The University of New Hampshire football team is ranked No. 14 in The Sports Network FCS Top 25 preseason poll, marking the 112th consecutive week the team has been ranked, the second-longest active streak in the nation.

Sam Houston State leads the poll, followed by defending national champion North Dakota State, Georgia Southern and Montana State. UNH ranks fourth among teams from the Colonial Athletic Association.

The Wildcats are led by six returning all-conference players, including Matt Evans, chosen as the 2011 Buck Buchanan Award winner as the top defensive player in the nation. Sean McDonnell enters his 14th season as the team's head coach.

Last year the Wildcats reached the postseason for a nation-best eighth-straight year and beat five ranked opponents for the second year in a row. Their season ended when Montana State blocked a potential game-tying extra point in the closing seconds of their matchup in the second round of the Division I FCS playoffs.

UNH ranks between 10th and 17th among six preseason polls, including 10th in the Athlon College Football Poll. The Wildcats begin their season at the College of the Holy Cross in Worcester, Mass., Aug. 30 and play their home opener in Durham Sept. 15 against Central Connecticut State University.