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South Dakota State starts No. 1

The concept that FCS college football is driven by schools in the Dakotas and Montana is reflected in the 2024 Stats Perform FCS Preseason Top 25 Poll, announced on Monday.

They commanded the top five spots.

Two-time defending national champion South Dakota State led the way as an overwhelming No. 1, according to the national media voting panel. The Jackrabbits, who gained 52 of the 56 first-place votes, have held the top ranking in 22 straight polls since 2022.

Right behind them is No. 2 North Dakota State, a nine-time FCS champion; No. 3 Montana, the 2023 national runner-up; No. 4 Montana State; and No. 5 South Dakota.

South Dakota State will take a 29-game winning streak – the third-longest in FCS history – into its season opener at Oklahoma State on Aug. 31. Ten starters return for second-year coach Jimmy Rogers, led by Walter Payton Award-winning quarterback Mark Gronowski.

“I’m really excited for our players more than anything else,” Rogers said, “because we’ve got a lot of talent, even experience that just hasn’t been seen because we had players like Mason McCormick and Garret Greenfield (in front of them).”

The Dakota-Montana dominance helped the Missouri Valley Football Conference and the Big Sky Conference to the most teams in the preseason poll with seven and six, respectively. CAA Football had the third-most with four, led by No. 6 Villanova, while the Southern Conference’s three were led by No. 9 Chattanooga.

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.

