For the third time in four years, the South Dakota State University football team will enter a season with a top-10 national ranking.
The Jackrabbits checked in at No. 8 in the preseason STATS FCS Poll. SDSU, which posted an 8-4 overall record in 2015 and made its fourth consecutive appearance in the Football Championship Subdivision playoffs, returns 15 starters. Later in the day, the Jackrabbits were also recognized on the FCS Coaches’ Preseason Poll with a 14th-place showing.
SDSU is one of four Missouri Valley Football Conference teams in the top 10 and one of five in the top 25 of the STATS poll, which was conducted among media who cover FCS football and sports information personnel. Five-time defending national champion North Dakota State received 152 of 158 first-place votes to sit atop the poll, followed by league members Northern Iowa in fifth place (3,413 points), SDSU in eighth (2,554) and Illinois State at No. 10 (2,303). Western Illinois earned the 20th spot with 876 points.
The five remaining MVFC teams each received at least one vote in the poll, including Youngstown State, which was just outside the top 25 as the top team receiving votes. Sam Houston State was second in the national poll with 3,636 points and two first-place votes, while 2015 runner-up Jacksonville State holds the third spot with 3,569 points and four first-place votes. The Jackrabbits previously posted top-10 rankings in the national media poll in both 2013 and 2014 with respective showings of sixth and 10th place. In the coaches’ poll, North Dakota State was a unanimous No. 1, earning all first-place votes. Other MVFC teams to crack the poll were Northern Iowa (fifth), Illinois State (eighth), South Dakota State (14th) and Western Illinois (24th).
The University of South Dakota football team is receiving votes for a top-25 ranking in both major FCS preseason polls announced Monday. The Coyotes received 17 votes for the STATS FCS Top 25 Poll (158 voters) and three votes in the FCS Coaches Poll (25 voters).
