Grizzlies picked fourth, Bobcats eighth in Big Sky Preseason Polls

The Montana Grizzlies and Montana State Bobcats are a mere 40-plus days from the start of the 2018 FCS football season. But, the Big Sky Conference got a head start Monday with the first day of its annual Big Sky Media Kickoff in Spokane.

Monday, the Big Sky Preseason Polls, the Big Sky Preseason All-Conference Team and Offensive and Defensive MVP’s were announced.

Montana, which is getting ready to open its season against highly ranked Northern Iowa Sept. 1 and is awaiting the return of Bobby Hauck to the sidelines of Washington-Grizzly Stadium, received several accolades Monday in Spokane. UM senior linebacker Josh Buss was tabbed as the Big Sky Preseason Defensive MVP. Buss is the fifth Grizzly in the last seven years to receive the honor, and he is the top returning tackler in the Big Sky. Buss was also the only Griz to make the Big Sky Preseason All-Conference Team.

In the polls, the Griz were picked fourth by the Media, but just seventh by the league’s coaches. Montana has missed the playoffs in the last two seasons, and that, coupled with back-to-back losses to Montana State, led to the firing of Bob Stitt last November. Hauck was hired a month later, returning to his alma mata after leading the Grizzlies to unprecedented success from 2003 to 2009.

Meanwhile, MSU, which hasn’t made the playoffs in four years and is in search of its first winning season since 2015, was picked eighth in both the media and coaches polls. Hopes are high for MSU head coach Jeff Choate’s third season, but those hopes took a hit last week when Choate announced that junior quarterback Chris Murray will not only sit out the 2018 season for academic reasons, but also that Murray will not be attending MSU this fall. Still, the Bobcats could end up being the surprise team of the Big Sky due to a defense loaded with veteran talent, including DT Zack Wright, who was the only Cat to be named to the Big Sky Preseason All-Conference Team.

In other news at the event in Spokane, Eastern Washington was the unanimous pick to win the Big Sky title this season, with six first-place votes in the coaches poll and 27 in the media poll. Weber State, an FCS quarterfinalist from a year ago, and Northern Arizona were picked second and third, respectively in both polls. UC Davis All-American WR Keelan Doss was named the Big Sky Preseason Offensive MVP.

This Big Sky season also marks the return of the University of Idaho to Big Sky football. The Vandals left the Big Sky in 1996 for FBS football, but they will begin Big Sky play this fall, under head coach and former Carroll College standout Paul Petrino. The Vandals, who were picked fourth by the coaches and fifth by the media, also have former Havre High head coach Troy Purcell on their staff, and, they will renew their rivalries with both Montana and Montana State this season.

The Bobcats begin their season Aug. 30 at home against Western Illinois. That game will kickoff at 7 p.m. at Bobcat Stadium. The Grizzlies open at 7 p.m. Sept. 1 against UNI, also of the famed Missouri Valley Conference. MSU begins fall camp Aug. 3, while UM starts its fall camp Aug. 5.

Big Sky Preseason Polls 2018

Coaches Poll

Eastern Washington 134 (6)

Weber State 124 (3)

Northern Arizona 121 (3)

Idaho 101 (1)

Sacramento State 94

Southern Utah 91

Montana 82

Montana State 76

UC Davis 64

Cal Poly 40

Northern Colorado 30

Idaho State 29

Portland State 21

Media Poll

Eastern Washington 651 (27)

Weber State 636 (19)

Northern Arizona 535 (1)

Montana 496 (2)

Idaho 483 (3)

Southern Utah 449 (1)

Sacramento State 415

Montana State 391 (1)

UC Davis 331 (1)

Idaho State 170

Cal Poly 169

Northern Colorado 166

Portland State 103