As I look forward to another year of voting in the Stats Perform FCS Media Poll, I put together a draft of my preseason Top 25 early last week.
I did so after completing my database of 1,500 top returning FCS players — returning all-conference players from the last two years, plus other guys who had good production or were highly graded by PFF who maybe didn’t receive postseason accolades.
With the transfer portal closed, I have a good idea of what starters and all-conference players are returning to their teams. I sat on my preseason Top 25 for a week and glanced at it every couple of days to see if I had a change of heart or gut feeling about a team. And I found that I feel good enough about it to release it now, and there probably isn’t anything that will happen between now and summer that will change my mind.
So here we go.
Further explanation of my ranking can be heard below in podcast form. Which, TBH, went twice as long as I expected it to.
2023 FCS Preseason Top 25
25. Florida A&M
24. Gardner-Webb
23. Delaware
22. Northern Iowa
21. Youngstown State
20. Mercer
19. Jackson State
18. Southeastern Louisiana University
17. UC Davis
16. North Dakota
15. Montana
14. New Hampshire
13. North Carolina Central
12. Weber State
11. SEMO
10. Sacramento State
9. Incarnate Word
8. Samford
7. William & Mary
6. Idaho
5. Furman
4. Holy Cross
3. Montana State
2. North Dakota State
1. South Dakota State
Other teams considered (in alphabetical order) are: Abilene Christian, Chattanooga, Eastern Kentucky, Elon, Rhode Island, Richmond
For a breakdown of the Top 25, check out the podcast below, which can also be found on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, iHeart, Stitcher, and Spreaker.
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