No strangers to being favorites, the North Dakota State Bison are once again expected to win the Missouri Valley Football Conference championship in 2016, a title they've held or shared each of the last five years.

According to GoBison.com, NDSU received 37 of a possible 39 first-place votes, which helped land them the top spot on the 2016 MVFC Preseason Poll.

The other two first-place votes went to Northern Iowa, who the Bison defeated in both the regular season and the playoffs last season. The two teams will do battle again this season in Iowa on October 29th.

Here's this year's Missouri Valley Football Conference Preseason Poll, courtesy of GoBison.com:

  1. North Dakota State (37)
  2. Northern Iowa (2)
  3. South Dakota State
  4. Illinois State
  5. Youngstown State
  6. Western Illinois
  7. South Dakota
  8. Southern Illinois
  9. Indiana State
  10. Missouri State

The Bison also placed five different players on the 2016 Missouri Valley Football Conference Preseason Team, including seniors King Frazier, Zack Johnson, and Nick DeLuca.

NDSU begins their quest for a sixth straight MVFC and FCS championship on Saturday, August 27th, against Charleston Southern.

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