Stats Perform FCS Preseason Top 25 Poll

  1. South Dakota State (2023 Record: 15–0, 8–0 Missouri Valley), 1,396 points (52 of 56 first-place votes)

Final 2023 Ranking: 1; 2024 Season Opener: Aug. 31 at Oklahoma State

  1. North Dakota State (11-4, 5-3 MVFC), 1,327 (3)

Final 2023 Ranking: 3; 2024 Season Opener: Aug. 29 at Colorado

  1. Montana (13-2, 7-1 Big Sky), 1,285

Final 2023 Ranking: 2; 2024 Season Opener: Aug. 31 vs. Missouri State

  1. Montana State (8-4, 6-2 Big Sky), 1,199 (1)

Final 2023 Ranking: 9; 2024 Season Opener: Aug. 24 at New Mexico

  1. South Dakota (10-3, 7-1 MVFC), 1,155

Final 2023 Ranking: 4; 2024 Season Opener: Aug. 29 vs. Northern State

  1. Villanova (10-3, 7-1 CAA), 1,151

Final 2023 Ranking: 6; 2024 Season Opener: Aug. 29 vs. Youngstown State

  1. Idaho (9-4, 6-2 Big Sky), 1,021

Final 2023 Ranking: 8; 2024 Season Opener: Aug. 31 at Oregon

  1. Sacramento State (8-5, 4-4 Big Sky), 874

Final 2023 Ranking: 13; 2024 Season Opener: Aug. 29 at San Jose State

  1. Chattanooga (8-5, 6-2 SoCon), 868

Final 2023 Ranking: 14; 2024 Season Opener: Aug. 31 at Tennessee

  1. Southern Illinois (8-5, 4-4 MVFC), 832

Final 2023 Ranking: 12; 2024 Season Opener: Aug. 31 at BYU

  1. Central Arkansas (7-4, 4-2 UAC), 724

Final 2023 Ranking: NR; 2024 Season Opener: Aug. 31 at Arkansas State

  1. Furman (10-3, 7-1 SoCon), 678

Final 2023 Ranking: 7; 2024 Season Opener: Aug. 31 at Ole Miss

  1. Richmond (9-4, 7-1 CAA), 625

Final 2023 Ranking: 15; 2024 Season Opener: Aug. 31 at Virginia

  1. UIW (8-2, 6-1 Southland), 605

Final 2023 Ranking: 22; 2024 Season Opener: Aug. 31 vs. Northern Colorado

  1. William & Mary (6-5, 4-4 CAA), 546

Final 2023 Ranking: NR; 2024 Season Opener: Aug. 29 vs. VMI

  1. UAlbany (11-4, 7-1 CAA), 527

Final 2023 Ranking: 5; 2024 Season Opener: Aug. 31 vs. LIU

  1. Lafayette (9-3, 5-1 Patriot), 359

Final 2023 Ranking: 21; 2024 Season Opener: Aug. 29 at Buffalo

  1. UC Davis (7-4, 5-3 Big Sky), 351

Final 2023 Ranking: 24; 2024 Season Opener: Aug. 31 at California

  1. Illinois State (6-5, 4-4 MVFC), 350

Final 2023 Ranking: NR; 2024 Season Opener: Aug. 31 at Iowa

  1. Western Carolina (7-4, 5-3 SoCon), 318

Final 2023 Ranking: 23; 2024 Season Opener: Aug. 29 at NC State

  1. Tarleton State (8-3, 4-2 UAC), 302

Final 2023 Ranking: NR; 2024 Season Opener: Aug. 24 vs. McNeese

  1. Weber State (6-5, 4-4 Big Sky), 268

Final 2023 Ranking: NR; 2024 Season Opener: Aug. 31 at Washington

  1. Nicholls (6-5, 7-0 Southland), 201

Final 2023 Ranking: NR; 2024 Season Opener: Aug. 31 at Louisiana Tech

  1. North Dakota (7-5, 5-3 MVFC), 197

Final 2023 Ranking: 16; 2024 Season Opener: Aug. 31 at Iowa State

  1. Youngstown State (8-5, 5-3 MVFC), 177

Final 2023 Ranking: 19; 2024 Season Opener: Aug. 29 at Villanova

Others Receiving Votes (schools listed on two or more ballots): Elon (6-5, 6-2 CAA) 174; UT Martin (8-3, 5-1 Big South-OVC) 169; Eastern Illinois (8-3, 4-2 Big South-OVC) 139; Mercer (9-4, 6-2 SoCon) 98; Florida A&M (12-1, 8-0 SWAC) 65; North Carolina Central (9-3, 4-1 MEAC) 52; Austin Peay (9-3, 6-0 UAC) 51; Alabama State (7-4, 5-3 SWAC) 17; Holy Cross (7-4, 5-1 Patriot) 17; Eastern Washington (4-7, 3-5 Big Sky) 14; Drake (8-4, 8-0 Pioneer) 8; Duquesne (7-4, 6-1 NEC) 8; Harvard (8-2, 5-2 Ivy) 6; Samford (6-5, 4-4 SoCon) 6; Northern Iowa (6-5, 5-3 MVFC) 4

Stats Perform FCS Top 25 Voters – Stats Perform: Craig Haley, Gary Reasons. Big Sky Conference: Doug Kelly, Tyson Rodgers, Larry Weir. Big South-OVC Football Association: Mike Bradd, Kyle Schwartz, Mark Simpson. CAA Football: Roger Brown, Matt Harmon, Rob Washburn. Ivy League: JJ Klein, Craig Larson. Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference: Kendrick Lewis, Alysse Scripter. Missouri Valley Football Conference: Dom Izzo, Mike Kern, Randy Reinhardt. Northeast Conference: Sarah Boissonneault, Brian Cleary. Patriot League: Eric Malanoski, Ryan Sakamoto. Pioneer Football League: Cody Bush, Larry Hansgen. Southern Conference: Scott Keeler, Andrew Miller, Ralan Wardlaw. Southland Conference: Matthew Bonnette, James Dixon, James Hill. Southwestern Athletic Conference: Ronnie Johnson, Joshua Padilla. United Athletic Conference: Brian Morgan, Benjamin Ray, Jake Withee. National Representatives: Sean Anderson, Stan Becton, Zack Carlton, Gene Clemons, Riley Corcoran, Joe DeLeone, Steven J. Gaither, Sam Herder, Emory Hunt, Kyle Kensing, Brandon Lawrence, Zach McKinnell, Brian McLaughlin, Jon Passman, Omar Rashon Borja, Ryan Roberts, Kent Schmidt, Phil Sokol, Reggie Thomas, Ralph Ventre, Jamie Williams.

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