WACO, Texas — The second of the two major FCS polls have been released for the 2025 season from the American Football Coaches Association (AFCA) which have the South Dakota football team starting the season at No. 5 in the FCS.
 
USD ended the 2024 campaign ranked No. 3 by the coaches' poll and will enter the new season under Travis Johansen still inside the top-5.
 
North Dakota State will start the season at No. 1 as the reigning national champion. The Bison secured all 26 first-place votes to start the year. National runner-up Montana State comes in at No. 2, followed by South Dakota State at No. 3. Sliding up past the Coyotes for No. 4 is UIW (Texas) who secured 541 points.
 
Five Missouri Valley Football Conference (MVFC) teams are ranked inside the top-25, with four being inside the top-10 as Illinois State checks in at No. 6. Southern Illinois will begin the season at No. 20. Four more MVFC teams will start the season receiving votes:  North Dakota, Youngstown State, Northern Iowa, and Indiana State.
 
The season opens with a trip to Big 12 country when the Yotes battle the Iowa State Cyclones on August 30 at 2:30 p.m. on FOX from Jack Trice Stadium in Ames, Iowa.