South Dakota State is ranked No. 4 while defending national champion North Dakota State is the overwhleming No. 1 in the preseason AFCA FCS coaches poll, released Monday.
The Bison received 23 of the 26 first-place votes, with No. 2 James Madison garnering two first-place votes and No. 3 Eastern Washington notching one.
The Missouri Valley Football Conference had five teams represented in the Top 25, the most of any FCS league.
Illinois State is No. 13, Indiana State is 16th, and Northern Iowa is No. 20.
South Dakota, which finished seventh out of 10 teams in last season, received nine votes, the 13 most of teams which didn’t make the Top 25, and the seventh most in the MVFC. North Dakota received 17 votes, eighth most of teams outside the Top 25.
The Jackrabbits, who start the season No. 3 in the STATS media poll, finished 2018 ranked third after losing in the national semifinals to NDSU, which went on to win its seventh national championship in eight seasons.
SDSU opens its season on Thursday night, Aug. 29, at Minneosta, which received seven votes in the AP Top 25 poll for FBS teams, also released Monday.
NDSU, also No. 1 in the STATS poll, plays its season opener in Minneapolis two days later at Target Field against Butler.
The Coyotes open at home for the first time since 2013, hosting Montana on Aug. 31.
