CHICAGO, Ill. (UND Athletics)– North Dakota is ranked No. 24 in the Stats Perform Preseason Top 25 rankings released on Monday morning. The Missouri Valley Football Conference has seven teams represented in the preseason poll.
Defending national champion South Dakota State holds the top spot with 52 first-place votes, trailed immediately by North Dakota State at No. 2 with three first-place votes. South Dakota is also in the top-five at No. 5, while Southern Illinois is in the top-10 at No. 10. Illinois State is in the top-20 at No. 19, while North Dakota (No. 24) and Youngstown State (No. 25) round out the poll.
Six teams on UND’s schedule appeared in the preseason poll, with five of them being MVFC members. North Dakota will also face No. 3 Montana in its home opener.
The Fighting Hawks will kick off the 2024 season on Saturday, Aug. 31, visiting the Cyclones of Iowa State. UND and ISU are set to square off at 2:30 p.m. (CT) in Ames, Iowa, with the game being televised on FS1.
STATS PERFORM FCS PRESEASON TOP 25
1. South Dakota State (2023 Record: 15–0, 8–0 Missouri Valley), 1,396 points (52 of 56 first-place votes)
2. North Dakota State (11-4, 5-3 MVFC), 1,327 (3)
3. Montana (13-2, 7-1 Big Sky), 1,285
4. Montana State (8-4, 6-2 Big Sky), 1,199 (1)
5. South Dakota (10-3, 7-1 MVFC), 1,155
6. Villanova (10-3, 7-1 CAA), 1,151
7. Idaho (9-4, 6-2 Big Sky), 1,021
8. Sacramento State (8-5, 4-4 Big Sky), 874
9. Chattanooga (8-5, 6-2 SoCon), 868
10. Southern Illinois (8-5, 4-4 MVFC), 832
11. Central Arkansas (7-4, 4-2 UAC), 724
12. Furman (10-3, 7-1 SoCon), 678
13. Richmond (9-4, 7-1 CAA), 625
14. UIW (8-2, 6-1 Southland), 605
15. William & Mary (6-5, 4-4 CAA), 546
16. UAlbany (11-4, 7-1 CAA), 527
17. Lafayette (9-3, 5-1 Patriot), 359
18. UC Davis (7-4, 5-3 Big Sky), 351
19. Illinois State (6-5, 4-4 MVFC), 350
20. Western Carolina (7-4, 5-3 SoCon), 318
21. Tarleton State (8-3, 4-2 UAC), 302
22. Weber State (6-5, 4-4 Big Sky), 268
23. Nicholls (6-5, 7-0 Southland), 201
24. North Dakota (7-5, 5-3 MVFC), 197
25. Youngstown State (8-5, 5-3 MVFC), 177
Others Receiving Votes (schools listed on two or more ballots): Elon (6-5, 6-2 CAA) 174; UT Martin (8-3, 5-1 Big South-OVC) 169; Eastern Illinois (8-3, 4-2 Big South-OVC) 139; Mercer (9-4, 6-2 SoCon) 98; Florida A&M (12-1, 8-0 SWAC) 65; North Carolina Central (9-3, 4-1 MEAC) 52; Austin Peay (9-3, 6-0 UAC) 51; Alabama State (7-4, 5-3 SWAC) 17; Holy Cross (7-4, 5-1 Patriot) 17; Eastern Washington (4-7, 3-5 Big Sky) 14; Drake (8-4, 8-0 Pioneer) 8; Duquesne (7-4, 6-1 NEC) 8; Harvard (8-2, 5-2 Ivy) 6; Samford (6-5, 4-4 SoCon) 6; Northern Iowa (6-5, 5-3 MVFC) 4.
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