Most of us knew our final FCS schedule was going to be a tough one as soon as it was released. But with today's release of the
STATS Preseason Top 25 and the recent release of the
HERO Sports Top 25 and all the conference preseason polls, we finally have some "hard data" (of sorts) to back this up.
vs SFA (in Montgomery) - #10 STATS, #11 HERO, picked to win the WAC, with 4 of 5 1st place votes.
vs Davidson - Unranked, but picked to win the Pioneer, with 8 of 11 1st place votes.
@ Murray - Unranked, picked 3rd in OVC.
@ Tulsa - Picked 8th of 11 teams in the AAC; finished 7-6 in 2021 with a bowl win over Belt-bound ODU; one computer has the Golden Hurricane ranked comparably to JMU, SHSU, SDSU, and NDSU. So basically, a Top 5 FCS program.
@ Nicholls - Unranked, picked 3rd in Southland, with 2 of 16 1st place votes.
vs Kennesaw - #8 STATS, #8 HERO, picked to win the ASUN, with 4 of 6 1st place votes.
vs UNA - Unranked, picked last in ASUN, but it is a rivalry game, especially for them.
vs Southeast Louisiana - #17 STATS, #20 HERO, picked to win the Southland, with 7 of 16 1st place votes.
@ Austin Peay - Unranked, picked 5th in ASUN, with 1 of 6 1st place votes. And they've had our number recently.
vs EKU - #27 among ORV in STATS, Unranked in HERO, picked in a tie for 2nd in the ASUN.
@ UCA - #34 among ORV in STATS, Unranked in HERO, picked in a tie for 2nd in the ASUN, with 1 of 6 1st place votes.