Colt Anderson, left, and Alexis Alexander, right, are two reasons Montana and Eastern Washington are both ranked in the top 10 (Mackenzie Kasper photo)
OGDEN, Utah (Aug. 19, 2008) - The Eastern Washington Eagles and Montana Grizzlies begin the 2008 season each ranked in the top 10 of the Sports Network Football Championship Subdivision preseason poll, which was released on Tuesday.
Eastern Washington, which was picked second by the coaches and the media in the Big Sky Conference preseason polls, begins the season ranked seventh. The Eagles received 1,951 total points. EWU finished the 2007 season 9-4, losing the quarterfinals by three points to eventual national champion Appalachian State.
Montana, which is gunning for its 11th straight Big Sky Conference title, begins the season ranked eighth. The Grizzlies, pick by the coaches and media to win the Big Sky title, earned 1,848 points. Montana went 11-1 in 2007, losing in the first round of the FCS playoffs to Wofford.
Northern Arizona just missed out on cracking the top 25 preseason poll. NAU earned 249 total points, most among teams not in the top 26. Montana State received 146 points, while Weber State received 17.
Three-time defending national champion Appalachian State begins the season ranked No. 1. The Mountaineers earned 97 of the 101 first-place votes, and 2,546 total points. North Dakota State is ranked second, followed by Northern Iowa, Richmond and Massachusetts.
Media members and sports information directors vote in the poll.
Top 25 Sports Network Preseason Poll
| Team (First-place votes) |
2007 Records |
Points |
Previous Ranking
|
| 1. Appalachian State (97) |
13-2 |
2,546 |
1 |
| 2. North Dakota State (1) |
10-1 |
2,275 |
9 |
| 3. Northern Iowa |
12-1 |
2,204 |
4 |
| 4. Richmond |
11-3 |
2,162 |
5 |
| 5. Massachusetts |
10-3 |
2,148 |
7 |
| 6. James Madison (3) |
8-4 |
2,078 |
12 |
| 7. Eastern Washington |
9-4 |
1,951 |
8 |
| 8. Montana |
11-1 |
1,848 |
10 |
| 9. Delaware |
11-4 |
1,747 |
2 |
| 10. McNeese State |
11-1 |
1,687 |
11 |
| 11. Southern Illinois |
12-2 |
1,286 |
3 |
| 12. Youngstown State |
7-4 |
1,228 |
16 |
| 13. Wofford |
9-4 |
1,158 |
6 |
| 14. Cal Poly |
7-4 |
1,081 |
24 |
| 15. Elon |
7-4 |
1,028 |
23 |
| 16. New Hampshire |
7-5 |
760 |
14 |
| 17. Georgia Southern |
7-4 |
656 |
17 |
| 18. Eastern Illinois |
8-4 |
622 |
18 |
| 19. South Dakota State |
7-4 |
547 |
19 |
| 20. Eastern Kentucky |
9-4 |
487 |
13 |
| 21. Villanova |
7-4 |
396 |
NR |
| 22. Central Arkansas |
6-5 |
374 |
NR |
| 23. The Citadel |
7-4 |
317 |
NR |
| 24. Harvard |
8-2 |
316 |
21 |
| 25. Western Illinois |
6-5 |
299 |
NR |
Others receiving votes: Northern Arizona 249, Fordham 212, Delaware State 198, Jacksonville State 195, Yale 170, Sam Houston State 166, Montana State 146, Furman 120, Liberty 115, Jackson State 79, South Carolina State 76, Holy Cross 74, Colgate 56, Grambling 55, Norfolk State 48, Coastal Carolina 44, Hampton 41, Southern 32, Northwestern State 30, Tennessee-Martin 30, UC Davis 22, Weber State 17, Lafayette 16, Alabama A&M 10, Texas Southern 9, Brown 9, Nicholls State 9, Dayton 6, Tennessee State 5, San Diego 4, Albany 4, Maine 1, Prairie View 1.