If last season’s finish was the first indication of football parity in the Big Sky Conference, this year’s preseason polls in the league affirm it.
The Eastern Eagles have been pegged to finish third by the media and fourth by the coaches as the picks were released July 19 at the Big Sky Conference Football Kickoff in Park City, Utah.
Northern Arizona was picked to finish first in both polls, but after that the next four spots were scrambled. Montana was picked second by the media, followed by Eastern, North Dakota and Portland State. The coaches picked Portland State and Montana in a second-place tie, followed by EWU in fourth and North Dakota in fifth.
“It probably shook out in the end a little bit different than people thought it would,” EWU head coach Beau Baldwin of the last year’s league race said. “But you have to be ready knowing each week in this league is going to be a battle, and embrace the fact you are in a tough conference. We face a challenge each and every week.”
There was a difference of just 35 points in the top five teams in the media poll, with all five receiving first-place votes. All but Montana received a first place vote from the coaches, and the difference in votes among the top five teams was 27 points.
Southern Utah, last year’s surprise outright champion in the league, was picked seventh in both polls. Montana State, which along with Eastern were the preseason No. 1 picks a year ago, was tabbed eighth by the media and was in a seventh-place tie with SUU for seventh in coaches’ voting.
A year ago, Eastern started 0-2, won six-straight games and then finished with losses to NAU, Montana and PSU and missed the playoffs. The Eagles were 6-5 overall and 5-3 in the Big Sky.
The Eagles open the season Sept. 3 at Washington State, with its home opener two weeks later versus Northern Iowa on Sept. 17.
2016 Big Sky Conference
Preseason Football Polls
Media Poll
Rank - Team (1st Place Votes) - Points
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
Coaches’ Poll
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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