NDSU Comes in at number 4 in the first FCS Preseason Poll

Stats Perform FCS released their first Preseason Top 25 poll this morning. 

NDSU falls in at number 4, behind new defending champion Sam Houston (1), James Madison (2), and South Dakota State (3).
There are six Missouri Valley teams in the first poll. SDSU (3) and NDSU (4) per usual. Southern Illinois and North Dakota come in at 7 and 8. Towards the bottom, Northern Iowa appears at 21 and Missouri State at 24. 

This year will be a proving year for NDSU, to see if the Bison can bounce back from their worst season since their early years of Division 1 in the early 2000's. NDSU finished the abbreviated Spring season at 7-3 (5-2 MVFC) and was bounced in the quarterfinals by eventual champion Sam Houston in the playoffs. 

As far as who the Bison will have this year and who graduated or left, here we go.
Former Iowa State transfer QB Zeb Noland decided not to come back and use his extra year of eligibility. Zeb has returned to Iowa State to coach on their Big 12 football team that is coming in towards the top of the country in the FBS world. 
NDSU will add Virginia Tech transfer QB Quincy Patterson as he transferred during the Fall of 2020.  He will have two years of eligibility while at NDSU.

The College Football world has gone through a whirlwind this past year. First, the NCAA officially ruled to allow collegiate athletes to make money off of their name, image, and likeness. This will prove to be interesting as many dislike and like this decision. Also, Oklahoma and Texas will be moving from the Big 12 to the SEC in FBS football. This opens a big can of worms. So, going forward either the Big 12 will look to fill two spots in their conference with Group of 5 schools or FCS teams. Or the FBS will realign altogether and split into divisions. The more likely scenario is that the Big 12 takes 2 teams from the Group of 5 conferences, which would open the door for at least 2 teams to move up from the FCS. Many have speculated that NDSU would be the number 1 team to do this. Besides NDSU, JMU and/or SDSU have also been thought to move up as well. 

A lot has happened over the summer! Exciting times though in the football world!! NDSU opens up the season at home against Albany on September 4th at 2:30 PM.

Go Bison!