The new college football season is fast approaching and with it comes the first release of the AGS Poll for the 2024 season. 46 members of the community at AnyGivenSaturday.com voted to come up with the consensus for this first release. A familiar face was at the top as 2-time defending national champion South Dakota State claimed the #1 spot garnering 43 of 46 first place votes. This was the 16th consecutive release of the AGS Poll that the Jackrabbits have topped. They were followed by defending national runner-up Montana at #2. North Dakota State and Montana State came in at #3 and #4, respectively, as Villanova rounded out the top 5 at #5.
As is normal for the preseason poll there were a few teams taking big leaps from the final poll of 2023 and those teams were headlined by Central Arkansas who came in at #13 despite finishing 2023 in the ORV section of the poll at #30. Incarnate Word was another team the AGS consensus has on the rise moving up 9 spots to #15. William & Mary and Illinois State were two teams that finished 2023 not even listed in the AGS Poll but came in at #16 and tied at #22, respectively, in the first release of the 2024 poll. Nicholls was also among the teams making big jumps moving up 14 spots to #19. The Tarleton Texans made their first ever appearance in the AGS Top 25 coming in at #23 and Weber State also cracked the top 25 after finishing outside of it in 2023 coming in with a tie at #25.
As for teams going the opposite direction Albany dropped 9 spots to #14 in the initial 2024 poll after an improbable run to the semifinals last season. Youngstown State tumbled down 11 spots from their final 2023 position into a tie at #25 in the initial 2024 poll. Due to being ineligible with their pending move to CUSA and the FBS, Delaware dropped out of the top 25 snapping a streak of 28 straight appearances. Other teams exiting the top 25 in this poll after finishing 2023 inside of it were Mercer, Austin Peay, North Carolina Central, and Florida A&M.
In terms of conference representation the MVFC led the way placing 7 teams into the top 25. They were followed by the Big Sky with 6, the CAA with 4, the SOCON with 3, and the UAC and Southland with 2 teams each in the top 25. In all 8 conferences were represented in the initial AGS Top 25 of the 2024 season.
Full results below:
| Rank | Change | Team | Total Points | First Place Votes |
| 1 | – | South Dakota State Jackrabbits | 1147 | 43 |
| 2 | – | Montana Grizzlies | 1074 | 1 |
| 3 | – | North Dakota State Bison | 1070 | 2 |
| 4 | 3 | Montana State Bobcats | 990 | |
| 5 | 1 | Villanova Wildcats | 938 | |
| 6 | 2 | South Dakota Coyotes | 879 | |
| 7 | 1 | Idaho Vandals | 789 | |
| 8 | -4 | Furman Paladins | 704 | |
| 9 | 2 | Chattanooga Mocs | 693 | |
| 10 | – | Southern Illinois Salukis | 613 | |
| 11 | 1 | Sac State Hornets | 597 | |
| 12 | 6 | Richmond Spiders | 524 | |
| 13 | 17 | Central Arkansas Bears | 483 | |
| 14 | -9 | Albany Great Danes | 439 | |
| 15 | 9 | Incarnate Word Cardinals | 426 | |
| 16 | NR | William & Mary Tribe | 329 | |
| 17 | 4 | UC Davis Aggies | 327 | |
| 18 | 1 | Lafayette Leopards | 300 | |
| 19 | 14 | Nicholls Colonels | 260 | |
| 20 | 5 | Western Carolina Catamounts | 259 | |
| 21 | 2 | Tennesee-Martin Skyhawks | 253 | |
| 22T | NR | Illinois State Redbirds | 209 | |
| 22T | -5 | North Dakota Fighting Hawks | 209 | |
| 24 | 7 | Tarleton Texans | 206 | |
| 25T | 9 | Weber State Wildcats | 185 | |
| 25T | -11 | Youngstown State Penguins | 185 | |
| ORV: | ||||
| 27 | -12 | Mercer Bears | 120 | |
| 28 | -12 | Austin Peay Governors | 110 | |
| 29 | NR | Elon Phoenix | 72 | |
| 30 | – | Northern Iowa Panthers | 69 | |
| 31 | 4 | Eastern Illinois Panthers | 66 | |
| 32 | -10 | North Carolina Central Eagles | 65 | |
| 33 | 7 | New Hampshire Wildcats | 64 | |
| 34 | -7 | Holy Cross Crusaders | 59 | |
| 35 | -15 | Florida A&M Panthers | 53 | |
| 36 | -7 | Harvard Crimson | 29 | |
| 37 | – | Duquesne Dukes | 22 | |
| 38T | NR | Alcorn State Braves | 16 | |
| 38T | -6 | Yale Bulldogs | 16 | |
| 40 | NR | Alabama State Hornets | 13 | |
Dropped out of the poll:
Delaware Fightin’ Blue Hens
Drake Bulldogs
Gardner-Webb Runnin’ Bulldogs
Samford Bulldogs
Join the discussion here: https://www.anygivensaturday.com/showthread.php?361429-AGS-Poll-Results-2024-PRESEASON-POLL