Two-time defending champs South Dakota State lead 2024 preseason FCS Coaches' Poll

Back-to-back FCS national champion South Dakota State is No. 1 in the preseason FCS Coaches’ Poll. The top-ranked Jackrabbits received all but one first-place vote.

Rounding out the top five are No. 2 North Dakota State, No. 3 Montana, No. 4 Montana State, and No. 5 South Dakota. North Dakota State and Montana’s rankings place three of last year’s four FCS semifinal teams in the top five.

Here's the complete preseason FCS Coaches’ Poll.

2024 Preseason FCS Coaches’ Poll

Others receiving votes: Weber State, 66; North Carolina Central, 53; Eastern Illinois, 50; UT Martin, 38; Austin Peay, 35; Northern Iowa, 33; Harvard, 32; Yale, 31; Mercer, 27; Holy Cross, 20; Howard, 20; Alabama State, 17; Northern Arizona, 17; Elon, 16; Alcorn State, 9; Duquesne, 7; North Carolina A&T, 6; Fordham, 5; Gardner-Webb, 4; Indiana State, 3; Missouri State., 3; Butler, 2; Eastern Kentucky, 2; Southeast Missouri State, 2; Eastern Washington, 1; Murray State, 1; Samford, 1; Utah Tech, 1.

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Preseason Poll by conference

The Big Sky leads all conferences with four top-10 teams. Here's a breakdown of the entire top 25 by conference:

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Breaking down the preseason polls

No. 1 South Dakota State enters the 2024 season on a 29-game win streak and as the two-time defending FCS champions. However, the path to keep the win streak alive and repeat won’t be easy for the Jackrabbits. SDSU faces six opponents ranked in the preseason, including No. 15 UIW in Week 2. In conference, South Dakota State has a three-game stretch in October with No. 23 Youngstown State, No. 2 North Dakota State and No. 5 South Dakota State and plays No. 22 North Dakota and No. 11 Southern Illinois in November.

In the Big Sky, the Brawl of the Wild to close the end of the season will likely again be a highly-ranked matchup when preseason No. 3 Montana and No. 4 Montana State meet. The depth of the conference should again be on display with two more top-10 teams in No. 7 Idaho and No. 10 Sacramento State. No. 17 UC Davis should also be one to watch.

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Elsewhere in the top 10 of the poll, defending conference champions No. 6 Villanova and No. 9 Furman make appearances. Interestingly, No. 8 Chattanooga ranks ahead of Furman, even though the Paladins won the conference last fall.

No. 25 Florida A&M is the only HBCU ranked in the preseason poll. The Rattlers also stole the lone first-place vote that didn’t go to South Dakota State. FAMU won the Celebration Bowl last year and finished atop the krikya18.com HBCU football power rankings.

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Also outside the poll are Austin Peay, Drake, Duquesne, Gardner-Webb, Mercer and North Carolina Central. ​​Each team made the 2023 FCS playoffs, but missed out on a spot in the preseason FCS poll.

Non-conference matchups to watch

There might not be any top-five FCS matchups until conference play starts, but there are still intriguing matchups to keep on your radar during the non-conference slate.

Here are some nonconference FCS games to watch featuring top-25 teams during the first few weeks. Click or tap here for a complete list.

• Week 1 — No. 23 Youngstown State at No. 6 Villanova
• Week 2 — No. 15 UIW at No. 1 South Dakota State
• Week 2 — No. 3 Montana at No. 22 North Dakota
• Week 3 — No. 14 UAlbany at No. 7 Idaho
• Week 3 — No. 24 Nicholls at No. 10 Sacramento State
• Week 3 — No. 15 UIW at No. 11 Southern Illinois
• Week 4 — No. 9 Furman at No. 16 William & Mary
• Week 4 — No. 19 Western Carolina at No. 3 Montana