NDSU at No. 1 in STATS FCS Preseason Poll
Bison with 151 of 157 first-place votes.
FARGO, N.D. (NDSU Athletics) – Defending national champion North Dakota State was ranked No. 1 in the STATS FCS Preseason Top 25 media poll released Monday, Aug. 6. The Bison garnered 151 of the 157 first-place votes.
No. 2 James Madison, the national runner-up a year ago, took the remaining six first-place votes. National semifinalists South Dakota State and Sam Houston State were ranked third and fourth, respectively, and Kennesaw State was fifth ahead of Jacksonville State, New Hampshire, Weber State, Eastern Washington and Wofford in the top 10.
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. 18, 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. 5 in Frisco, Texas.
| 2018 STATS FCS Preseason Top 25 | |||
| Team (First-Place Votes) | W-L | Pts | Final |
| 1. North Dakota State (151) | 14-1 | 3,919 | 1 |
| 2. James Madison (6) | 14-1 | 3,764 | 2 |
| 3. South Dakota State | 11-3 | 3,470 | 3 |
| 4. Sam Houston State | 12-2 | 3,228 | 4 |
| 5. Kennesaw State | 12-2 | 3,120 | 8 |
| 6. Jacksonville State | 10-2 | 3,041 | 9 |
| 7. New Hampshire | 9-5 | 2,873 | 12 |
| 8. Weber State | 11-3 | 2,815 | 5 |
| 9. Eastern Washington | 7-4 | 2,541 | 21 |
| 10. Wofford | 10-3 | 2,087 | 6 |
| 11. Samford | 8-4 | 2,003 | 18 |
| 12. Elon | 8-4 | 1,812 | 20 |
| 13. Northern Iowa | 8-5 | 1,612 | 17 |
| 14. North Carolina A&T | 12-0 | 1,480 | 7 |
| 15. Delaware | 7-4 | 1,470 | NR |
| 16. Central Arkansas | 10-2 | 1,383 | 10 |
| 17. McNeese State | 9-2 | 1,133 | 22 |
| 18. Nicholls State | 8-4 | 1,056 | 25 |
| 19. Villanova | 5-6 | 920 | NR |
| 20. Stony Brook | 10-3 | 798 | 11 |
| 21. Illinois State | 6-5 | 795 | NR |
| 22. Austin Peay | 8-4 | 709 | NR |
| 23. Furman | 8-5 | 685 | 19 |
| 24. Montana | 7-4 | 626 | NR |
| 25. Youngstown State | 6-5 | 541 | NR |
Others receiving votes: South Dakota (8-5) 496, Western Illinois (8-4) 401, Southern Utah (9-3) 357, Northern Arizona (7-5) 312, Grambling State (11-2) 289, Idaho (4-8) 287, Yale (9-1) 252, Sacramento State (7-4) 208, San Diego (10-3) 202, Richmond (6-5) 91, Monmouth (9-3) 53, Colgate (7-4) 45, Lehigh (5-7) 27, Central Connecticut State (8-4) 23, North Dakota (3-8) 13, UC Davis (5-6) 12, Western Carolina (7-5) 10, Bethune-Cookman (7-4) 9, Montana State (5-6) 8, Stephen F. Austin (4-7) 7, Mercer (5-6) 6, Eastern Illinois (6-5) 6, Harvard (5-5) 4, Southern Illinois (4-7) 4, Howard (7-4) 4, Duquesne (7-4) 3, North Carolina Central (7-4) 3, Columbia (8-2) 3, Dartmouth (8-2) 3, Alcorn State (7-5) 2, The Citadel (5-6) 2, UT Martin (6-5) 1, Southeastern Louisiana (6-5) 1.
