PHILADELPHIA – Jacksonville State is ranked No. 17 in The Sports Network/Fathead.com FCS Top 25 preseason poll, which was released on Monday.
The Gamecocks, which finished the season with the best record in the Ohio Valley Conference with an 8-3 record and a 6-1 conference mark, won the final four games of the 2009 season.
Jax State also has been ranked for 15 straight weeks in the Top 25 polls, which is the longest such stretch in the school's Division I history.
Jacksonville State was one of two Ohio Valley Conference teams ranked in the poll, joining Eastern Illinois, who was ranked No. 18. Eastern Kentucky, Tennessee Tech and Austin Peay also received votes in the poll.
Villanova, who won the Football Championship Subdivision title for the first time last December, is ranked first after gaining 104 of the 126 first-place votes and 3,112 points.
Jacksonville State opens the 2010 season at Ole Miss on Sept. 4th. The Gamecocks will host their annual Fan Day on Saturday at Burgess-Snow Field. Coaches and players will be signing autographs at 4 p.m., before the team holds a scrimmage at 6 p.m.
The Sports Network/Fathead.com FCS Top-25 College Football Poll
Team (First-place votes) Record Points Previous Rank
1. Villanova Wildcats (104) 14-1 3,112 1
2. Montana Grizzlies (9) 14-1 2,899 2
3. Appalachian State Mountaineers (8) 11-3 2,857 3
4. William & Mary Tribe (3) 11-3 2,631 4
5. Southern Illinois Salukis (1) 11-2 2,569 6
6. Richmond Spiders (1) 11-2 2,317 5
7. Elon Phoenix 9-3 2,243 9
8. Stephen F. Austin Lumberjacks 10-3 2,041 10
9. South Dakota State Jackrabbits 8-4 1,863 11
10. New Hampshire Wildcats 10-3 1,837 7
11. South Carolina State Bulldogs 10-2 1,607 8
12. McNeese State Cowboys 9-3 1,475 12
13. Eastern Washington Eagles 8-4 1,422 3
14. Northern Iowa Panthers 7-4 1,269 18
15. James Madison Dukes 6-5 1,237 NR
16. Delaware Blue Hens 6-5 879 NR
17. Jacksonville State Gamecocks 8-3 833 16
18. Eastern Illinois Panthers 8-4 762 19
19. Weber State Wildcats 7-5 716 17
20. Prairie View A&M Panthers 9-1 709 15
21. Liberty Flames 8-3 633 22
22. Colgate Raiders 9-2 608 21
23. Penn Quakers 8-2 593 20
24. Montana State Bobcats 7-4 584 NR
25. Holy Cross Crusaders 9-3 560 14
Others receiving votes: Illinois State 488, Wofford 311, Northern Arizona 286, Cal Poly 239, Furman 229, Texas State 206, Florida A&M 153, Lafayette 98, Maine 88, Harvard 85, Eastern Kentucky 81, UC Davis 61, Samford 61, Massachusetts 45, Southeastern Louisiana 45, Alabama A&M 45, Missuori State 40, Central Arkansas 39, Norfolk State 28, Lehigh 27, Old Dominion 25, Grambling State 24, Davidson 23, Georgia Southern 22, Princeton 21, Dayton 20, Portland State 18, Chattanooga 17, Youngstown State 15, Idaho State 15, Southern utah 14, Northwestern State 12, Indiana State 12, Stony Brook 12, Hampton 12, Gardner-Webb 11, Tennessee Tech 9, Robert Morris 9, North Dakota 8, Southern 8, Central Connecticut State 7, Morgan State 7, Jackson State 7, North Carolina A&T 6, VMI 5, North Dakota State 5, Austin Peay 4, Butler 4, Alcorn State 3, Jacksonville 2, Texas Southern 2, Brown 2, Howard 2, Cornell 1, Coastal Carolina 1.
