samford
- Illinois State
- Grambling State
- Fordham
- Cal Poly
- Albany
- Western Illinois
With a playoff that includes 24-teams, the massive bracket-style elimination tournament that crowns a champion has long been the envy of FBS football fans. Perhaps one day, they’ll get to enjoy the luxury that the FCS has enjoyed for number of years.
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