UNI Football Team Gets Another Top-10 Ranking

The UNI football team has garnered a preseason top-10 national ranking for the second time in as many weeks. The Panthers are ranked at No. 10 in the STATS FCS Preseason Top-25 poll, which was released on Monday (Aug. 10, 2015).

UNI was also ranked No. 10 in the Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) Coaches Preseason Poll on Aug. 5. Similar to the Coaches poll, the Missouri Valley Football Conference (MVFC) had the most selections in the STATS survey, with six teams ranked among the top-25 and all 10 receiving at least one vote.

The top of the STATS (formerly The Sports Network) FCS Top 25 preseason poll is the same as it was at the end of the 2014 season. Four-time defending National Champion North Dakota State is rated No. 1, followed by second-ranked Illinois State - the two MVFC rivals who played in January's NCAA Division-I FCS title game.

It may seem like nothing is changing in the FCS, but there's no shortage of potential for shake-ups. Every team begins the season with a fresh start, and graduation losses at North Dakota State and Illinois State suggest the door is open for a terrific race nationally.

The Bison earned the top spot in the STATS poll after collecting 144 of the 147 first-place votes and 3,671 points. Illinois State gained the other three first-place votes and 3,423 points.

What's changed for North Dakota State in 2015 is the Bison bring back a stronger offense than defense, which returns only four starters. It's the defense that has fueled a 58-3 record since the start of the 2011 season, including a 15-1 mark last year. Quarterback Carson Wentz, the most outstanding player of last year's national championship game, will lead the FCS juggernaut on offense this fall.

Wentz, however, wasn't the All-Missouri Valley quarterback last year. That nod went to Illinois State's Tre Roberson, who teamed with FCS rushing champion Marshaun Coprich to lead the Redbirds to a 13-2 record. Both return to this year's squad, although the dynamic is different for Head Coach Brock Spack after his team lost half its starting lineup.

A number of other teams ranked among the preseason top 25 also return starting quarterbacks. Among them are No. 3 Sam Houston State, No. 4 Villanova and No. 5 Coastal Carolina.

A national panel of sports information and media relations directors, broadcasters, writers and other dignitaries selects the STATS FCS Top 25. In the voting, a first-place vote is worth 25 points, a second-place vote 24 points, all the way down to one point for a 25th-place vote.

The Panthers start their season on Sept. 5 when they take on the Iowa State Cyclones. The game is set to kick-off at 7 p.m. under the lights of Jack Trice Stadium in Ames.

STATS FCS Preseason Top 25 Poll (Formerly The Sports Network)

Others: Eastern Illinois (431), William & Mary (225), Cal Poly (189), Alcorn State (144), South Carolina State (126), North Carolina A&T (108), Northern Arizona (74), Western Carolina (65), Bethune-Cookman (56), Sacred Heart (46), Charleston Southern (40), Samford (38), Southern Illinois (26), Western Illinois (23), Jackson State (19), Jacksonville(16), Lehigh (15), Delaware (14), Bryant (11), San Diego (10), Bucknell (9), Northwestern State (9), Lamar (9), Towson (8), Dartmouth (6), Grambling State (6), Central Arkansas (6), Yale (5), Southern University (4), Wagner (3), Duquesne (2), Maine (2), Mercer (2), Missouri State (1), Tennessee State (1), Furman (1), Abilene Christian (1), South Dakota (1), North Carolina Central (1).