The South Dakota State University football team is ranked 15th in the preseason FCS Coaches Poll, which was announced Wednesday.

The Jackrabbits, who finished the 2014 season with a No. 13 ranking after posting a 9-5 record and making their third consecutive playoff appearance, were one of six Missouri Valley Football Conference teams ranked in the top 25.

MVFC teams held the top two spots as four-time defending national champion North Dakota State was a unanimous selection for the top spot, gaining all 24 first-place votes for 600 points. National runner-up Illinois State was tabbed second with 551 points, with Northern Iowa in 10th place with 381 points.

Three other MVFC teams were slated in the top 20: SDSU at No. 15 (215 points), Youngstown State in 16th (205 points) and Indiana State (106 points) with a 20th-place showing.

The FCS Coaches Poll is based exclusively on a voting panel of head coaches in the FCS under the cooperation of the Collegiate Commissioners Association and the American Football Coaches Association, and is administered by the Southern Conference.

The Jackrabbits begin fall practices Thursday afternoon and kick off the season Sept. 5 at Kansas.

Preseason FCS Coaches Poll (August 5, 2015)

Team (First-Place Votes)     2014 Record      Points           2014 Final

1. North Dakota State (24)         15-1                  600                   1
2. Illinois State                          13-2                  551                   2
3. Villanova                               11-3                  512                   7
4. Sam Houston State               11-5                  511                   6
5. Coastal Carolina                    12-2                  502                   5
6. Eastern Washington               11-3                  481                   4
7. New Hampshire                     12-2                  445                   3
8. Chattanooga                         10-4                  409                   8
9. Jacksonville State                 10-2                  396                   9
10. Northern Iowa                      9-5                    381                   10
11. Montana State                     8-5                    296                   20
12. Montana                              9-5                    278                   11
13. James Madison                   9-3                    272                   19
14. Liberty                                 9-5                    256                   17
15. South Dakota State             9-5                    215                   13
16. Youngstown State               7-5                    205                   25
17. Eastern Kentucky                 9-4                    171                   21
18. Richmond                            9-5                    170                   16
19. Southeastern Louisiana        9-4                    164                   12
20. Indiana State                       8-6                    106                   18
21. Fordham                             11-3                  103                   14
22. Harvard                               10-0                  99                     15
23. McNeese State                    6-5                    91                     NR
24. Idaho State                          8-4                    82                     NR
25. Eastern Illinois                     5-7                    73                     NR

 

Others receiving votes: Alcorn State 52, Stephen F. Austin 51, William & Mary 43, Cal Poly 42, Northern Arizona 34, Bethune-Cookman 25, North Carolina A&T 24, Jackson State 21, South Carolina State 21, Charleston Southern 14, Sacred Heart 14, Western Carolina 13, Furman 12, South Dakota 12, Maine 9, Bucknell 9, Lehigh 8, Towson 5, Samford 5, Bryant 4, San Diego 4, Yale 4, Central Arkansas 2, Duquesne 2, UT Martin 1