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BlueGoldAg
1.7kThe Big Sky Conference has released its 2026 Preseason Coaches' and Media Polls:
Big Sky Football Preseason Coaches Poll
1. Montana State (11) – 143
2. Montana – 130
3. UC Davis (2) – 121
4. Northern Arizona – 108
5. Idaho State - 99
6. Southern Utah – 82
7. Idaho – 77
8. Eastern Washington – 70
9. Weber State – 48
10. Northern Colorado – 47
11. Cal Poly – 46
12. Portland State – 24
13. Utah Tech – 19
*Parentheses denotes first-place vote // Coaches could not vote for their own team
Big Sky Football Preseason Media Poll
1. Montana State (35) – 490
2. Montana (1) – 448
3. UC Davis (2) – 421
4. Idaho State – 349
5. Northern Arizona – 339
6. Idaho – 283
7. Southern Utah – 273
8. Eastern Washington – 246
9. Cal Poly – 168
10. Weber State – 155
11. Northern Colorado – 153
12. Portland State – 68
13 Utah Tech – 65
*Parentheses denotes first-place vote
Whole article here: https://bigskyconf.com/news/2026/7/19/bobcats-sweep-big-sky-football-preseason-polls-yet-again.aspx -
AggieFinn
907Idaho State on the upward trend and then some - big step taking season for them in 2026.
It's too bad Davis @ ISU isn't on the 2026 schedule, after the game last year in Davis, that would be a hot ticket, one I might go to actually.
Check out Utah Tech's Schedule:
vs. Montana State
@ BYU
@ Montana
vs. Northern Arizona
@ Northern Colorado
vs. SUU
@ Portland State
@ Poly
vs. Idaho State
@ UC Davis
vs. Eastern Washington
@ Weber State
That is f***ing brutal. -
Pacifico2
267I'd like to see the Ags get a piece of ISU as well. I'm not on the Bengal bandwagon.
Montana State and BYU back-to-back, capped by a trip to Missoula?! They must be getting PAID to go to Provo, that is the sort of team with a bunch of NIL and 27 year old players that can wreck an FCS program's season. -
agalum
594I thought i read somewhere that the ncaa was going to have an age limit?
Edit:
“ As detailed by the NCAA, this timeline means athletes typically must finish their five years of collegiate competition before turning 24. While the NCAA strictly limits the eligibility window, it grants limited exceptions for specific life circumstances such as active military service, official religious missions, and maternity leave NCAA.”
So go on a mission and you can extend your eligibility. -
Riveraggie
433New eligibility rule applies to all athletes beginning school this fall.. Previously enrolled students are covered by whichever rule benefits them most. -
Riveraggie
433Everyone has five years now. Used to be five years to play four, now its five years to play five. Lots of 19 year olds straight out of high school because parents start them in school late for athletic ambitions.
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NCagalum
395yah, I had forgot about the delay in high school. Some kids transfer multiple times in high school in an attempt to better their college recruiting status. As more money infiltrates college football crazier things happen. Kind of sorry for the kids who don’t get to be a kid and experience a wide range of activities but alternately become one -trick ponies most of whom ultimately don’t cash in anyway. -
cmt
252That's actually not that bad relative to some of their schedules. They're always pretty loaded.
In 2021, they played the teams that finished 4, 5, 6, 10. 14, 17 and 21 in the STATS poll.
In 2024, they played the teams that finished 2, 5, 13, 14, 21 and 22 in the STATs poll, plus a 11-3 UNLV team.
It used to be worse because they had fewer conference games and they'd really load up in the non-con.. But they tend to schedule a lot of Big Sky teams in the non-con, which makes sense. Since transitioning, they've played UCD, NAU, Idaho, Montana St, Montana, Sac St, Weber St. -
CA Forever
1kI think 5 is pretty dang good considering that we will have a new QB at the helm. We were getting quite a bit of love from some of the Montana State guys who had us ranked as high as 3rd from what I saw. -
AggieFinn
907
Uh, nobody - they run the table in a weak league, but they are very well coached and they do play good team football. To their credit they played a very tough game vs. Villanova in their opener in the '25 playoffs. Lost 14-7, at home. -
BlueGoldAg
1.7kSTATS Perform FCS Preseason Poll:
https://theanalyst.com/articles/fcs-top-25-preseason-poll-montana-state-football-2026 -
AggieFinn
907Little bit too much love for me with South Dakota State at No. 3, but 3 through 9 I'd say, it's kind of an Any Given Saturday - we'll see how this all shakes out...and there will be a couple of surprises in the middle of the rankings as always. Mercer took a serious shot after their 0-47 blowout loss against South Dakota at home in the opener of the '25 Playoffs. That will leave a mark on their program for some time - and with their star freshman QB Braden Atkinson transferring to Oregon State there's good reason to be skeptical.
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Riveraggie
433
Mercer Head Coach, Offensive Cordinator, and FCS defensive player of the year Zock, all left also
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