Aug. 19, 2008

PHILADELPHIA, Pa. (Sports Network) - Southern Illinois University was ranked 11th in the Sports Network Football Championship Subdivision Preseason Poll, released Tuesday. The national ranking is the Salukis' highest this preseason.

Appalachian State was a near unanimous pick at the No. 1 spot. ASU, the three-time defending national champs, received 97 of 101 first-place votes and 2,546 points. It is the third consecutive year the Mountaineers begin a season ranked No. 1 by the Sports Network.

The poll was dominated by three major leagues -- the Colonial Athletic Association, the Missouri Valley Football Conference and the Southern Conference.

The CAA landed four teams in the Top-10 (Richmond at No. 4, Massachusetts at No. 5, James Madison at No. 6 and Delaware at No. 9) and six teams in the Top-25. New Hampshire placed 16th and Villanova finished at 21.

The MVFC also had six teams ranked, with North Dakota State at No. 2, Northern Iowa at No. 3, SIU 11th, Youngstown State 12th, South Dakota State 19th and Western Illinois 25th.

The SoCon placed five teams in the poll, including ASU, Wofford (13th), Elon (15th), Georgia Southern (17th) and The Citadel (23rd).

Other teams in the Top-10 include Big Sky schools Eastern Washington (7th) and Montana (8th) and Southland Conference member McNeese State (10th).

Team (First-place votes) Record Points Previous Rank
1. Appalachian State Mountaineers (97) 13-2 2,546 1
2. North Dakota State Bison (1) 10-1 2.275 9
3. Northern Iowa Panthers 12-1 2,204 4
4. Richmond Spiders 11-3 2,162 5
5. Massachusetts Minutemen 10-3 2,148 7
6. James Madison Dukes (3) 8-4 2,078 12
7. Eastern Washington Eagles 9-4 1,951 8
8. Montana Grizzlies 11-1 1,848 10
9. Delaware Blue Hens 11-4 1,747 2
10. McNeese State Cowboys 11-1 1,687 11
11. Southern Illinois Salukis 12-2 1,286 3
12. Youngstown State Penguins 7-4 1,228 16
13. Wofford Terriers 9-4 1,158 6
14. Cal Poly Mustangs 7-4 1,081 24
15. Elon Phoenix 7-4 1,028 23
16. New Hampshire Wildcats 7-5 760 14
17. Georgia Southern Eagles 7-4 656 17
18. Eastern Illinois Panthers 8-4 622 18
19. South Dakota State Jackrabbits 7-4 547 19
20. Eastern Kentucky Colonels 9-3 487 13
21. Villanova Wildcats 7-4 396 NR
22. Central Arkansas Bears 6-5 374 NR
23. The Citadel Bulldogs 7-4 317 NR
24. Harvard Crimson 8-2 316 21
25. Western Illinois 6-5 299 NR