LAKE CHARLES – The second of two weekly FCS Top 25 polls released its preseason list on Monday and the McNeese Cowboys are in at No. 25.
STATS has taken over what used to be the Sports Network Top 25. The Cowboys were ranked No. 23 in the FCS Coaches Preseason Top 25 that was released last week.
McNeese finished 6-5 in 2014 and was not ranked in the final poll of either organization.
The reigning four-time FCS champion North Dakota State is ranked No. 1 followed by Illinois State, Sam Houston State, Villanova and Coastal Carolina to round out the top five.
Southland Conference foe Southeastern Louisiana is in at No. 19 while Stephen F. Austin is ranked 24th.
McNeese will host Southeastern Louisiana on Oct. 10 and Sam Houston State on Nov. 7. The Cowboys will travel to Stephen F. Austin on Sept. 19.
Northwestern State, Lamar, Central Arkansas and Abilene Christian all received votes.
McNeese opens the season on Sept. 5 at LSU.
A national panel of sports information and media relations directors, broadcasters, writers and other dignitaries selects the STATS FCS Top 25. In the voting, a first-place vote is worth 25 points, a second-place vote 24 points, all the way down to one point for a 25th-place vote.
The Top 25 is released every Monday afternoon during the regular season, except for Sunday morning, Nov. 22, prior to the selection of the 24-team FCS playoff field. A final Top 25 will follow the FCS championship game, which will be held Jan. 9 in Frisco, Texas.
STATS FCS Preseason Top 25Rank School Votes Prev1 North Dakota State (0-0) 3671 (144) NR
2 Illinois State (0-0) 3423 (3) NR
3 Sam Houston State (0-0) 3264 NR
4 Villanova (0-0) 3249 NR
5 Coastal Carolina (0-0) 2900 NR
6 Eastern Washington (0-0) 2830 NR
7 Jacksonville State (0-0) 2705 NR
8 Chattanooga (0-0) 2590 NR
9 New Hampshire (0-0) 2570 NR
10 UNI (0-0) 2212 NR
11 Montana State (0-0) 2038 NR
12 James Madison (0-0) 1766 NR
13 Montana (0-0) 1710 NR
14 Youngstown State (0-0) 1662 NR
15 Liberty (0-0) 1623 NR
16 South Dakota State (0-0) 1390 NR
17 Eastern Kentucky (0-0) 1073 NR
18 Richmond (0-0) 1016 NR
19 Southeastern La. (0-0) 791 NR
20 Fordham (0-0) 663 NR
21 Indiana State (0-0) 635 NR
22 Idaho State (0-0) 627 NR
23 Harvard (0-0) 620 NR
24 Stephen F. Austin (0-0) 554 NR
25 McNeese State (0-0) 440 NR
Others: Eastern Illinois (431) , William & Mary (225) , Cal Poly (189) , Alcorn State (144) , South Carolina State (126) , North Carolina A&T (108) , Northern Arizona (74) , Western Carolina (65) , Bethune-Cookman (56) , Sacred Heart (46) , Charleston Southern (40) , Samford (38) , Southern Illinois (26) , Western Illinois (23) , Jackson State (19) , Jacksonville (16) , Lehigh (15) , Delaware (14) , Bryant (11) , San Diego (10) , Bucknell (9) , Northwestern State (9) , Lamar (9) , Towson (8) , Dartmouth (6) , Grambling State (6) , Central Arkansas (6) , Yale (5) , Southern University (4) , Wagner (3) , Duquesne (2) , Maine (2) , Mercer (2) , Missouri State (1) , Tennessee State (1) , Furman (1) , Abilene Christian (1) , South Dakota (1) , North Carolina Central (1)
