2016 Big Sky Preseason Football Polls
Coaches’ Poll
Ranking Team (First Place Votes) Points
1. Northern Arizona (8) 132
T2. Portland State (2) 121
T2. Montana 121
4. Eastern Washington (2) 112
5. North Dakota (1) 105
6. Weber State 83
T7. Southern Utah 73
T7. Montana State 73
9. Cal Poly 66
10. Northern Colorado 43
11. Sacramento State 30
12. Idaho State 24
13. UC Davis 23
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Media Poll
1. Northern Arizona (8) 287
2. Montana (7) 283
3. Eastern Washington (5) 269
4. North Dakota (2) 262
5. Portland State (3) 252
6. Weber State 174
7. Southern Utah 162
8. Montana State 157
9. Cal Poly 153
10. Northern Colorado 111
11. Idaho State 58
12. UC Davis 56
13. Sacramento State 50
UND being picked 5th by the media and 4th by the coaches came as no surprise to us. That is where we would slot them as well. Too many question marks still in the secondary and offensive line to be any higher.
With three first place votes overall it does show that UND is gaining the respect of the coaches and media in the conference. They need to continue on that upward trend by securing a playoff berth in 2016.
The big surprise is Northern Arizona being the favorite to win the league in BOTH polls. The media had Montana and Eastern Washington real close behind NAU, however.
In the coaches poll NAU was the overwhelming favorite with 8 first place votes. QB Case Cookus and the Lumberjacks visit the Alerus Center on November 12th, which happens to be UND’s final game of the season. That potentially could be a HUGE game for both teams as they are fighting for a playoff spot.
A mild surprise was reigning conference champion Southern Utah being picked 7th in both polls. The did lose alot with multiple guys heading to the NFL and Head Coach Ed Lamb moving on to BYU. But to drop that far is surprising.
