The start of the 2022 college football season is around the corner and preseason polls are starting to trickle out for every level of the game.

The AFCA Coaches Poll for the FCS was released Monday afternoon with two in-state programs ranked inside the top 15. Stephen F. Austin checked in at 10th with Incarnate Word sitting at 14th entering the season. Both teams reached the FCS Playoffs in 2021 with UIW winning a thriller in overtime over SFA in the first round of the playoffs. UIW was eventually knocked out by Sam Houston. 

Sam Houston, usually a stalwart in the FCS rankings, is not eligible to win the WAC or reach the FCS playoffs in 2022 as the Bearkats transition into the FBS ranks over the next few seasons. Sam Houston will play a nine-game schedule in 2022. SFA enters the 2022 season as the clear favorite in the WAC with UIW shifting back to the Southland Conference over the summer. Both programs feel like shoe-ins to reach the FCS playoffs again in 2022.