2024 FCS Football Top 25 Preseason Ballot - Is South Dakota State Back At No. 1?

and now back to your regular programming if you speak better to yourself you showed up for like probably the dumbest conversation we've ever had on this show let's have that smile again tell me how that happens physically should not [Music] happen if you say give me uh as well three times a day God will line it up it's just an absolute hack and he gets his ass kicked by his teammates every week and you know it's just terrible welcome back to hack City Joe Deon Sean Anderson two former college football players from the University of Rhode Island and today we are returning to share with you our FCS football stats perform top 25 pre-season ballots we're going to be going through them more of a deep dive on the top five but we're going to read through share with you who we picked who we put in there and a little bit of reasoning on some of these schools and again especially why we went with the top fives the way that we did we're starting kick things up for the FCS season as we always do we'll be tracking following everything that we've done in the past is going to get rolling in the next month it's August it is the month of football kicking off before we get to that though Sean can you just share with our listeners very quickly a word from BET on mine well if you want to start throwing some Futures down like Houston Christian being in the top 10 or final 25 however you want to do it bet online's where you want to do all jokes bet online that's where you want to do your baseball summer betting if you want to bet on the Olympics you want to bet on whatever you want to bet on you're fighting uh that's where you need to go when the game's over head on over to the ultimate online casino as well get in on a game of blackjack or poker I know you're feing and we just got a taste of of the NFL football this week with the Hall of Fame game everyone start to itch and get I'm at least itching getting ready to go and get everything revved up head to the website today to get in on the action use promo code believe that's bav for your 50% bet credit on your first deposit up to $250 bet online the game game starts here so as I mentioned coverage for FCS football is not going to ramp up for us meaning those who are familiar with the show we are going to be launching the vote for our FCS football trip coming very very soon past we've done it three times now yes we've gone to South Dakota state twice we went to Campbell once in a just a very ironic twist the complete opposite of our experience at the South Dakota state but as we've done it we've allowed for list lers to vote and help us pick where we go to a game anywhere in the country we will go we will show up we will tailgate with the listeners with fans of the teams it's been a fun experience even though we got just kind of stranded at Campbell but we're going to open that vote next week I'm going to remind everybody on Monday when this episode drops and also going to be putting that vote out on Thursday who I I kind of want to go to Idaho I know I'm we're in the Idaho show right now I'm not an Idaho fan I kind of want to go to Idaho we missed the chance to to meet rack and I would like for that chance to be reignited well it was it was good to hear that rack was in our neck of the woods and that possibly he would be back uh I'd love to go to Idaho but there's been a lot of promises coming out of the Idaho faithful and they have not held up I I I would love to it seems fun the listeners that we have met and talked with and well they've you know bombarded us with you know maybe I don't need to go to idah maybe maybe we could go somewhere else no no I do want to go to Montana it seems like I don't Montana's gonna would be interesting because I think there would be there's a really nice grouping of Montana fans who like us and like the show and I think would be very welcoming and then there's a there's seemingly a bucket of folks that just really hate our guts uh and I'm curious if any of them would say anything to us which I I doubt that they would but all right let's let's actually get into uh talking about our top 25 ballots here I want to rip through first reading off our 25 uh through 15s and just kind of reading through and then and then maybe asking any questions upon uh either of us uh to the opposite person my 25 I went with Northern uh Iowa number 24 I went with UT Martin 23 Elon 22 Tarleton State 21 Eastern Illinois 20 Albany 19 Western Carolina 18 Lafayette 17 UC Davis 16 Weber State and then 15 I had Chattanooga yours what do you got uh I have 25 Lafayette 24 Florida A&M 23 Tarleton State which is crazy that we're both drinking the Kool-Aid this early but well they're more established as an FCS program now so I think that it's a little that was kind of my logic I was like well they were really strong last year not like a crazy amount of roster turnover I don't think it's unfair keep them in there