STEPHENVILLE — After earning a No. 10 ranking in the Stats Perform FCS Preseason Top 25 Poll and picked to win the conference in 2025, the Texans have earned their best preseason honor yet, ranked No. 8 in the AFCA FCS Coaches Poll to open 2025.
The Texans earned 454 points in the poll, which is voted on by coaches across the FCS. Ranked. No. 10 in the Stats Perform FCS Preseason Top 25 Poll last week, Tarleton State was placed ahead of both Montana and Rhode Island in the AFCA FCS Coaches Poll compared to the other.
Last year, the Texans were ranked No. 21 in the preseason poll, rose as high as No. 7 at the end of October, and finished No. 12 in the final AFCA FCS Coaches Poll. The Texans were ranked in both the Stats Perform FCS Top 25 poll and AFCA FCS Coaches Poll every single week of the 2024 campaign, one of just 11 teams nationwide to never leave the polls.
This year, Tarleton State is the highest ranked UAC team in the poll, one of two representatives, with Abilene Christian No. 16. North Dakota State is No. 1 with 650 points, Montana State No. 2 with 612 points, South Dakota State No. 3 with 581 points, Incarnate Word No. 4 with 541 points, South Dakota No. 5 with 521 points, Illinois State No. 6 with 466 points, UC Davisv No. 7 with 456 points, and Tarleton State eighth with 454 points.
On July 16, Tarleton State was voted to win the United Athletic Conference, receiving eight of the possible nine first-place votes and a total 80 points. Abilene Christian was voted to finish second with 68 points, receiving the other first-place vote.
Last year, the Texans went 10-4 overall and 6-2 in United Athletic Conference play, winning their FCS Playoffs debut against Drake before dropping a tight contest at No. 4 South Dakota in Vermillion in the second round. The Texans became the fifth team in the history of the FCS Playoffs (Division I-AA Playoffs), which goes back 46 years, to win their first playoff game at the FCS level in their first year eligible after reclassifying from NCAA Division II. The Texans earned the No. 13 seed in the FCS Playoffs among the 24-team field across 129 FCS programs in just their first year of championship eligibility. They had become just the first team fresh off of reclassification to make the playoffs since 2009 (South Dakota State).
Entering 2025, Tarleton State returns veteran quarterback Victor Gabalis, who is the unanimous Preseason UAC Offensive Player of the Year. Four other Texan returners who earned Preseason All-Conference honors are offensive lineman Hunter Smith, defensive lineman Brandon Tolvert, linebacker Ty Rawls and defensive back Kasyus Kurns.
The full AFCA FCS Coaches Poll:
1. North Dakota State
2. Montana State
3. South Dakota State
4. Incarnate Word
5. South Dakota
6. Illinois State
7. UC Davis
8. Tarleton State
9. Montana
10. Rhode Island
11. Mercer
12. Idaho
13. Villanova
14. Sacramento State
15. Lehigh
16. Abilene Christian
17. Jackson State
18. Northern Arizona
19. Western Carolina
20. Southern Illinois
21. Monmouth
22t. Richmond
22t. Tennessee Tech
24. Stephen F. Austin
25. Stony Brook
Be the first to comment