CHICAGO – Stats Perform released its FCS Preseason Top 25 on Monday, with VMI and Chattanooga checking in at Nos. 17 and 18, respectively, and ETSU and Samford receiving votes.
Defending Southern Conference champion VMI went 6-2 overall last season and 6-1 in league play, winning its first SoCon title since 1977. The Keydets were led by Eddie Robinson Award and AFCA National FCS Coach of the Year winner Scott Wachenheim, while linebacker Stone Snyder finished third in voting for the Buck Buchanan Award, quarterback Seth Morgan finished third in balloting for the Jerry Rice Award and wide receiver Jakob Herres finished fourth in voting for the Walter Payton Award. VMI, which downed No. 10 Furman for its first league win last season, earned its first-ever FCS national ranking last season, topping out at No. 10 and finished the season ranked No. 12 in both the Stats Perform and AFCA polls.
Chattanooga went 3-2 overall and 3-1 in SoCon play in 2020-21, dropping a 13-10 setback to FBS Western Kentucky in the fall before logging a 3-1 record in the spring with wins over ranked Furman and Wofford squads prior to opting out of the remainder of the season. The Mocs, who were ranked as high as No. 9 nationally last season and return 72 of 76 letterwinners and every starter from that squad, were the SoCon coaches’ and media’s preseason pick to win the league in fall 2021.
ETSU, the third team out of the Stats Perform preseason poll, went 4-2 last season, all in SoCon play. The Bucs appeared in the final four national polls in 2020-21, finishing at No. 24 in the AFCA poll and at No. 21 in the Stats Perform poll. ETSU, which handed VMI its lone SoCon loss last season when the Keydets were ranked No. 10 nationally, returns all 50 letterwinners and every starter from last season.
Samford went 4-3 last season, all in SoCon play. The Bulldogs’ three losses came at the hands of ETSU, No. 17 Furman and No. 18 VMI, each by seven points or fewer, with the Furman and VMI games in overtime, while Samford picked up a win over No. 20 Wofford.
Every player that won an individual award from the league’s coaches last season returns this fall, with all of them coming from those four teams. Samford quarterback Liam Welch and VMI’s Herres were the SoCon Co-Offensive Players of the Year, while VMI’s Snyder and ETSU linebacker Jared Folks shared Defensive Player of the Year honors. VMI’s Morgan was the SoCon Freshman of the Year and offensive linemen Tre’mond Shorts of ETSU and Cole Strange of Chattanooga shared the Jacobs Blocking Award. Welch and Snyder are the preseason SoCon Offensive and Defensive Players of the Year, respectively.
The 2021 SoCon season kicks off on Thursday, Sept. 2, with four squads in action.
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STATS PERFORM FCS PRESEASON TOP 25
(With fall 2020/spring 2021 record unless noted)
1. Sam Houston (10-0, 6-0 Southland), 1,228 points (39 first-place votes)
2. James Madison (7-1, 3-0 CAA), 1,180 (8)
3. South Dakota State (8-2, 5-1 Missouri Valley), 1,156 (3)
4. North Dakota State (7-3, 5-2 Missouri Valley), 1,116
5. Delaware (7-1, 4-0 CAA), 1,017
6. Weber State (5-1, 5-0 Big Sky), 927
7. Southern Illinois (6-4, 3-3 Missouri Valley), 888
8. North Dakota (5-2, 4-1 Missouri Valley), 886
9. Montana (2-0), 778
10. Jacksonville State (10-3, 6-1 Ohio Valley), 744
11. Eastern Washington (5-2, 5-1 Big Sky), 659
12. Montana State (2019: 11-4, 6-2 Big Sky), 654
13. Monmouth (3-1, 3-0 Big South), 618
14. Central Arkansas (5-4), 561
15. Southeastern Louisiana (4-3, 4-2 Southland), 559
16. Villanova (2-2 CAA), 440
17. VMI (6-2, 6-1 Southern), 397
18. Chattanooga (3-2, 3-1 Southern), 295
19. Kennesaw State (4-1, 2-1 Big South), 255
20. Austin Peay (4-5, 4-2 Ohio Valley), 227
21. Northern Iowa (3-4 Missouri Valley), 219
22. Nicholls (4-3 Southland), 173
23. UC Davis (3-2 Big Sky), 172
24. Missouri State (5-5, 5-1 Missouri Valley), 168
25. North Carolina A&T (2019: 9-3, 6-2 MEAC), 159
Others Receiving Votes (schools listed on two or more ballots): Murray State (5-2 Ohio Valley) 157, Richmond (3-1 CAA) 113,
ETSU (4-2 Southern) 99, Sacramento State (2019: 9-4, 7-1 Big Sky) 57, Alabama A&M (5-0, 4-0 SWAC) 49, Florida A&M (2019: 9-2, 7-1 MEAC) 47, New Hampshire (0-1 CAA) 42, Alcorn State (2019: 9-4, 6-1 SWAC) 35, Holy Cross (3-1, 3-0 Patriot) 22,
Samford (4-3 Southern) 20, UIW (3-3 Southland) 19, Sacred Heart (3-2, 2-1 Northeast) 17, Albany (1-3 CAA) 14, Illinois State (1-3 Missouri Valley) 10, Rhode Island (2-1 CAA) 10, South Carolina State (3-1) 10, Stephen F. Austin (6-4) 10, Duquesne (4-1, 4-0 Northeast) 4, Southeast Missouri (4-4, 4-3 Ohio Valley) 3