One week after being ranked No. 20 in the FCS Coaches Poll, the Indiana State Sycamores have been voted No. 21 in the STATS FCS Preseason Top-25, STATS LLC announced on Monday.
Being ranked in the top 25 teams in the nation is nice if you place any value in per-season polls. Being ranked at that level and having 5 MVFC teams ahead of you, making our Trees at 6th in the conference would, to me at least, be a big motivational tool. I am so ready for this season to start. It is going to be interesting! It's going to be entertaining! It's going to be SPECIAL!
Glad to see us ranked. Still can't figure out the fascination with YSU, other than Bo. But they're still the same team. And how many teams are ranked ahead of us that we beat (some badly) last year? Interesting stuff. Polls aren't reality, in all cases...
Preseason polls reflect the previous year finish plus any perceived bias towards this year. Somebody correct me if I am wrong, but I don't think Illinois Sate was even ranked preseason last year. How did that work out....... Just gives the men on the team a chip to play with!
Well, we certainly weren't ranked in the preseason last year, coming off the brutal 2013 season. I'm far more interested in where they are at the end of the year, but the recognition, even in the preseason, is good for the program and the current (and future) players. They still have the big chip, and they see the teams they beat last year getting more respect.