The Georgia Southern Eagles were selected third in the FCS Coaches Preseason Poll and received three first-place votes, the most of any team other than first-place Eastern Washington. The Eagles, who finished with a 10-5 record, return a number of key members of their national semifinalist team.

Eastern Washington received 23 of the 28 first-place votes and were followed by Appalachian State, Georgia Southern and William & Mary. Wofford joined fellow Southern Conference members in the top-10 to give the conference three teams in the top-10. The only other SoCon member represented in the top-25 was Chattanooga, who checked in at number 23.

Ten of Georgia Southern's returners were selected to the Southern Pigskins Preseason All-SoCon Team. The Eagles swept the specialist awards and had five players on the 11-man defensive squad. Robert Brown (Macon, Ga.) and Brett Moore (Warner Robins, Ga.) represented GSU on the offensive team, while Brent Russell (Cormer, Ga.), Roderick Tinsley (Soperton, Ga.), Josh Rowe (Opelika, Ala.), Derek Heyden (Atlanta, Ga.) and Laron Scott (Warner Robins, Ga.) led the way on the defensive squad. Adrian Mora (Dalton, Ga.), Charlie Edwards (Tifton, Ga.) and Laron Scott (Warner Robins, Ga.) swept the kicker, punter and return specialist awards.

2011 FCS Coaches Preseason Poll (August 22, 2011)

Team (No. 1 Votes)                               2010 Record                 Points              2010 Final Ranking

1. Eastern Washington (23)                    13-2                                687                                 1

2. Appalachian State (1)                         10-3                                617                                4

3. Georgia Southern (3)                          10-5                                615                                6

4. William & Mary (1)                              8-4                                 614                                8

5. Delaware                                           12-3                                559                                2

6. Montana State                                     9-3                                540                               11

7. Northern Iowa                                      7-5                                448                               18

8. Wofford                                            10-3                                431                               5

9. Jacksonville State                             9-3                                 425                             12

10. New Hampshire                                8-5                                 415                               7

11. North Dakota State                          9-5                                 392                               9

12. Montana                                           7-4                                 318                             21

13. Villanova                                         9-5                                 276                               3

14. Stephen F. Austin                            9-3                                 265                             10

15. Lehigh                                             10-3                                259                             14

16. James Madison                               6-5                                 226                             NR

17. Southern Illinois                               5-6                                 181                             NR

18. Liberty                                             8-3                                 179                             19

19. Richmond                                        6-5                                 177                             NR

20. McNeese State                                6-5                                 170                             NR

21. South Carolina State                        9-3                                 131                             17

22. Central Arkansas                              7-4                                 130                             NR

23. Chattanooga                                    6-5                                 113                              NR

T24. Bethune-Cookman                          10-2                                 84                              15

T24. Penn                                             9-1                                  84                              16

Others receiving votes (points in parentheses): Western Illinois (72); Cal Poly (71); Southeast Missouri State (68); Southern Utah (67); Sacramento State (66); Murray State (50); Jacksonville (46); Eastern Kentucky (41); UC Davis (22); Colgate (21); Central Connecticut State (19); Stony Brook (18); Indiana State (15); Harvard (14); Dayton (13); Jackson State (13); Illinois State (11); South Dakota State (10); Florida A&M (9); Coastal Carolina (9); Sam Houston State (9); Elon (8); Grambling State (8); Northern Arizona (3); Weber State (3); Northwestern State (2).