As the Bowie State Bulldogs prepare to return to the football field after the CIAA opted to sit out the 2020 football season, they will be ranked 18th overall in the American Football Coaches Association Preseason Division II Coaches Poll.
They are the only HBCU that appears on the poll with the Miles Golden Bears (15 votes), Virginia Union Panthers (6 votes), Fayetteville State Broncos (2 votes) and Virginia State Trojans (1 vote) each receiving votes but failing to make the list.
The Bulldogs have been on a dominant run in the CIAA appearing in four of the last five CIAA championship games winning each of the last two.
Also read: Bowie State odds on favorite to win CIAA in preseason conference poll
Bowie State enters the 2021 season as the favorite to win their third straight conference title led by reigning CIAA Offensive Player of the Year quarterback Ja’rome Johnson and CIAA Defensive Player of the Year Demetri Morsell.
BSU is looking to become the first team to win three consecutive CIAA championships since Hampton did it from 1992-1994.
They are coming off a 2019 season in which they finished the regular season with a 10-0 record going 7-0 in conference. It was the first time in school history the Bulldogs finished the regular season with an unbeaten record.
Bowie State will kick off the 2021 season on September 4 when the Bulldogs travel to face the MEAC’s Delaware State Hornets.
2021 American Football Coaches Association Preseason Division II Coaches’ Poll – August 16, 2021
| Rank | School (1st votes) | 2019 Rec. | Pts. | 2019 Rank | Season Opener | Head Coach |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | West Florida (26) | 13-2 | 698 | 1 | Sept. 2 at McNeese (La.) | Pete Shinnick |
| 2 | Minnesota St. (2) | 14-1 | 673 | 2 | Sept. 2 vs. Northern St. (S.D.) | Todd Hoffner |
| 3 | Ferris St. (Mich.) | 12-1 | 630 | 3 | Sept. 2 vs. Findlay (Ohio) | Tony Annese |
| 4 | Northwest Missouri St. (1) | 12-2 | 575 | 7 | Sept. 2 at No. 24 Fort Hays St. (Kan.) | Rich Wright |
| 5 | Slippery Rock (Pa.) | 13-1 | 544 | 6 | Sept. 2 at Wayne St. (Mich.) | Shawn Lutz |
| 6t. | Lenoir-Rhyne (N.C.) | 13-1 | 540 | 4 | Sept. 4 at Virginia St. | Mike Jacobs |
| 6t. | Valdosta St. (Ga.) | 10-1 | 540 | 5 | Sept. 2 vs. Savannah St. (Ga.) | Gary Goff |
| 8 | Texas A&M-Commerce | 10-3 | 520 | 11 | Sept. 2 at No. 13 Colorado St.-Pueblo | David Bailiff |
| 9 | Notre Dame (Ohio) | 12-2 | 501 | 10 | Sept. 4 vs. Ashland (Ohio) | Mickey Mental |
| 10 | Colorado School of Mines | 12-1 | 423 | 8 | Sept. 2 vs. Western Oregon | Gregg Brandon |
| 11 | Ouachita Baptist (Ark.) | 11-1 | 387 | 14 | Sept. 2 vs. Oklahoma Baptist | Todd Knight |
| 12 | Colorado St.-Pueblo | 11-2 | 327 | 12 | Sept. 2 vs. No. 8 Texas A&M-Commerce | John Wristen |
| 13 | Central Missouri | 11-2 | 323 | 13 | Sept. 2 vs. Pittsburg St. (Kan.) | Jim Svoboda |
| 14 | Indianapolis (Ind.) | 9-2 | 261 | 17 | Sept. 4 at Saint Xavier (Ill.) | Chris Keevers |
| 15 | Shepherd (W.Va.) | 10-3 | 256 | 22 | Sept. 2 at Ohio Dominican | Ernie McCook |
| 16 | Grand Valley St. (Mich.) | 8-3 | 231 | NR | Sept. 2 vs. Edinboro (Pa.) | Matt Mitchell |
| 17 | Indiana (Pa.) | 10-2 | 220 | 21 | Sept. 11 vs. No. 20 Kutztown (Pa.) | Paul Tortorella |
| 18 | Bowie St. (Md.) | 11-1 | 210 | 18 | Sept. 4 at Delaware St. | Damon Wilson |
| 19 | Tiffin (Ohio) | 9-2 | 188 | 23 | Sept. 4 at Marian (Ind.) | Chris Reisert |
| 20 | Kutztown (Pa.) | 11-2 | 144 | 16 | Sept. 4 vs. Assumption (Mass.) | Jim Clements |
| 21 | Lindenwood (Mo.) | 9-4 | 134 | 25 | Sept. 2 vs. Angelo St. (Texas) | Jed Stugart |
| 22 | Harding (Ark.) | 10-2 | 120 | 15 | Sept. 4 vs. East Central (Okla.) | Paul Simmons |
| 23 | Minnesota-Duluth | 8-3 | 100 | NR | Sept. 2 at Upper Iowa | Curt Wiese |
| 24t. | Carson-Newman (Tenn.) | 9-3 | 95 | 20 | Sept. 2 vs. West Georgia | Mike Clowney |
| 24t. | Wingate (N.C.) | 10-2 | 95 | 16 | Sept. 2 vs. Shaw (N.C.) | Joe Reich |
*– Ranking in final AFCA Division II Poll of 2019
Others Receiving Votes: Fort Hays St., 90; Tusculum (Tenn.), 52; Angelo St. (Texas), 49; Augustana (S.D.), 42; Ashland (Ohio), 38; West Chester (Pa.), 38; Delta St. (Miss.), 35; West Texas A&M, 26; Midwestern St. (Texas), 25; Bentley (Mass.), 24; Henderson St. (Ark.), 24; Sioux Falls (S.D.), 23; UT-Permian Basin (Texas), 23; Ohio Dominican, 20; Findlay (Ohio), 18; West Alabama, 18; California (Pa.), 17; Charleston (W.Va.), 16; Central Washington, 15; Miles (Ala.), 15; Truman St. (Mo.), 15; Oklahoma Baptist, 14; Assumption (Mass.), 9; Pittsburg St. (Kan.), 8; Wayne St. (Mich.), 8; Saginaw Valley St. (Mich.), 6; Virginia Union, 6; Chadron St. (Neb.), 4; Nebraska-Kearney, 4; Fayetteville St. (N.C.), 2; West Georgia, 2; Hillsdale (Mich.), 1; Missouri Western, 1; Virginia St., 1; Western Oregon, 1.