other FCS pundits have been high on them as well and they are smarter than me so I will I'll do they made me research tlon I'm say okay maybe they're bringing back some Talent 22 ewu uh uh 21 Alabama State Incarnate Word at 20 for me 19 Duane I think they go back to back 18 UT Martin 17 Sach State 16 William Mary 15 Nicholls by the way quick shout out Sam herder Blue Bloods um I they were there preseason information guys were very very helpful it is more impossible than ever to keep track of of who stayed and who left so Sam herder you're the goat Zack mckennell mckennell uh they're doing a show together now their their Show's probably going to be a lot better than this one it' be nice we landed on the moon and we're seeing their rocket ship go right to Mars the the the only question I have for you sax State William and Mary you seem a little lower on them than the just general consensus what's the what's the reasoning I got shafted last year by him William Mary a little B give the not trying to but r voting it's not Revenge voting it's not they're still top 25 which should be an honor but Sacramento State and their Kaden Bennett questioning and whatever they're doing at quarterback we couldn't solve which is good they will win games by having a system that is unsolvable uh but until I can really crack it open and say okay this team is a top 10 team they're in the teens for me same with William and Mary William Mary had tons of promise and they have a lot of guys on their team that you and I both like Charles Grant I like their quarterback a lot uh they they had some stumbles last year but I saw him in person it's a confident team it's a bigger FCS team than I've seen in previous years and I think William Mary still has a good direction but they are not in my top they're not in my top 10 and I already and I have some more CA teams up up top yeah s sack State I don't I don't mind I had them at seven which we're going to get to in a second but William and Murray I do disagree with because you mentioned Charles Grant they have the best offensive lineman in FCS football and if anyone wants to disagree with me the NFL agrees with my opinion he is a very very gifted player he is up to I think like 295 right now 300 lb that's dangerous he is going to be drafted the highest out of any of the FCS players except maybe David Walker who will probably end up bringing up when we do our reaction to the FCS all-americans that show is going to come out soon um H and they also got Bronson yod back man like I think that there's just a lot to like about a lot of cohesiveness I'm buying in a lot of these teams that didn't get picked apart by the transfer portal so I I'm going to stick with my offensive line do you have any qualms with with my 25 through 15 you had UC Davis a little low didn't you uh no I am high on UC Davis at 17 where do you have them I have and I hate the bury at nine UC Davis okay what's your reasoning and then we'll share our uh miles Hastings good quarterback Lan larrison Walter Payton uh Award winner or award favorite uh and how do you Rexx Connor in the in the the are you I love Rex Conor he's another guy who is very under the radar uh in NFL draft circles know of some folks that also really love him UC Davis makes sense to me this year uh they've been so sneaky the last couple years and uh I don't want to get caught by them again I they have my attention from the get-go this year and I think that they will have a top 10 finish I I thought 17 was fair cuz I just feel like they always it it is fair cuz it's UC Davis get knocked around by the schedule and they always finish at like 15 to 20 and it kind of this team reminds me that by the way Ryan Roberts I have to bring up so Charles Grant and Rex Connor are my two um babies if you will of The Scouting last scouting cycle where I found them very under the radar was really big on them this was when I was doing work for RPM which was a um scouting consulting firm and Ryan asked me to watch them but didn't know anything about them and then now he swears that he found them them I know that he's messing with me but it is the worst bit ever Ryan I know you're listening to this you stink when you do that and it pisses me off we were you're trying to claim your territory we were talking to agents in Indianapolis the ones that were that were close to signing Rex Connors and he's like like and I was like yeah I'm really glad I found him and Ryan goes like what do you mean I found him I'm like what like what try to steal that from me um I'm sure you let it be right in front of the agents and didn't create a whole a h i didn't create a I didn't do that but I I think afterwards I was like dude um all right my 14 through six as I have it uh 14 Idaho a little low on them but I think it's completely Justified because they got picked apart javanni McCoy's gone javanni McCoy left and he was a premier underrated quarterback just from the national landscape up until the transfer portal