The Sports Network, purveyors of the most-trusted ranking of FCS football schools released their pre-season poll results this afternoon. Andy Talley's Wildcats took the top spot in the poll, with 104 of a possible 126 first-place votes. They were followed by last season's runner-up, the Montana Grizzlies.
In all, four members of the CAA conference appeared in the top-10 of the poll, and six overall were ranked in the top-25. This includes last season's semi-final foes, William & Mary, who appeared at #4, the Richmond Spiders (the 2008 National Champions) at #6, New Hampshire at #1o, James Madison at #15 and Delaware at #16.
Since 2000, a CAA school has appeared in the FCS National Championship game six times, including the last four. Of those six appearances, a CAA team has won the title 4 times since the beginning of the decade.