#22 URI Football Enters 2022 Season With Expectations Near All Time High

– Rhode Island landed at No. 22 in the Stats Perform FCS Preseason Top 25, which was released Monday morning.

The Rams spent six weeks inside the Stats Perform Top 25 last season, reaching as high as No. 12 in the poll. URI ended the season receiving votes just outside the top 25.

FCS champ North Dakota State an overwhelming No. 1 in Stats Perform poll, receiving 52 of the 54 first-place votes. The Bison had 1,348 points, giving them breathing room ahead of South Dakota State (1,285), Montana (1,218) and Montana State (1,203). The Missouri Valley had three of the top five teams, as Missouri State was fifth with 1,066 points

North Dakota State has won nine of the last 11 national titles and returns 13 starters from a team that finished 14-1, including senior fullback Hunter Luepke, who was named the most outstanding player of the Bison’s 38-10 rout of Montana State in the national championship game.

The Big Sky Conference had the most ranked teams with six, led by Montana (10-3) and Montana State (12-3). The MVFC to five Top 25 selections, while CAA Football had the third-most with four, led by No. 6 Villanova (10-3).

In addition to Villanova, the CAA was represented by No. 19 Delaware, Rhode Island and No. 24 Richmond. William & Mary, league newcomer Monmouth and Elon all received votes as well.

Ten different conferences were represented in the rankings.

A national media panel selects the Stats Perform FCS Top 25. A first-place vote is worth 25 points, a second-place vote 24 points, all the way down to one point for a 25th-place vote.

STATS PERFORM FCS PRESEASON TOP 25
1. North Dakota State (52) – 1,348
2. South Dakota State (2) – 1,285
3. Montana – 1,218
4. Montana State – 1,203
5. Missouri State – 1,066
6. Villanova – 997
7. Sacramento State – 991
8. Kennesaw State – 959
9. Southern Illinois – 915
10. Stephen F. Austin – 813
11. ETSU – 750
12. Chattanooga – 562
13. Eastern Washington – 538
14. UIW – 533
15. Jackson State – 515
16. Holy Cross – 503
17. Southeastern Louisiana – 440
18. UT Martin – 404
19. Delaware – 401
20. Weber State – 391
21. Northern Iowa – 289
22. Rhode Island – 242
23. Mercer – 215
24. Richmond – 166
25. UC Davis – 153

Others Receiving Votes (schools listed on two or more ballots): South Dakota (7-5, 5-3 Missouri Valley) 151, Eastern Kentucky (7-4, 4-2 ASUN-WAC) 129, Florida A&M (9-3, 7-1 SWAC) 78, William & Mary (6-5, 4-4 CAA) 66, Dartmouth (9-1, 6-1 Ivy) 59, Monmouth (7-4, 6-1 Big South) 23, Harvard (8-2, 5-2 Ivy) 19, Princeton (9-1, 6-1 Ivy) 18, Central Arkansas (5-6, 3-3 ASUN-WAC) 14, Furman (6-5, 4-4 Southern) 14, South Carolina State (7-5, 5-0 MEAC) 13, Sacred Heart (8-4, 6-1 Northeast) 12, Elon (6-5, 5-3 CAA) 8, North Carolina A&T (5-6, 3-4 Big South) 4
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Stats Perform FCS Top 25 Voters – Stats Perform: Craig Haley, Gary Reasons. ASUN: John Bednarowski, Brian Morgan. Big Sky Conference: Doug Kelly, Tyson Rodgers, Larry Weir. Big South Conference: Brian Cleary, Mark Simpson. CAA Football: Matt Harmon, Scott Klatzkin, Rob Washburn. Ivy League: Rick Bender, Craig Larson. Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference: Bill Hamilton, Maurice Williams. Missouri Valley Football Conference: Dom Izzo, Mike Kern, Randy Reinhardt. Northeast Conference: Sarah Boissonneault, Randy Brochu. Ohio Valley Conference: Mike Bradd, Kyle Schwartz. Patriot League: Eric Malanowski, Ryan Sakamoto. Pioneer Football League: Cody Bush, Jack Cronin. Southern Conference: Jeff Hartsell, Scott Keeler, Phil Perry. Southland Conference: Matthew Bonnette, James Dixon, Josh Yonis. Southwestern Athletic Conference: Ronnie Johnson, Andrew Roberts, Jacob Shames. Western Athletic Conference: Eric Danner, Dennis Driscoll. National Representatives: Josh Buchanan, Zack Carlton, Riley Corcoran, Sam Herder, Emory Hunt, Kyle Kensing, Brandon Lawrence, Zach McKinnell, Brian McLaughlin, Jon Passman, Kent Schmidt, Lawrence Smith, Phil Sokol, Reggie Thomas, Ralph Ventre, Jamie Williams.