CHICAGO, Ill. — With August upon us and the first game of the 2025 season within sight, the first preseason FCS football poll dropped. The Coyotes will enter the campaign at No. 4 in the STATS Perform preseason media poll.
 
USD ended the 2024 campaign ranked No. 4 by STATS Perform and will enter the new season under Travis Johansen with the same rank. The Coyotes were one of three teams to secure a first-place vote and secured 1,277 total points.
 
South Dakota is coming off a record-breaking season, making their first-ever appearance in the FCS Playoffs semifinals and ended the year with an 11-3 (7-1 MVFC) record with a share of the Missouri Valley Football Conference (MVFC) crown.
 
Including USD, four MVFC teams find themselves ranked inside the top-10 with reigning national champions North Dakota State at No. 1, South Dakota State at No. 2, and Illinois State at No. 6. Southern Illinois is the fifth team ranked, checking in at No. 20 to start the season. Both North Dakota and Youngstown State are receiving votes in the initial poll.
 
NDSU secured 54 of the 56 first-place votes. Montana State also snagged one, checking in at No. 2. The full list of rankings can be found linked above.
 
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.