Author Topic: North Dakota State ranks as preseason No. 1 in FCS Coaches Poll, Guins #24  (Read 2921 times)

Offline IAA Fan

  • Administrator
  • Emperor Penguin
  • *****
  • Posts: 12051
  • Bring Coke back to YSU!!
    • View Profile
    • ysupenguins.com
 SPARTANBURG, S.C. –- For the second consecutive season, North Dakota State will start the season as the No. 1 ranked team in the FCS Coaches’ Preseason Poll.

The Bison are coming off back-to-back FCS National Championships in 2011 and 2012, going 28-2 during that stretch with victories against FBS schools Minnesota and Colorado State. North Dakota State defeated Sam Houston State 39-13 in the FCS National Championship to cap a 14-1 campaign in 2012, the second consecutive season in which the two teams met in the title game. The Bison will return 18 starters, including All-American selections Billy Turner at tackle and Marcus Williams at cornerback. The Bison also bring back starting quarterback and 2012 FCS National Championship MVP Brock Jensen who threw for 2,331 yards and 17 touchdowns last season.

NDSU received 23 of 26 first place votes to earn the top spot in the opening poll of the 2013 campaign. Montana State earned the No. 2 preseason ranking and received one first-place vote after finishing 11-2 in 2012. Fellow Big Sky member Eastern Washington is third in the poll, followed by Sam Houston State. Sam Houston State earned a first place vote, as did Eastern Kentucky, which sits at No. 19 in the poll.

Wofford holds down the No. 5 spot, while Central Arkansas, South Dakota State, New Hampshire, Villanova and Illinois State round out the top 10.

Six Colonial Athletic Association schools earned a top-25 selection, the most from any conference. The Big Sky and Missouri Valley each placed five teams in the poll. In all, nine conferences had representatives in the preseason poll.

RankSchool (First-Place Votes)2012 RecordPointsFinal 2012 Rank
1North Dakota State (23)14-16451
2Montana State (1)11-25915
3Eastern Washington11-35494
4Sam Houston State (1)11-45342
5Wofford9-44507
6Central Arkansas9-342810
7South Dakota State9-441017
8New Hampshire8-438613
9Villanova8-438116
10Illinois State9-43799
11Cal Poly9-334811
12Towson7-434715
13Stony Brook10-332612
14Richmond8-327418
15James Madison7-423521
16Northern Iowa5-6218NR
17Lehigh10-119814
18Northern Arizona8-219620
19Eastern Kentucky (1)8-318819
20Bethune-Cookman9-315923
21Coastal Carolina8-514024
22Montana6-2*135NR
23Eastern Illinois7-512025
24Youngstown State7-4107NR
25Chattanooga6-5104NR

Others receiving votes: Wagner (87), Colgate (67), Tennessee State (52), Harvard (48), Delaware (47), The Citadel (39), Liberty (39), Arkansas Pine-Bluff (35), Indiana State (27), Stephen F. Austin (19), McNeese State (16), Penn (13), Alcorn State (12), Jacksonville State (11), Samford (10), Norfolk State (7), Alabama State (7), UC Davis (7), Southern Illinois (6), Maine (5), Albany (5), Tennessee Tech (5), UT Martin (4), Gardner Webb (4), Sacramento State (3), Hampton (3), San Diego (2), Jackson State (1), Missouri State (1), Brown (1).

 

* Final 6 games of 2012 vacated