North Dakota State garnered all 24 first-place votes.
SPARTANBURG, S.C. -- Four-time national champion North Dakota State opens the 2015 season as the unanimous preseason No. 1 in the FCS Coaches Poll.
Led by quarterback Carson Wentz, NDSU finished the 2014 season 15-1 and held off Illinois State 29-27, in the FCS National Championship on Jan. 10 to continue its record-setting run. This marks the Bison’s fourth consecutive year as the preseason favorite in the poll.
NDSU is the first unanimous preseason favorite in the poll since Appalachian State in 2008. The Mountaineers earned the No. 2 seed in the FCS playoff that season but fell to Richmond in the quarterfinals.Illinois State sits in the No. 2 spot in the poll after posting a 13-2 mark last season. Villanova, Sam Houston State and Coastal Carolina close out the top five. Eastern Washington checks in at No. 6, followed by New Hampshire, Chattanooga, Jacksonville State and Northern Iowa.
McNeese State, Idaho State, and Eastern Illinois all claimed spots in the poll after finishing 2014 unranked.
The poll features teams from nine different conferences, with the Missouri Valley claiming six teams, including three in the top 10. The Big Sky and Colonial Athletic Association tied for the second-most representatives with four each.