opening when everybody was like hey you can sling it we want you little not fully cam W but kind of in the cam w Wood's gone also Anthony Woods is also gone who Utah got a stud he went to Utah that I was going to say where did he end up uh Illinois State very underrated offensive line Ferman at number 12 is always really good SIU number 11 10 I'm buying the central Arkansas Buzz David Walker is a freaking dude Incarnate Word at number nine dude I like Zack kada I was I think he's solid he's very good I take it a step further man he was really really promising not promising he was he struggled a bit at Texas A&M and I think that he has entered the perfect spot for him to really flourish and I continue to see positive things from him last year uh as I mentioned high on William H Mar at 8 sack stay at seven and then Villanova dude they bring back like their whole offense anyone who wants to argue the the ca bias I don't have any connections to Villanova nor would we want to support them because they a bitter rival of ours to an extent but Conor Watkins the whole freaking offense feels like it's coming back except for a couple of receivers and I think that they're vill and I'll get to Villanova later but um I think that Villanova they are a running back replacement machine where it is okay we had a really good guy now we have another really good guy uh but my 14 here North Carolina Central repeat the dominance that Howard loss was crazy last season so crazy I felt like it was almost intentional just so they could get into the playoff didn't davus Richard didn't he doesn't matter graduate doesn't matter to me Trey Oliver is a fantastic coach and that program is is still heading up back-to-back 10- win Seasons or at least 19 wins in the last two years uh if my memory serves me right uh 13 I had Central arkans he's on the he's on the rough nexts yeah that's fine uh 13 I had Central Arkansas fine okay I mean North Carolina Central we'll be fine sorry okay will mlan I trust him I love I've been a Shand derck Powell fan he's been a pod favorite of mine and then David Walker's a problem uh 12 Southern Illinois no more Nick Baker that'll be an exciting season uh but they had the number four def defense in the FCS last year even if they keep it within the top 30 they're going to finish in the top 25 uh if that made any sense Chattanooga at 11 for me uh Marlon Taylor M Truck Javon watley's a menace on the outside and it's the socon uh South Dakota at 10 I'm a little lower on soan than some of the other National gu a little lower on South Dakota than some of the other National guys uh I saw their ceiling last year and I liked it give me a second to register that really South Dakota at 10 Bowman's good oh Carter Bell is good but I feel like I saw their ceiling last year I I didn't like how they went out you can't say that you saw their ceiling but then they're bringing back all of those guy oh no all right I'm going to save my take I'm going to save my take uh UC Davis at nine for me I explained that a bit already uh number eight Albany losing Reese PF and Barger blows I'm not going to deny that too high they lost like their whole defense I really like RI woodell I like that he was last year's CA offensive rookie of the year I like it they have a dynamic running back so one guy and we'll see we'll see what miles burket can do terrible logic one guy is enough for you to go yeah that's enough to put you pick Central Arkansas for David Walker give me a break I'm going with Griffin woodell who who T you also mentioned M who's coming back yeah he's solid they're a will really well you didn't mention M Wayne I Albany got picked apart in the portal they are a team that got picked in the port I almost didn't put them in my top 25 that's fine that's that's where that you have them in your top 25 I think two CA teams are in the top 10 I can't believe you have ahead of South Dakota ahead of South Dakota is insane seven IAD Idaho uh Idaho brings back four starting offensive linemen which I like so when they have to bring in the McCoy replacement uh at least he'll be protected def decently and they had a top 20 a top 30 defense last year as returning eight starters which I like and at six I had fman I they don't have Tyler Huff but I like Carson Jones their schedules a little tough but I'm not going to be wrong about this Ferman ship again I've been wrong about them so many times at times they look rough in the off season and then in November they've willed themselves to eight wins I think Klay Hendrick is building a machine at Ferman that refuses to not make the the playoffs so that caps off my 15 to6 all right alternating back in fourth here uh to wrap us up Montana State at number five uh for me was who I had there and don't shake your head this one makes perfect sense their offensive line was picked apart by FBS transfers guys moving up to the FBS now a lot of their secondary does come back um their front seven dual monsters and Brody gree and Kenneth