HARRISONBURG — James Madison enters this season right where it left off in January – sitting atop FCS.

For the second time in school history, JMU is No. 1 in the STATS FCS preseason poll, which was released Monday. The Dukes rattled off a school-record 14 wins en route to capturing the 2016 national championship.

“This is a new season. You have to push toward new goals, live in the moment and plan for the future,” JMU senior defensive end Andrew Ankrah said. “I honestly have tried to put the national championship behind me, so I’m not wearing my championship ring around.”

JMU received 134 of 163 first-place votes to claim the top spot.

“You’ve got to make the next year a new year, and it truly is,” Houston said. “If you look at the roster, the roster isn’t the same as it was a year ago. It’s different kids.

“Is it better, worse? I don’t know. But every year is a new year and every team is a new team.”

In 2005, the Dukes were preseason No. 1 after winning the program’s first national title in 2004.

There are four other Colonial Athletic Association squads entering the season ranked — No. 7 Richmond, No. 10 Villanova, No. 13 New Hampshire and No. 24 Albany.

JMU hosts Villanova on Oct. 14, New Hampshire on Oct. 28 and Richmond on Nov. 11.

During its 2016 postseason run, JMU dismantled Sam Houston State 65-7 in the national quarterfinals and beat five-time defending national champ North Dakota State 27-17 in the semifinals at the FargoDome before knocking off Youngstown State 28-14 in the title game at Toyota Stadium in Frisco, Texas.

The Bison enter the year at No. 2, followed by the Bearkats at No. 3. Youngstown State heads into 2017 at No. 9.

In Houston’s first season at JMU, the Dukes had the nation’s third best total offense (507.5 yards per game) and fifth best rushing offense (275 yards per game). Running back Khalid Abdullah, who’s now with the New York Giants, led the country in rushing (1,809 yards) and quarterback Bryan Schor, who’s back for his senior season at the school, led the country in accuracy (73 percent completion rate).

On defense, JMU led the nation with 21 interceptions. Safety Raven Greene had a team-high six interceptions.

JMU opens its season on Sept. 2 at East Carolina.