NORMAL, Ill. – Illinois State remained in the No. 4 spot in both the Stats Perform FCS Preseason Top 25 Poll and the AFCA FCS Coaches Poll announced on Monday. Illinois State has appeared in every Stats Perform FCS Top 25 poll for 32-straight weeks, the sixth-longest active streak in the FCS.
Defending FCS champion Montana State remains a unanimous No. 1 following a 54-0 thrashing of Utah Tech. South Dakota State jumps Montana into the No. 2 spot, while FCS newcomer West Florida also is a newcomer to the rankings at No. 25 after defeating Southern Illinois in the season opener. The Missouri Valley Football Conference has the most ranked teams with six in the AFCA Coaches Poll, with South Dakota State, Illinois State, North Dakota and Youngstown State landing in the Top 10 in both weekly polls.
Illinois State will renew its second-longest rivalry in program history this weekend when the Redbirds (1-0) travel to Macomb, Illinois, to take on the Western Illinois Fighting Leathernecks (1-0) at Hanson Field on Saturday. It will mark the first of three-straight games against teams from the Land of Lincoln, with contest to follow in the next two week at Northern Illinois and at home against Eastern Illinois.
The Stats Perform FCS Top 25 Poll and every AFCA FCS Coaches Poll will be released each Monday during the regular season.
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