Eden the fourth are were very productive last year they are returning and then of course we have to give credit to the rushing attack that was the best and the most dominant in FCS last year sea Chambers is gone but Tommy mot gets Julius Davis and Jared white into the fold Montana state is going to be in that upper conversation yet again I'm just a bit wary with offensive line turnover specifically it's one of the few positions o o line dline when there's a lot of guys shuffling in and out that I have to to give a little pause wait and see what do the early weeks look like do they hit the ground running because it is a position group that requires cohesiveness it's not unfair because that's your uh scouting and analyzation preference on that but they run such a quick offense that I think the offensive line with with a majority of the snaps being one to two second developers can get the job done my number five was Villanova I love Conor Watkins uh I'm really excited to see who they throw in at running back this season because I'm sure he'll go for 88 just like every V villinova uh running back does uh Watkins for wat Watkins for six on the ground or Watkins to Jaylen Sanchez that's going to be the offense and it's going to be fun and it's going to torch the uh it's going to torch the CIAA so I think Villanova wins it and makes it uh semide deep in the playoffs yeah having Villanova in your top five I don't think is uh is a bad I don't think I'm that out there with it who did was it Youngtown that they smoked in the first round I forget who it was it it was like a complete the first team that they played they completely blew out I forget who it was but that is a reason to be invested because you know that they're going to show up in a prime time situation my number four and I I'm just baffled by the fact that you had South Dakota at 10 my number four was South Dakota I'm very high on Aiden Balman who gets back his two top Targets in Carter Bell and then tight end JJ galbreth their running back Duo is completely returning we we talked so much about Travis th and Charles Pierre that is maybe one of the best onew punches I don't want to say they are the best but could one of the best one-w punches returning in FCS football that didn't lose anybody four starting offensive linemen coming back and then Sam herder pointed this out thank you for for Sam for putting this in his preview their offensive Line's like enormous it's like Georgia level big they've got a 67 guy a 68 guy it is freakishly large I just see this offense as one of the best in the country and you have a quarterback who's been starting for a period of time who's been getting better every single season I can't doubt that I'm baffled that they were number 10 Alban was ahead of them for you yeah they were and I I and I'm not knocking South Dakota with a 10 kind of I didn't like how they went out because last year they had a chance against North Dakota State they played them twice and then they got beat down blown out in the playoffs after they beat them that year and then last year we're talking about this year I understand but that was still a culture and maybe they adjust it but to have the regular season win uh and then lose in the playoffs to North Dakota State that's not good that's not a good track record for me if it had flipped they lost to North Dakota state in the regular season beat him in the postseason I think I have him up higher how many times did Georgia fall short before they started hitting the ground it took a couple times my number four Montana oh my God you do what you just love to piss the Montana fans off are you serious with this I I put them in three and I was deba I actually when I was doing my notes for the the the show after I had done my ballot notes I regret not putting them at two why all right go ahead give me your spe why why why should they be it too cliff and McDow gone I thought he was really solid last year all right go ahead they they have some big time offensive weapons they're at four because of Junior Bergen and Eli Gilman those are two absolute weapons in the FCS and it's a miracle that they stayed at Montana because they are so solid and dangerous uh but their QB options this year are going to be uh Kali aat Kali aat that was the pronunciation found Apologies by the way if we're mispronouncing um I that was what I found on a new broadcast so I think that that's correct Logan F and kayen how or H regard one of them is going to be serviceable and be a good FCS quarterback one of the three will and that'll put them in the top five but they're top five right now great offensive weapons let's see what happens I'm not I'm not crowning them without knowing their quarterback that's not something that I do personally last year how often did we talk about how Clifton McDow just kind of did enough to support what was a really dominant defense in a really good run game he was just he was a game manager he did enough to keep the offense