NORMAL, Ill. – After previously being selected the No. 6 team in the Stats Perform FCS preseason Top 25, the Illinois State football team found themselves in that same exact spot in the preseason AFCA FCS Coaches Poll, presented by Hudl.
Defending FCS national champion North Dakota State received all 26 first-place votes in the national coaches' poll to take the top spot. Last year's national runner-up, Montana State, start at No. 2 followed by South Dakota State at No. 3. UIW, the team South Dakota State beat in the quarterfinals of last season's playoffs, will begin at No.