STEPHENVILLE, Texas — Tarleton State Football has opened up 2026 with consecutive top-five rankings in both of the major national polls.
On Monday, the Texans were slotted No. 5 in the
2026 Preseason AFCA FCS Coaches Poll. Two weeks ago, the Texans were also slotted No. 5 in the
Stats Perform FCS Preseason Top 25 Poll.
Last year, the Texans finished No. 6 in both of the final major national polls, the Stats Perform Top 25 Poll and the AFCA FCS Coaches Poll. The Texans rose as high as No. 2 during the season.
In the AFCA Coaches Poll, Tarleton State earned 527 points, with No. 1 Montana State at 649 points, No. 2 Montana at 605 points, No. 3 South Dakota State at 591 points and No. 4 Illinois State at 553 points. The AFCA FCS Coaches Poll is voted on by the panel chosen by random draw, conference by conference plus independents, from a pool of coaches who have indicated to the AFCA their willingness to participate. Each coach submits a Top-25 with a first-place vote worth 25 points, second-place 24, and so on down to one point for 25th.
The Texans have been ranked in 27 straight iterations of the polls, dating back to the preseason polls in 2024. Tarleton State is one of eight teams to have been ranked in each poll over the past two seasons, along with Illinois State, Montana, Montana State, North Dakota State, South Dakota State, UC Davis and Villanova. Seven of the eight programs made the 2026 preseason poll, the outlier North Dakota State, who is now in the FBS.
In the AFCA Coaches Poll, Tarleton State is the highest ranked UAC team, with Abilene Christian No. 14 and Austin Peay No. 18.
2026 Preseason AFCA Coaches Poll
1 Montana St.
2 Montana
3 South Dakota St.
4 Illinois St.
5 Tarleton St.
6 UC Davis
7 Villanova
8 Rhode Island
9 Youngstown St.
10 North Dakota
11 Lehigh 12-1
12 South Dakota
13 Stephen F. Austin
14 ACU
15 Tennessee Tech
16 Southern Illinois
17 Mercer
18 Austin Peay
19 Yale
20 Southeastern Louisiana
21 Lamar
22 UT Martin
23 Monmouth
24 Northern Arizona
25 South Carolina St.
