May 21, 2007

Elmhurst, Ill. - The Great West Football Conference has two teams listed in the Top 10 and added a third team in the Top 25 in the AnyGivenSaturday.com pre-season poll, first Football Championship Subdivision poll released in 2007.

Defending Great West champion North Dakota State was ranked third, Cal Poly 10th and South Dakota State 22nd in the AGS poll, while UC Davis just missed the Top 25 by two places. Reigning National Champion Appalachian State landed the top spot garnering 97 first place votes in the poll The AGS Poll has been the first released national poll each year since it's inception in 2004.

Following the Mountaineers in the top ten were (in order): Montana, North Dakota State, Youngstown State, Massachusetts, Northern Iowa, New Hampshire, James Madison, Furman and Cal Poly. The full results are listed below.

A total of 24 squads received more than the five points required to receive mention outside of the top 25.

The Colonial Athletic Association, FCS's largest league and the Gateway Football Conference lead the way with four teams in the Top 25; the Big Sky Conference, the Great West Football Conference and the Southern Conference had three each; the Ohio Valley Conference and the Southland Conference had two each; and the Big South Conference, Ivy League, the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference and the Patriot League were each represented with one squad.

The pollsters also named Northern Iowa and Wofford (tie) as the biggest rising teams from 2006 and Montana State as the biggest falling team.

In comparison to other polls, the AGS Poll had as many or more of it's preseason top 25 on it's final regular season poll than either of the other two polls (coaches and media) had on their's the past three years. The AGS Poll also had as many or more of it's preseason top 25 on it's final regular season poll make the playoffs than either of the other two polls the past three years.

AGS is the world's largest online community devoted to all of the FCS. The AGS Poll was created in 2004 to give distinguished members of the AGS community a place to voice their opinion, vote for the top 25 FCS programs in the nation, and provide the media and coaches of FCS a valuable resource to gauge general sentiment.

In order to ensure that the poll is accurate and fair, a committee of AGS veteran members has established guidelines for voter eligibility and accountability. The AGS Poll will be announced weekly throughout the season on Mondays and a final poll will be announced shortly after the National Championship game.

AGS also sponsors the national syndicated CSN WAVES show hosted by Ralph Wallace of College Sporting News that airs Tuesday nights at 8:00 p.m. during the season.

Any Given Saturday Poll Preseason Top 25 (First place votes in parenthesis) 1. Appalachian State (97) 2. Montana (16) 3. North Dakota State 4. Youngstown State 5. Massachusetts (1) 6. Northern Iowa (1) 7. New Hampshire 8. James Madison 9. Furman 10. Cal Poly 11. Illinois State 12. McNeese State 13. Southern Illinois 14. Portland State 15. Hampton 16. Wofford 17. Tennessee-Martin 18. Delaware 19. Eastern Illinois 20. Sam Houston State 21. Montana State 22. South Dakota State 23. Lehigh 24. Coastal Carolina 25. Yale

Others receiving votes (minimum of 5 votes): Towson (61), UC Davis (59), Lafayette (40), Princeton (39), Maine (33), Harvard (26), San Diego (26), South Carolina State (22), Georgia Southern (17), Eastern Kentucky (14), Northern Arizona (14), Richmond (12), Central Arkansas (10), Liberty (10), Northwestern State (8), Western Illinois (8), Delaware State (7), Northeastern (7), Albany (6), Colgate (6), Texas State (6), The Citadel (6), Alabama A&M (5), Jacksonville State (5).

BIGGEST RISING TEAM FROM 2006: Northern Iowa, Wofford (tie) BIGGEST FALLING TEAM FROM 2006: Montana State