The second national preseason FCS poll in the country was released earlier today with Liberty entering the season ranked No. 15 in the STATS FCS Top 25 poll.
Last week, the 2015 FCS Coaches Poll was released and the Flames were ranked No. 14 in the preseason listing.
Following its run to the second round of 2014 NCAA FCS Playoffs, Liberty finished last year ranked No. 17 in both the Sports Network and FCS Coaches polls.
Liberty’s FCS Coaches Poll preseason ranking is the program’s highest preseason ranking since the Flames were ranked No. 9 in the Sports Network preseason poll in 1996.
Liberty finished 2014 with a 9-5 record and claimed its seventh Big South title in the last eight years. The Flames nine-win season tied for the second highest win total in program history (Liberty also won nine games in 1979 and 1997).
The Flames defeated three ranked opponents in 2014. Liberty knocked off No. 1 ranked Coastal Carolina during the final week of the regular season to capture the league’s automatic bid to the NCAA FCS Playoffs.
The following week, Liberty upended No. 15 James Madison during the first round of the NCAA FCS Playoffs, Liberty’s first-ever postseason appearance in program history.
Two of Liberty’s 2015 opponents appeared on the 2015 FCS Coaches Poll preseason ranking. Both opponents will make trips to Williams Stadium in 2015 with Coastal Carolina being ranked No. 5 (Nov. 21) and Montana being ranked No. 13 (Sept. 19).
Coastal Carolina received the same national ranking in the FCS Coaches Poll, while Montana was listed at No. 12 in the preseason listing.
The Big South was one of six FCS conferences in the country with multiple teams listed in the 2015 STATS FCS Top 25 preseason poll.
Six teams from the Missouri Valley were included in the top 25 ranking, while the CAA, Big Sky and Southland each had four selections. The Big South and the OVC both had two conference members listed in the top 25 preseason poll.
– Source: Liberty Athletics
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