With its season opener approaching on Saturday against South Dakota at Hancock Stadium, the Illinois State football team was ranked No. 7 in the first Stats Perform FCS top 25 on Monday.
Five Missouri Valley Football Conference teams are ranked with defending national champion North Dakota State first.
South Dakota State is third after opening with a win over Northern Iowa, which is ranked fifth.
MVFC newcomer North Dakota is No. 14 after defeating Southern Illinois in its Valley debut.
Rounding out the top five are No. 2 James Madison and No.