​Jul. 14—SIOUX FALLS — For the third time in the last four seasons, South Dakota State is the preseason favorite in the Missouri Valley Football Conference ahead of the 2026 season, the league announced on Tuesday.SDSU received 28 of the 36 first-place votes and 312 vote points to land in first place. Illinois State was second with 256 points, Youngstown State was third with 235 points, followed by North Dakota in fourth (211) and South Dakota in fifth (196).AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementThe rest of the league preseason order included Southern Illinois in sixth, Northern Iowa in seventh, Indiana State in eighth and Murray State in ninth place.The preseason poll was announced in conjunction with the conference’s media day event on Tuesday at the Sanford Pentagon.A total of five teams received first place votes, with three for Illinois State, which played in the FCS championship game and finished as national runner-up in January. UND and USD each got two first-place votes and SIU also picked up a first-place nod.Of course, it’s the first preseason poll in nearly two decades that doesn’t include North Dakota State, which departed from the Valley in February for the FBS level and moved to the Mountain West Conference. NDSU was the preseason favorite 11 times since 2011 after winning 10 national titles at the FCS level.AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementIllinois State is a preseason top-two team in the Valley for the first time since 2015, while it’s the highest preseason ranking for Youngstown State in the conference since 2017, when it was tabbed third in the preseason.Missouri Valley Football Conference preseason pollTeams listed in order of vote points. First-place votes in parentheses.1. South Dakota State (28) 3122. Illinois State (3) 2563. Youngstown State 2354. North Dakota (2) 2115. South Dakota (1) 1966. Southern Illinois (1) 1867. Northern Iowa 998. Indiana State 809. Murray State 45