By ERIC TABER
On the eve of the 2016 fall camp opening practice, the Montana Grizzlies will take the field ranked as the No. 13 team in the nation in both the STATS FCS media poll, and the FCS coaches poll.
In the media poll, the Griz were the highest-ranked of the five Big Sky Conference teams to crack the top-25, coming in ahead of Eastern Washington (No. 14) and Portland State, Northern Arizona and North Dakota, who rank No. 17, 18 and 19, respectively.
A national best six Big Sky teams were represented in the FCS preseason coaches poll, with Montana coming in at No. 13, right behind Portland State at No. 12. The EWU Eagles were picked No. 17 and NAU at No. 18, while North Dakota came in at No. 21 and Southern Utah made the cut at No. 23.
The Griz picked up 264 points in the Coaches poll, just one point ahead of No. 14 South Dakota State. In the media poll, Montana earned 1,921 votes.
Photo courtesy of UM Sports Information
Defending national champion North Dakota State was a near unanimous first-place selection by both the media and the coaches, picking up all but six first-place votes in the media poll. Northern Iowa, the Grizzlies’ week-two opponent, was selected fifth in both the media and the coaches poll.
A national panel of sports information and media relations directors, broadcasters, writers and other dignitaries select the STATS FCS Top 25. In the voting, a first-place vote is worth 25 points, a second-place vote 24 points, all the way down to one point for a 25th-place vote.
The Top 25 is released every Monday afternoon during the regular season, except for Sunday morning, Nov. 20, prior to the selection of the 24-team FCS playoff field. A final Top 25 will follow the FCS championship game, which will be held Jan. 7 in Frisco, Texas.
The FCS Coaches Poll is based exclusively on a voting panel of head coaches in the FCS under the cooperation of the Collegiate Commissioners Association (CCA) and the American Football Coaches Association (AFCA) and is administered by the Southern Conference.
The Grizzlies open fall camp on Tuesday, Aug. 9 with the first practice of the season starting at 9:00 AM at the Riverbowl practice field.
Fans can meet the team at the annual Great Griz encounter, scheduled for Thursday, Aug. 25 as part of the Missoula Downtown Association’s Downtown Tonight event at Caras Park in downtown Missoula.
The Griz open the season on Sept. 3, under the lights at Washington-Grizzly Stadium against Saint Francis at 7:00 p.m.
Preseason FCS Coaches Poll (August 8, 2016)
Points – 2015 Final – 2015 Record
Team (First-Place Votes)
1 North Dakota State (25) – 625 – 1 – 13-2
2 Sam Houston State – 555 – 4 – 11-4
3 Jacksonville State – 547 – 2 – 13-2
4 Richmond – 539 – 3 – 10-4
5 Northern Iowa – 515 – 6 – 9-5
6 Charleston Southern – 455 – 7 – 10-3
7 Chattanooga – 433- 8 – 9-4
8 Illinois State – 426 – 5 – 10-3
9 McNeese State – 377 – 9 – 10-1
10 William & Mary – 363 – 12 – 9-4
11 James Madison – 349 – 11 – 9-3
12 Portland State – 305 – 10 – 9-3
13 Montana – 264 – 14 – 8-5
14 South Dakota State – 263 – 16 – 8-4
15 The Citadel – 261 – 15 – 9-4
16 Colgate – 195 – 13 – 9-5
17 Eastern Washington – 187 – N/A – 6-5
18 Northern Arizona – 129 – N/A – 7-4
19 Harvard – 127 – 20 – 9-1
20 Fordham – 111 – 19 – 9-3
21 North Dakota – 104 – N/A – 7-4
22 Villanova – 89 – N/A – 6-5
23 Southern Utah – 85 – 18 – 8-4
24 Western Illinois – 81 – 22 – 7-6
25 North Carolina A&T – 79 – 21 – 10-2
Others receiving votes: Eastern Illinois 70, Eastern Kentucky 70, New Hampshire 60, Towson 56, Bethune-Cookman 51, South Carolina State 49, Youngstown State 40, Dartmouth 37, Montana State 31, Liberty 25, Jackson State, 24, Southeastern Louisiana 17, Southeast Missouri State 17, Monmouth 16, Samford 16, Penn 10, North Carolina Central 8, Alcorn State 8, Stephen F. Austin 5, Duquesne 5, Weber State 5, Dayton 4, San Diego 3, Prairie View A&M 3, South Dakota 3, Grambling State 2, Wofford 2, Bryant 1
STATS FCS Poll
Rankings as of 8/8/2016
Rank – School – Votes
1 North Dakota State (0-0) – 3941 (152)
2 Sam Houston State (0-0) – 3636 (2)
3 Jacksonville State (0-0) – 3569 (4)
4 Richmond (0-0) – 3418
5 UNI (0-0) – 3413
6 Chattanooga (0-0) – 2758
7 Charleston Southern (0-0) – 2734
8 South Dakota State (0-0) – 2554
9 William & Mary (0-0) – 2517
10 Illinois State (0-0) – 2303
11 McNeese State (0-0) – 2151
12 James Madison (0-0) – 2037
13 Montana (0-0) – 1921
14 Eastern Washington (0-0) – 1879
15 Citadel (0-0) – 1535
16 Coastal Carolina (0-0) – 1397
17 Portland State (0-0) – 1262
18 Northern Arizona (0-0) – 1189
19 North Dakota (0-0) – 977
20 Western Illinois (0-0) – 876
21 Colgate (0-0) – 767
22 New Hampshire (0-0) – 657
23 Villanova (0-0) – 652
24 Towson (0-0) – 428
25 North Carolina A&T (0-0) – 395
Others: Youngstown State (393) , Fordham (385) , Harvard (294) , Eastern Kentucky (189) , Southern Utah (162) , Eastern Illinois (151) , Central Arkansas (136) , Duquesne (75) , Alcorn State (62) , Grambling State (59) , Weber State (49) , Penn (46) , Bethune-Cookman (43) , Wofford (43) , Dartmouth (37) , Western Carolina (36) , Liberty (36) , Lamar (28) , Montana State (26) , Delaware (25) , South Dakota (17) , Maine (14) , Dayton (10) , North Carolina Central (10) , Mercer (10) , Prairie View A&M (9) , UT Martin (7) , Samford (7) , South Carolina State (5) , Bryant (4) , Indiana State (3) , Kennesaw State (3) , Southeast Missouri State (2) , Tennessee State (2) , Stony Brook (2) , Southern Illinois (1) , San Diego (1) , Northwestern State (1) , Saint Francis U (1)