College Sports Journal Spring Preseason Top 25
Had this poll been published in August in the lead up to the fall season, it would have looked much different than the 25 names you are going to see here. Montana? Montana State? Top 10 teams right? They should be, but they opted out of the spring and therefore don’t appear here.
Same for other top 25 locks, Sacramento State and North Carolina A&T. Further down, Central Connecticut State, Alcorn State, Towson and the entire Ivy League may have appeared in the poll, but wont for the spring. In all we currently have 92 teams participating in the spring. (As of this writing on February 16 that is).
The top 25 below has been compiled by vote from each member of the College Sports Journal FCS staff. Buckle up ladies and gentlemen, its going to be a weird spring season.
As you look at not only the teams listed, but also their point totals, youll see some clear tiers start to develop among the panel. North Dakota State is in a league of their own. James Madison, Weber, Northern Iowa and South Dakota State are the next group and on down through the rankings.
The CAA leads the way with 6 teams. The MVFC has 5 teams. All five appear in the top 12, showing themselves to be the stronger conference while the CAA looks to be the deepest conference. The Big Sky places 4 teams in the poll. The CSJ staff clearly still stills a solid big 3 conferences. With full FCS participation, the Big Sky most likely winds up with 6 and the CAA just 4.
Team (first place votes), total points [175 max)
- North Dakota State (6), 174
- James Madison, 163
- Weber State, 159
- Northern Iowa (1), 157
- South Dakota State, 149
- Villanova, 133
- Kennesaw State, 126
- Illinois State 117
- Eastern Washington, 114
- Nicholls, 113
- Sam Houston, 95
- Southern Illinois, 84
- Furman, 81
- Southeastern Louisiana 80
- Austin Peay, 77
- Jacksonville State, 70
- Albany, 69
- New Hampshire, 66
- Wofford, 59
- Monmouth, 47
- Delaware, 40
- Southeast Missouri State, 29
- Idaho, 17
- Elon, 15
- UC Davis, 9
Others Receiving Votes: The Citadel 6, North Dakota 6, Chattanooga 6, McNeese State 4, Holy Cross 3, Alabama A&M 2, Richmond 1, Duquesne 1, San Diego 1
Jamie is a proud 2002 graduate of James Madison University. He’s witnessed the growth of the program from no one in the stands in 1998, to the hiring of Mickey Matthews, to the 2004 National Championship, to the 2008 team, to the struggles in the early 2010s, and finally the rebuild under Mike Houston. He also allegedly really enjoys Washington, DC-based Stanley Cup winners.
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