College football: SIU No. 5 in preseason I-AA poll

Defending NCAA Division I-AA champion James Madison tops the preseason poll from the Sports Network.

Southern Illinois, which ended the regular season at No. 1 last season, is ranked No. 5 to start this year. The Salukis will be the opening opponent for Southeast Missouri State on Sept. 1.

Defending Ohio Valley Conference champion Jacksonville State is No. 20.

Division I-AA Poll

The top 25 teams in the preseason Sports Network Division I-AA football poll, with first-place votes in parentheses, 2004 records and final ranking:

Record Pts Pvs

1. James Madison (49) 13-2 2,333 1

2. Furman (21) 10-3 2,251 5

3. Montana (14) 12-3 2,215 2

4. Eastern Washington (11) 9-4 2,053 8

5. Southern Illinois (3) 10-2 1,842 9

6. Georgia Southern 9-3 1,841 10

7. New Hampshire 10-3 1,731 6

8. Western Kentucky 9-3 1,698 11

9. William & Mary (1) 11-3 1,547 3

10. Delaware 9-4 1,538 7

11. Northwestern State 8-4 1,431 17

12. Northern Iowa 7-4 1,102 25

13. Hampton 10-2 1,076 13

14. Lehigh 9-3 963 15

15. Massachusetts (1) 6-5 869 --

16. Sam Houston State 11-3 712 4

17. Cal Poly-San Luis Obispo 9-2 681 16

18. Montana State 6-5 671 --

19. Harvard (1) 10-0 661 13

20. Jacksonville State 9-2 658 14

21. Wofford 8-3 502 18

22. North Dakota State 8-3 421 23

23. Texas State 5-6 308 --

24. Hofstra 5-6 299 --

25. Grambling State 6-5 293 --