After being voted as favorites to repeat as Southland Conference champions, the Nicholls State University football team will start the season ranked No. 12 in the STATS FCS Preseason Top 25 Poll.
Nicholls State University has a pair of 2015 Franklinton graduates on its team, in offensive lineman P.J. Burkhalter and defensive back Josh Magee.
Nicholls, which was ranked in the top 25 for the entire season last year and ended at No. 14, received 2,156 points to lead all Southland schools. Sam Houston State also landed in the preseason top 25 at No. 23, while Central Arkansas, McNeese, UIW, Lamar, Abilene Christian, and Southeastern Louisiana all received votes.
The Colonels are coming off consecutive playoff appearances, highlighted by a first-round victory over San Diego last season. Nicholls fell to eventual national runner-up Eastern Washington, which enters the season ranked at No. 4.
Two-time defending champion North Dakota State received 142 of 160 first-place votes to lead all teams. James Madison ranked at No. 2 and was followed by South Dakota State, EWU, and UC Davis.