Defending champion Georgia Southern and finalist Montana received all but one first-place vote and are 1-2 in the preseason Division I-AA coaches poll, released Thursday.

Georgia Southern was the overwhelming top choice as it received 35 first-place votes and 969 points from a panel of Division I-AA coaches.

The Southern Conference school has played in the national title game three years in a row and is aiming for an unprecedented third consecutive championship.

The Eagles are coming off a 13-2 season capped by a 27-25 win over Montana in December's championship game. They return 16 starters, including star running back Adrian Peterson, who has rushed for 100 yards or more in all 43 of his college games.

Montana received three first-place votes and 913 points. The Grizzlies were No. 1 in last season's final poll. They return 14 starts from a 13-2 squad.

Hofstra is third with 727 points, followed by four-time champion Youngstown State (726), Western Kentucky (724), Appalachian State (720) and Delaware (717). All except Youngstown State advanced to the quarterfinals last year.

No. 8 is Furman, which received the remaining first-place vote and 649 points. The Paladins lost in the first round of last year's I-AA playoffs but return 19 starters, including 2000 Payton Award winner Louis Ivory, who ran for 2,079 yards.

McNeese State and Eastern Illinois complete the top 10.

Lehigh is 11th, followed by Florida A&M, Richmond, Western Illinois, Grambling, Illinois State, Portland State, Northern Iowa and Southwest Texas State.

Massachusetts and Bethune-Cookman tied for 20th and Troy State, Villanova, Tennessee Tech and Wofford complete the rankings. A total of 66 teams received at least one vote.

The final poll is released at the end of the regular season. A total of 16 teams make the I-AA playoffs.

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