The Saluki Football team is gearing up for the 2023 season and may have added some fuel to the first on Monday when the Stats Perform Top 25 poll was released.  The Dawgs received recognition with vote but didn’t crack the top 25.

The Salukis received a total of 66 votes, putting them at an unofficial ranking of No. 29, tied with MVFC rival Youngstown State.

Four MVFC teams are ranked in the Top 25 in the Stats Perform Preseason Top 25.  South Dakota State and North Dakota State are No. 1 and No. 2 in the poll.  Those two occupied the top two spots eight weeks last year (NDSU was No. 1 for 7 of those weeks), before meeting in the national championship game in Frisco, a game won by SDSU.

It marks the 50th time in league history that two MVFC teams had held two of the Top 3 spots in a national poll.  The title game matchup in 2022 marked the second in FCS history featuring two teams from the same league (the other was NDSU vs. Illinois State in January 2015).

North Dakota ranks in at No. 17 while Northern Iowa is voted the No. 23 team in the country.

Additionally, the SEMO Redhawks come in as the No. 12 team in the preseason rankings.

The Salukis finished last season with a 5-6 record and went 4-4 in conference.  Of the several teams named in this article, SIU will battle SEMO, Youngstown State, South Dakota State, and North Dakota State this coming season.

The open the year vs. Austin Peay, another team that received votes in the preseason poll, on Saturday, September 2 at Saluki Stadium.