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Appalachian State starts 2007 at No. 1
Philadelphia, PA (Sports Network) - Two-time defending national champion Appalachian State was a near unanimous choice for the top spot in The Sports Network's preseason FCS Top-25 poll announced on Tuesday.
The Mountaineers received 67 of 71 first-place votes and 1,771 points. Appalachian State, which is attempting to win an unprecedented third consecutive national crown, was placed second on the other four ballots.
ASU also began the 2006 season ranked No. 1.
Montana placed second in the season-opening poll and drew three first-place votes. The Grizzlies, semifinalist a year ago in the national playoffs, were ranked sixth or higher on all ballots and received 35 second-place votes for 1,680 points.
Joining Appalachian State and Montana in the top five were last year's national runner-up Massachusetts in third place, North Dakota State in fourth and Youngstown State, a semifinalist last season, in fifth.
All of the teams in the top five finished the 2006 season also ranked in the top five. Appalachian State ended 2006 ranked No. 1, followed by UMass, Montana, Youngstown State and North Dakota State.
New Hampshire, which has made the quarterfinals in each of the past three years, received the only other first-place ballot and was sixth overall with 1,393 points. New Hampshire also finished sixth last season.
Completing the top-10 are Illinois State, James Madison, Northern Iowa and McNeese State. Furman missed cracking the top 10 by just one point.
Following Furman at No. 12 is Southern Illinois, while Portland State and new coach Jerry Glanville come in ranked 13th. Others in the top 20 include No. 14 Wofford, No. 15 Cal Poly, No. 16 Hampton, No. 17 Eastern Illinois, No. 18 Sam Houston State, No. 19 Delaware and No. 20 South Dakota State.
Completing the poll are Montana State at 21, Tennessee-Martin, Coastal Carolina, Yale and South Carolina State.
The Colonial Athletic Association, in its first year replacing the Atlantic 10 in sponsoring football, placed three teams (UMass, New Hampshire and James Madison) in the top 10 and four in the top 20 (Delaware). The Gateway Football Conference also had three teams in the top 10 (Youngstown State, Illinois State and Northern Iowa) and four in the top 12 (Southern Illinois).
The Southern Conference had three teams in the top 14 (Appalachian State, Furman and Wofford), while the Great West Conference managed to put three teams in the top 20 (North Dakota State, Cal Poly and South Dakota State). The Big Sky Conference also earned three spots in the top 25 (Montana, Portland State and Montana State
08/14 09:20:35 ET
Appalachian State starts 2007 at No. 1
Philadelphia, PA (Sports Network) - Two-time defending national champion Appalachian State was a near unanimous choice for the top spot in The Sports Network's preseason FCS Top-25 poll announced on Tuesday.
The Mountaineers received 67 of 71 first-place votes and 1,771 points. Appalachian State, which is attempting to win an unprecedented third consecutive national crown, was placed second on the other four ballots.
ASU also began the 2006 season ranked No. 1.
Montana placed second in the season-opening poll and drew three first-place votes. The Grizzlies, semifinalist a year ago in the national playoffs, were ranked sixth or higher on all ballots and received 35 second-place votes for 1,680 points.
Joining Appalachian State and Montana in the top five were last year's national runner-up Massachusetts in third place, North Dakota State in fourth and Youngstown State, a semifinalist last season, in fifth.
All of the teams in the top five finished the 2006 season also ranked in the top five. Appalachian State ended 2006 ranked No. 1, followed by UMass, Montana, Youngstown State and North Dakota State.
New Hampshire, which has made the quarterfinals in each of the past three years, received the only other first-place ballot and was sixth overall with 1,393 points. New Hampshire also finished sixth last season.
Completing the top-10 are Illinois State, James Madison, Northern Iowa and McNeese State. Furman missed cracking the top 10 by just one point.
Following Furman at No. 12 is Southern Illinois, while Portland State and new coach Jerry Glanville come in ranked 13th. Others in the top 20 include No. 14 Wofford, No. 15 Cal Poly, No. 16 Hampton, No. 17 Eastern Illinois, No. 18 Sam Houston State, No. 19 Delaware and No. 20 South Dakota State.
Completing the poll are Montana State at 21, Tennessee-Martin, Coastal Carolina, Yale and South Carolina State.
The Colonial Athletic Association, in its first year replacing the Atlantic 10 in sponsoring football, placed three teams (UMass, New Hampshire and James Madison) in the top 10 and four in the top 20 (Delaware). The Gateway Football Conference also had three teams in the top 10 (Youngstown State, Illinois State and Northern Iowa) and four in the top 12 (Southern Illinois).
The Southern Conference had three teams in the top 14 (Appalachian State, Furman and Wofford), while the Great West Conference managed to put three teams in the top 20 (North Dakota State, Cal Poly and South Dakota State). The Big Sky Conference also earned three spots in the top 25 (Montana, Portland State and Montana State
08/14 09:20:35 ET