moving I think that this is a team that does not need um a premier quarterback to succeed and honestly aat who has family connections to the program I believe I saw that his his father is in the The Ring of Honor or whatever the the the uh the name for for that award or or recognition is for Montana but on top of this they have personally I believe the best running back room in the country with Eli Gilman and Nick osmo they're extremely offensive extremely experienced offensive line pretty much all of it comes back all of those dudes that were road graders that were running over every single defensive line that ran over North Dakota State's defensive line that we touted as unbreakable and un unpenetrable and then on top of this you mentioned Junior Bergen they they have some of the best weapons in the country with Junior Bergen keln white Aaron Fontes and then Cole grman who might be the best tight end in football this is a ridiculously dominant offense that didn't lose anybody except for one position at quarterback that I frankly think is interchangeable of who steps in there that's fine where do you have them at I have them at three so that there's my three AR fine my three North Dakota state is that fair or is that going to get a bunch of push back is bison going to be upset about that I almost moved moved them back I in my two they're fine with me at three they returned four All Conference defensive players my favorite being safety cowi nusi uh cam Miller looked much more settled in the playoffs last year which I loved seeing because it has been a slog with him and our assessment of him over the last three years I I think we've been very fair to him but it has been a SLO and last year I really started seeing some bright spots and I I think there's still that rough and tough Midwest team that's that's going to win a ton of games so they're three for me uh I think I think that's solid and I think that's fair I had them at number two and again I don't disagree that cuz I in retrospect of looking back at the notes on this and when I Was preparing to sit down for the show I was debating moving Montana up to two and then back to three but they need to be in this conversation I'm not all in on them as a number one team because new head coach we don't know exactly what to expect with an leaving and going to USC I know it helps to have familiarity with the program stepping in there that is going to certainly help um they are losing a little bit on offenses they're losing three offensive linemen running backs two of their top receivers I I need to know who is going to step up TK Marshall was productive I think he's going to be a really strong rushing option for them but having Cen Miller and Cole Payton is the real driving force for the Run game that is what is going to continue to move the ball forward the biggest part where I'm the most ex excited is their front seven looks just as nasty as last year They're bringing back nine guys who were starters last year and then you mentioned Cole wineski who is a freak I mean I'm curious to know which Big 10 programs might have picked up the phone and tried to convince him to uh to come play for them yeah North Dakota state stays loaded you had them at two correct yeah who's your number two my number two South Dakota State terrible take it's a fine it's a fine take and after they had a an A deservedly so picked apart a lot of guys the NFL uh we can't deny Mark granowski anymore the guy is legit in his career 70 touchdowns to 13 picks is phenomenal in college and plus I love that they were turn their defensive anchor in Adam Bach I am Adam Bach truther Adam Bach lifer I that this is where I stand and I think they've been there before I think they end up back in the national championship I think they have an incredible season and I think granowski could go triple backto back to back Walter Payton he could do it wait he's only got one does he have two did he go two in a row made that up I might have make that up oh they went back to back to back Championship okay that's where I got caught up on they I understand did put a number of guys into the NFL especially on their offensive line with G Greenfield Mason mccor McCormack they blew up the NFL combine um I can't doubt them they're my number one Jack Rabbit fans Sean is spitting in your face right now I don't believe so they have the best player in the country coming back to lead their team and I know that Isaiah Davis is gone we do still have Omar Johnson who was super productive Angel Johnson had 8.9 yards per carry last year Bach is super important and then I think the safety room is unbelievable Tucker large and kale reer they are a constantly rebuilding refueling type of a team they're a machine I'm not denying it they are a machine and two should not be seen as a slight especially when I but I believe in my number one I really do and you had South Dakota State as what your number one yeah they're my number one I had Montana State