Here’s a look at the American Football Coaches Association (AFCA) FCS Coaches Preseason Poll:
|
Rank |
School (1st votes) |
2025 Rec. |
Pts. |
2025 Rank |
Season Opener |
Head Coach |
|
1 |
Montana St. (25) |
14-2 |
649 |
1 |
Aug. 29 at Utah Tech |
Brent Vigen |
|
2 |
Montana |
13-2 |
605 |
3 |
Aug. 29 vs. Southern Utah |
Bobby Kennedy |
|
3 |
South Dakota St. (1) |
9-5 |
591 |
14 |
Aug. 29 vs. Stetson |
Dan Jackson |
|
4 |
Illinois St. |
12-5 |
553 |
2 |
Aug. 29 vs. St. Francis (Ill.) |
Brock Spack |
|
5 |
Tarleton St. |
12-2 |
527 |
6 |
Aug. 29 vs. Prairie View A&M |
Todd Whitten |
|
6 |
UC Davis |
9-4 |
498 |
8 |
Aug. 29 at Portland St. |
Tim Plough |
|
7 |
Villanova |
12-3 |
448 |
4 |
Aug. 28 vs. William & Mary |
Mark Ferrante |
|
8 |
Rhode Island |
11-3 |
434 |
10 |
Aug. 28 at Merrimack |
Jim Fleming |
|
9 |
Youngstown St. |
8-5 |
428 |
17 |
Aug. 27 vs. Mercyhurst |
Doug Phillips |
|
10 |
North Dakota |
8-6 |
396 |
16 |
Aug. 27 vs. LIU |
Eric Schmidt |
|
11 |
Lehigh |
12-1 |
359 |
9 |
Aug. 29 at Holy Cross |
Richard Nagy |
|
12 |
South Dakota |
10-5 |
347 |
11 |
Aug. 29 vs. Central Connecticut St. |
Matt Vitzthum |
|
13 |
Stephen F. Austin |
11-3 |
313 |
7 |
Aug. 29 at McNeese St. |
Colby Carthel |
|
14 |
ACU |
9-5 |
295 |
12 |
Aug. 29 at No. 21 Lamar |
Keith Patterson |
|
15 |
Tennessee Tech |
11-2 |
294 |
15 |
Aug. 29 vs. No. 23 Monmouth (N.J.) |
Bobby Wilder |
|
16 |
Southern Illinois |
7-5 |
231 |
NR |
Aug. 27 at West Florida |
Nick Hill |
|
17 |
Mercer |
9-3 |
189 |
18 |
Aug. 29 vs. East Texas A&M |
Joel Taylor |
|
18 |
Austin Peay |
7-5 |
186 |
NR |
Aug. 27 vs. Gardner-Webb |
Jeff Faris |
|
19 |
Yale |
9-3 |
164 |
13 |
Sept. 19 at Holy Cross |
Kevin Cahill |
|
20 |
Southeastern Louisiana |
9-4 |
160 |
19 |
Aug. 27 vs. HCU |
Frank Scelfo |
|
21 |
Lamar |
8-5 |
133 |
21 |
Aug. 29 vs. No. 14 ACU |
Pete Rossomando |
|
22 |
UT Martin |
6-6 |
123 |
NR |
Aug. 27 vs. Central Arkansas |
Jason Simpson |
|
23 |
Monmouth (N.J.) |
9-3 |
105 |
20 |
Aug. 29 at No. 15 Tennessee Tech |
Jeff Gallo |
|
24 |
Northern Arizona |
7-5 |
67 |
NR |
Aug. 29 vs. Eastern Washington |
Brian Wright |
|
25 |
South Carolina St. |
10-3 |
63 |
25 |
Aug. 29 vs. Savannah St. |
Chennis Berry |
*– Ranking in final AFCA FCS Coaches Poll of 2025
Others Receiving Votes: Richmond, 31; Southeast Missouri St., 27; Valparaiso, 23; Alabama St., 21; East Tennessee St., 21; Western Carolina, 20; Idaho St., 15; Harvard, 14; Central Connecticut St., 12; Furman, 12; Jackson St., 11; Chattanooga, 9; Eastern Kentucky, 9; UIW, 9; UT-Rio Grande Valley, 9; Dartmouth, 8; Elon, 7; William & Mary, 7; Holy Cross, 6; Wofford, 5; Prairie View A&M, 4; Northern Colorado, 3; St. Thomas (Minn.), 3; New Hampshire, 2; Central Arkansas, 1; McNeese St., 1; San Diego, 1; Stony Brook, 1.
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